Posted on 05/15/2005 10:31:22 AM PDT by Pikamax
May 23 issue - Did a report in NEWSWEEK set off a wave of deadly anti-American riots in Afghanistan? That's what numerous news accounts suggested last week as angry Afghans took to the streets to protest reports, linked to us, that U.S. interrogators had desecrated the Qur'an while interrogating Muslim terror suspects. We were as alarmed as anyone to hear of the violence, which left at least 15 Afghans dead and scores injured. But I think it's important for the public to know exactly what we reported, why, and how subsequent events unfolded.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I can't imagine a quicker way to get them to clean up their act than wartime censorship and a few arrests for treason.
#1 on the list: Bill Moyers and his buddies at PBS and NPR. #2: All involved in taking away effective tools and techniques from our interrogators at Abu Ghraib, Gitmo and Afghanistan.
Yes, I know
But if I recall correctly .. at the time, many in Congress did not want to go on record for declaring war .. and many did not want to give Bush the Powers of going to war
Newsweek should be hauled into court for this stunt. Their stupidity and bias has caused loss of human life. Treasonous action
This is very true. However, there's a difference between yelling "Fire" in the ol'crowded theater when there actually is a fire, and when there is none. The first could be justified as a sincere attempt to save lives, even if more lives were ultimately lost because of a stampede; the second is clearly just malicious.
That said, I can't imagine any compelling interest for Newsweek to publish the story even if it had been true, since they must have been aware of the consequences of such a story. However, the fact that it was not true, they published it on the vaguest of rumors and that anybody who worked around Gitmo would have known that those rumors could probably be traced back to Islamist propaganda in the first place, makes it at least gross negligence, I would think. But I don't know whether there is actually any way of prosecuting them or suing them; I suspect not.
Still, I think Isikoff should have to go to Afghanistan and apologize, both to the Afghanis and to our military, and Newsweek should have to pay some sort of compensation to the families of the people who were killed. It might make our "news" sources think twice about doing something like this again in the future.
Mass communications are too effective nowadays to let media sources sit around and casually launch rumors as if they were tossing paper airplanes. Something can now go from the desk of a Bush-hater in NY or DC to primitive rioters in the streets of Afghanistan in a matter of hours.
In many Muslim countries mere possession of a Bible is a serious offense.
Actually I beleive that only true in Saudi Arabia
Reply 265
"As others have pointed out the damage has been done, now how do we (or more specifically newsweek) fix it.
Write and have printed (at newsweek cost) a retaction and have it placed in EVERY paper in the Islamic world. That might be a place to start."
C-span's WJ is about to take calls on this..............
Interesting how this story breaks in the same month people are re-opening the Emmett Till case. Didn't he die because an unsubstantiated, sensationalistic report inflamed local passions? What is the prevailing public opinion of the people who spread THAT story? Should our opinion of Newsweek be any different?
Is there any record of Fox News EVER having done anything like this?
No, I didn't think so.
You are talking about Clinton's lies in regards to his sexual harrassment suit. He was also accused of rape by a different woman that never went to a trial.
Wait a minute, NW was certainly negligible in their reporting, but to go bonkers and KILL people over flushin' a Koran is ludicrous.
You can only hold NW responsible to a certain extent on this...
Anti-US demonstrations in some countries.
The enemy posts this stuff on web sites for recruiting purposes.
The anti-American agenda beats their chest. Other news agencies repeat the story.
The US anti-war, anti-military crowd feels Justified.
Riots in some places.
Flag burnings abroad.
The story was beaten repeatedly in the international media, the correction I heard “ONCE”. Our image is tarnished.
"We will not be deceived by this," Islamic cleric Mullah Sadullah Abu Aman told Reuters in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.
"This is a decision by America to save itself. It comes because of American pressure. Even an ordinary illiterate peasant understands this and won't accept it."
You're 100% right!
"Their shoddy ass journalism got people killed.
Sorry isn't cutting it !"
Red6
Wow....hope all those dead people will see it in their heavenly hearts to accept the Newsweek apology.
BUSH HATING B*STARDS!!!!!!! does the first amendment protect SLANDER??????
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