War correspondent waiting for answers on January arrest at Sea-Tac

It’s hard to imagine. One minute you’re an independent war correspondent—that’s rare as a polar bear in South Beach, by the way—and you’re back on US turf, making your way through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The next minute you’re basically being arrested by Customs and Border Protection.

Why? No one really knows, but it happened, said Michael Yon, and apparently, CBP asked him who he worked for and how much money he makes.

Here’s what Yon wrote on his Facebook fan page: “Does the Federal Government have the right to demand at the U.S. border to know how much money you earn, and who you work for? I was willing to go to jail to find out, but CBP took the handcuffs off me after Port Authority Police intervened. Do they have a right to read your papers on the border?”

A leftwing media outfit said Yon wasn’t arrested. That’s hilarious. If someone handcuffs you, it’s fairly obvious you’re being detained. What do you think would happen if someone from that media outfit were handcuffed?

I recently interviewed Yon for an article for a freelance client. He’s widely known among journalists and his broad fan base as a top war correspondent. He’s as impartial as a human can be, considering the circumstances, based on what I’ve read. He pays his own way, beholden to no media outlet that would likely have a political position. After all, we’re talking about covering a war.

Americans for Limited Government filed a freedom of information request in January. That request was denied and a long list of red tape reasons were given by the government. ALG appealed, pointing out opportunities for releasing at least some of the information.

The whole thing smacks of political shenanigans. I’d bet someone in the government isn’t pleased with something Yon wrote.

Big Government did an exclusive interview with Yon; you can read details on exactly what happened.

It reminded me of the time my husband was questioned, after he forgot to remove a small pocketknife from his travel bag. When they opened his suitcase, snickers could be heard. My younger daughter had left lip gloss in one of her pockets and Dad’s underwear went into the wash with the tinted gloss. I doubt my husband will ever let either of us forget that—he still has a tendency to go doublecheck pockets when we’re doing laundry.

The difference is that my husband unintentionally had an item that isn’t permitted.

All Yon did was get off the plane in hopes of seeing his family.

It would be nice to see a few of those high profile professional journalism organizations speak up about this incident.

And it would be nice to see the government come clean. Transparency and all that, you know. Promises, promises.