AN IRAQI JOURNALIST, Doctor Ali Fadhil, who writes for the (UK) Guardian, was arrested at gunpoint Sunday by U.S. soldiers who blasted their way into his home in the middle of the night, firing rounds into the bedroom where he, his wife, and their two children were sleeping.

Doctor Fadhil had been investigating reports that British and American authorities had misused or misappropriated huge amounts of Iraqi money -- tens of millions of dollars. The assault on Fadhil and his family came just days after Fadhil had told Central Command about the film and asked for an interview to discuss the claims of corruption.

Given the timing, and the fact that the Americans released Fadhil hours after his arrest while keeping the video tapes of the filmed investigation they had seized in the raid, it's rather hard to credit the story that they were looking for an Iraqi insurgent.

Jazz at Running Scared writes:

It's a long stretch to try to find a way to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. If independent sources can confirm that this journalist was actually working as a covert agent for the insurgents, then fine. Raid his house. But if he was, then why was he released four hours later? This has the awfully strong stench of trying to intimidate a reporter who was bringing government and/or military malfeasance to light.

The Heretik stresses that Fadhil is not your run-of-the-mill reporter, and quotes extensively from Fadhil's written accounts of conditions in Fallujah after the U.S. offensive destroyed that city, and his impressions of Baghdad upon his return after Fallujah. Definitely check Heretik out for background information on the kind of journalism Fadhil does, and what a different perspective on war and occupation he provides than do U.S. sources.