Fox News put its foot in its mouth yesterday by describing CNN's Nic Robertson and other reporters who attended a government-sponsored trip to view bomb damage as "human shields," because a Fox News security guard went along, too. Wait, what?

Robertson unloaded on Fox News yesterday in reaction to a report by Fox's Jennifer Griffin that Qaddafi had essentially fooled CNN and Reuters reporters into serving as human shields by inviting them to Qaddafi's palace to view battle damage. Allied forces had to call off an airstrike once they realized the reporters were on the site, Griffin reported.

But the story sort of backfired when Robertson let loose that a Fox News security guard—carrying a camera—went along on the trip even though correspondent Steve Harrigan and a cameraman decided not to go. Which raises some questions: Is it routine for Fox News to send security personnel on newsgathering trips? If so, why? Is this as weird as it seems to us? We asked Fox News and haven't heard back yet. But if you know why Fox has security guys running around war zones with cameras, let us know.

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