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The Guantanamo detainee who told an FBI agent in 2002 that U.S. personnel there had flushed a Koran in a toilet retracted his allegation when questioned this month by military investigators, the Pentagon said on Thursday. "We've gone back to the detainee who allegedly made the allegation and he has said it didn't happen. So the underlying allegation, the detainee himself, within the last two weeks, said that didn't happen," chief Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told a briefing.

Newsweek floundered in journalistic purgatory over the weekend, unable to confirm or completely retract the "Periscope" item from its May 9 issue that incensed rioters in Afghanistan and Pakistan; 16 people died in the melees. I wonder why Newsweek wasn't more skeptical about Quran-desecration charges. Muslims so venerate the Quran that they are outraged if anyone touches one without first washing their hands, let alone put it into a dung-hole. Compare the ubiquity of the toilet story with other kinds of Quran desecration. In my Nexis sifting I found only a handful of examples from the last 25 years: A...

FAIZABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A group of Afghan Islamic clerics have deferred a call for holy war against the United States over a magazine report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran after the report was retracted. The clerics in Badakhshan province said on Sunday the United States should hand anyone guilty of desecrating the holy book to a Muslim country for prosecution in three days or they would declare jihad, or holy war, against the United States. But Newsweek magazine, which first ran a story in its May 9 issue saying U.S. military interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a...

Newsweek retracts story but the liberal media says it's probably true anyway and points the finger at the bullies in the administration. Newsweek has rejected the resignation of Michael Isikoff, which is probably the correct thing to do. Although the fabricated story was written by Isikoff, it was Newsweek that published the libel and it is Newsweek that is responsible for the deaths in Afghanistan. But all the big shots at Newsweek were innocent. In the case of the Koran item, Newsweek Managing Editor Whitaker said he did not see the final version because he was traveling on personal business....

Newsweek magazine and reporter-writers, Mark Isikoff and John Barry forgot the most important and one of the oldest clichés in the business, “You can’t unring a bell.” They also forgot one of the most memorable slogans in WW II, “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” As a result, over 15 people are dead in Afghanistan and many hurt. Riots continue in Muslim countries. All this is due to that fact that Newsweek reported that U.S. investigators found evidence that interrogators had flushed a copy of Muslim's holy book down a toilet in an attempt to rattle detainees. Just the thought that it...

BROWN: From New York is the author of today's note in Newsweek, the magazine's editor, Mark Whitaker. For the record, a spokesman for the Pentagon declined an invitation to join us.Mr. Whitaker, why did you decide to retract the story? MARK WHITAKER: Well, I think we had already made clear that we thought that we had made a mistake in the fundamental aspect of the story that everybody's concerned about, which is that we had firm evidence that an internal military investigation into the situation at Guantanamo Bay had uncovered Quran abuse........................snip MARK WHITAKER: Well, certainly I think we feel...

Newsweek magazine issued a retraction Monday of its report on the desecration of the Quran at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The report -- which stated that American interrogators put copies of the Quran on toilets or in one case, flushed one down a toilet -- was blamed for anti-American riots, which eyewitnesses said left at least 15 people dead.

The White House earlier Monday had called on Newsweek to retract its story as the Bush administration continued to deal with fallout from the anti-American protests in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. The magazine's initial report, appearing in its May 9 edition, alleged that U.S. interrogators had flushed a copy of the Quran down a toilet, which incited widespread, week-long anti-American protests in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries, in which at least 15 civilians were killed and dozens more injured. The magazine on Sunday acknowledged errors in its report and expressed regret for the violence that followed its publication, but stopped...

In an apology to readers this week, Newsweek acknowledged errors in a story alleging U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Quran. The accusations, which the magazine vowed to re-examine, spawned protests in Afghanistan that left 15 dead and scores injured. Responding to harsh criticism from Muslim leaders worldwide, the Pentagon promised to investigate the charges and pinned the deadly clashes on Newsweek for what it described as "irresponsible" reporting. "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," Editor...

Newsweek Magazine printed a report in their May 9th issue that U.S. interrogators have been desecrating the Koran in Guantanamo Bay… only to now say, “Oops, we’re sorry, that’s unconfirmed....” ......In Afghanistan alone, there have been 16 deaths and over 100 injuries related to riots in protest against America arising from the Newsweek report.... “But where’s the bias? It was just a mistake that they went to print with allegations…” some liberals might argue. But we have seen this before. This is another example of when a media outlet wants something to be true and is hell bent on reporting...

