As “US network glamour boys” are making their way to Iraq to cover the election, Stuart Hughes concurs with the editors interviewed by the WP who say that experienced reporters are not volunteering to return to Iraq and it’s extremely difficult to hire replacements. Hughes says UK reporters are no more willing to take long-term assignments in Iraq than their US counterparts while the freelancers often don’t have a choice.
Hughes, a BBC world news producer, lost his right leg below the knee after stepping on an antipersonnel-landmine while covering the Iraq occupation in 2003. His colleague Kaveh Golestan was killed.