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Sunday, August 19, 2007

This Week's Mystery

Ears are supposed to be as unique to an individual as their finger print. I was thrilled to read the variety of guesses we received in response to this week's Mystery Journalist's picture.

  • Wolf Blitzer
  • Jack Cafferty
  • Anderson Cooper
  • Tom Foreman
  • Gary Tuchman

Personally, I would have guessed Anderson Cooper. But this week's Mystery Journalist was Tom Foreman. This screen cap was taken from last week's This Week At War.

Have you checked out This Week At War? It airs on CNN on Saturday night at 7:00 pm ET and on Sunday afternoons at 1:00 pm ET. Regardless of what other stories have dominated the headlines, This Week At War takes a look at the stories on war, terrorism, security, and the politics of war for that week. This is one program that you can guarantee will not be covering the latest breaking news on Paris Hilton!

The program is hosted by Tom Foreman and offers a review of the reports that were filed during the past week as well as interesting commentary from a variety of sources. And of course, maps. You can be sure that there will be one or two maps along the way.

As expected, there’s always an emphasis on the war in Iraq. This week’s program started out with reports from Arwa Damon from Baghdad about the explosions that occurred in northern Iraq along with commentary from Retired Lieutenant General William Odom and Michael O'Hanlon.




Then Foreman talked with Michael Ware who was recently embedded with troops in the Diyala River Valley.

Iraq isn’t the only area where there is a war being fought. Barbara Starr and Michael Scheuer provided information and commentary on the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan where the Taliban has once again taken hold.


Through out the program there is always a reminder that war is more than just politics and strategy: men and women who are serving in the military are fighting the war. This week introduced a new segment that included images from combat photographers. One of the photos this week didn’t come from the battlefield. John Cross took this photograph is Minnesota of a father saying goodbye to his son. The program also takes a moment to remember those that lost their lives to the war and even focuses in for a closer look at one service personnel that was recently laid to rest.









Foreman also gave us a Preview of Thursday night’s special God's Warriors. Christiane Amanpour takes a look at BattleCry a conservative Christian movement aimed at teens.

Robin Wright & Michael Takeyh joined Foreman for a discussion about the ongoing tensions with Iran.

Why would several countries be interested in staking a claim on the North Pole? Why is this icy region so important? (Hint: The answer is not Santa’s workshop.) Oil, of course. Barbara Starr reported on the recent rumblings over the territory.

The show closed on an interesting note. A technology center at Bowling Air Force Base was named in honor of a World War II pilot who flew B-24 bomber missions over Europe: Air Force Brigadier General James Stewart. Yes, “It's a Wonderful Life” star Jimmy Stewart.

I think one of the strong points of this program is its consistency. You know what to expect when you tune in. The reports and commentors vary from week to week, but the focus of the program stays the same. Previous programs have included Ed Henry, Aneesh Raman, Chris Lawrence, Peter Bergen, Zain Verjee, and Brigadier General David Grange to name just a few. If I had one thing on my wish list for the program: a weekly podcast. This program would be perfect for a download, at least in my opinion.

If you go to CNN’s website for the program, please don’t let it confuse you. You’ll find that the site isn’t exactly up to date. John Roberts was the original anchor of the show up until he started anchoring American Morning. I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical reason for it not being updated with Tom Foreman’s picture and information. Maybe one day, I’ll figure out what that logic is.

3 comments:

Evelyn said...

Dang! I could have sworn it was Anderson's ear. Oh well.

Tom is fantastic on This Week at War. There really couldn't be a better host for that show in my opinion.

copperfish said...

I thought that Arwa Damon is working in India coz I've seen her doing reports about the country.

I never thought that there were oil reserves in that part of our planet and never occured to me too that 5 countries were starting a "cold war" in claiming the North Pole. Russia apparently had already made a claim by putting the Russian flag underneath the sea. But it was also reported the only the United Nations can decide who has the rightful claim to this part of the earth. Hmmm....OIL..one can not really underestimate its power and what countries will do to get it.

Phebe said...

Wahoo I got it right! What do I win?
I loved This Week at War when it was John Robert's show but I must say Tom Foreman has done amazing things with it too. I just can't wait for the day when This Week at War will be obsolete.