Per Fox News...

The Boston Globe told readers in an editor's note published Friday that portions of a story it ran on a seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador were fabricated by a freelance reporter who was not at the scene.

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The BBC apologised on Saturday for erroneously reporting that U.S.-led and Iraqi forces may be responsible for the deaths of 60 percent of Iraqi civilians killed in conflict over the last six months. The British broadcaster said on Friday in broadcasts and a news statement that its Panorama investigative show would air a report on Sunday citing "confidential" records from Iraq's health ministry to support the contention. Iraq's health minister said the BBC misinterpreted the statistics it had received and had ignored statements from the ministry clarifying the figures. "Today, the Iraqi Ministry of Health...

Mention was made on a previous post (Mark Yannone-Libertarian or What ?) of a letter published by Arab News,entitled "World's Nightmare". Re-checking this morning,at the request of Mr. Yannone,I find the letter was written by a different contributor,and that Mark Yannone had nothing to do with it. There was a letter written by Mr. Yannone,that was published on this date,but the subject matter was different.My apologies to Mr. Yannone for this error !

If you think that comparing Evangelical Christians to the Taliban sounds extreme, you might just be a normal American. But if you think that the comparison is valid, you might just be a supporter of North Carolina Senator Julia Boseman. In fact, Boseman’s supporters have just launched a new website making that very comparison. Even worse, they go on to say the following of both Republicans and Christian Fundamentalists: “Hate is their currency. Ignorance is their sacrament. Racism is their communion.” Julia Boseman’s attacks on Evangelical Christians began months ago in one of the most disgraceful episodes of political passive...

Dear Jonathan Garthwaite: I have some pretty bad news and some really bad news. First the pretty bad news: I have not yet completed the follow-up to my recent article "Religious discrimination at the University of Georgia"I know that the article was due this week and I am truly sorry. The delay has something to do with the really bad news: Mike Adams, Townhall.com, and a few other sites that reprint my column have been threatened with a lawsuit by newly elected North Carolina State Senator Julia Boseman. On November 9th, Boseman threatened us with a lawsuit for defamation of...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A former soldier who accused American troops of committing war crimes in Vietnam has recently come forward to recant those charges. Steven J. Pitkin appeared at the "Winter Soldier Investigation" conducted in Detroit in 1971 by former Navy Lieutenant John Kerry and his group, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, but now says that his statements were coerced. In a sworn affidavit on August 31, 2004, Pitkin said that he rode in a van with John Kerry, a national leader of the VVAW, Scott Camil, and others from Washington, DC to attend the conference. The event was...

Published: September 03, 2004 10:00 PM EST NEW YORK The Associated Press changed "boos" to "ooohhs" Friday afternoon in reporting on President George Bush's first statement to supporters on the heart ailment that has befallen former President Bill Clinton. In a dispatch sent to subscribers in early afternoon, the AP reported that when Bush, at a campaign rally in West Allis, Wisconsin, told the crowd that he wished to send Clinton his "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery," the audience "of thousands booed. Bush did nothing to stop them." Pretty damning, except that AP soon changed its story,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 - A commercial by a group of veterans accusing Senator John Kerry of exaggerating his decorated Vietnam War record was strongly challenged Friday by Democrats as new questions arose about the claims of one of the men calling Mr. Kerry a liar in the advertisement. The Boston Globe quoted the man, Lt. Cmdr. George Elliott, retired, who as Mr. Kerry's commander in Vietnam had recommended him for a Silver Star, as recanting a recent sworn statement that he did not believe Mr. Kerry deserved the decoration because of allegations that he earned it by shooting a fleeing,...

CNN had egg on its face yesterday after being forced to retract a report that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had approved a form of torture know as "water boarding" for al Qaida prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. The tactic involves strapping a detainee to a board and dunking him in water to the point where he believes he is drowning. But in testimony yesterday before the House Armed Services Committee, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz publicly chastised the network for the bogus claim: "I'd like to clarify at least one thing that's been seriously misreported for almost the last 24...