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April 01, 2009
MSM: Fatwa Generation Machine
Thanks to the irresponsible and reckless reporting of Newsweek in their QUR'AN ABUSE 2005 story last week, the mujahideen and their leftist useful idiots worldwide have more impetus than ever in their America-hatred agenda. People have needlessly died. The war on jihad has again been hindered by strident demands that we respect our enemy's sensibilities.
Now Newsweek's editor has come out to admit that the report was untrue. (salute to Michelle Malkin)
Last Friday, a top Pentagon spokesman told us that a review of the probe cited in our story showed that it was never meant to look into charges of Qur'an desecration. The spokesman also said the Pentagon had investigated other desecration charges by detainees and found them "not credible." Our original source later said he couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Qur'an incident in the report we cited, and said it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts. Top administration officials have promised to continue looking into the charges, and so will we. But we regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst.
Splendid.
Why is it that large, trusted news outlets can't employ the same basic critical thinking that countless obscure blogs do? Isn't it worth it to get the facts straight and to consider the consequences of slipshod reporting? Despite Newsweek's belated apology and admission, people have still died, and the cause of jihad will continue to benefit from the momentum generated by this story.
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originally posted at Clarity & Resolve
Posted by Patrick at April 1, 2009 12:00 AM
Copyright © 2007 by author. May not be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for brief quotes) without express permission of author. Articles published with permission by Pardon My English.
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Well, to clarify, Newsweek doesn't say that reports of U.S. soldiers desecrating the Koran are untrue; their original U.S. government source still stands by his claim, but is unsure if the incidents are cited in the report reported on by Newsweek or other ones. As the story says, they checked with other two other U.S. government sources; one chose not to comment and the other did not dispute the claim by the original source. This is in addition to detainee claims that these incidents did happen.
As the editor says, other news outlets had reported that prisoners had made these claims, and they decided to run this bit because they had a government source who says the U.S. found evidence that this happened. The pentegon responded to the story saying they investigated these claims and found them to be uncredible, but, again, the originall source does not retract his claim, but does sound like he is a less reliable source than Newsweek once thought.
Now, behind this incident is a larger debate on what role the media should play in a time of war. It's a tricky subject, but I do not believe the media is responsible for reporting government wrongdoing -- and again, whether these alleged incidents are "wrongdoing" is also open to debate. Personally, I think it is. And I think the press has the right and duty to report it.
Yes, islamic militants use reports like this to fuel their anti-american jihad, but, as the old saying goes, the government works for the people, and the people have the right to know if they are acting in a way that they would not approve of. The US military represent all of us. We have a right to know if they are acting in a way that does not reflect well on us.
I'm also curious, what basic critical thinking do you think was missing by Newsweek that bloggers routinely use?
Posted by Tom Shipley ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.pardonmyenglish.com//nav-commenters.gif)
at May 15, 2005 06:23 PM
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