Willy-Waving
Snippet #3, from last Thursday’s Media Guardian:
The BBC correspondent, Kate Adie, has dismissed the US war on terrorism as “a load of willy waving”.
Adie, who was embroiled in a recent row after being accused by Downing Street of revealing classified information about the prime minister’s travel plans, has returned from a trip to the Gulf of Oman.
And she told the Sun she thought the conflict was “ridiculous”.
Adie said: “The world’s most powerful nations are fighting one of the weakest. It’s a load of willy waving.”
She continued: “We’re fighting the wrong people - the hijackers were mainly Saudis. We should concentrate on there and the Middle East.”
At a party following the National TV awards on Tuesday, Adie, who had just returned from Oman said: “I am in London because this isn’t a proper conflict… I’m waiting for the real story to happen.”
A war correspondent renowned for her bravery, Adie has been sidelined in the BBC’s coverage of the Allied campaign against Afghanistan.
Younger female correspondents, such as Jackie Rowland and Orla Guerin, have been used more than Adie, who was briefly with naval ships in the Gulf of Oman.
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack, she was sent to New York but returned within days unhappy that she was not required to file for the main TV news bulletins on BBC1.
The BBC has moved to distance itself from Adie’s remarks.
Her latest comments follow another outspoken outburst earlier this week, when she accused the BBC of preferring female journalists with “cute faces and cute bottoms” to “old trouts” like herself.
Thanks to Jo for sending this to the weblog.