Consider that: The New York Times is acknowledging that it published a fabricated account of American casualties in Iraq. There's no reason to doubt the Times' contention that its source, as opposed to its reporter, was behind the original fabrication, but it seems fair, based on the paper's account, to say that the Times "sexed up" its reporting by promoting a single private to "military officials" (plural) and by failing to note Centcom's doubts, much less wait for confirmation before running with the story. (The original article is no longer available free on the Times Web site, but here's a later version that appeared in the Tri-Valley Herald of Pleasanton, Calif.)
Mega-nailing the NY Times for undermining our troops, hurting morale, spreading lies - exposed.....and needing more exposure.
Not common tactics for snipers to "spray a humvee with machine gun fire." Another inconvenient fact Belen is attributed to have said.