RSSNewsweek; Sometimes the Genie doesn’t fit Back in the Bottle
Even after their initial apology Newsweek still cannot seem to fix the problem that they have created. Newsweek’s original inaccurate reporting on the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay created the atmosphere that triggered several days of rioting in Afghanistan and other countries that lead to the deaths of at least 15 people. Newsweek has since apologized, but it does not seem to be enough.
Editor Mark Whitaker expressed regret over the item in the magazine’s “Periscope” section, saying it was based on a confidential source — a “senior U.S. government official” — who now says he is not sure whether the story is true.
The deadly consequences of the May 1 report, and its reliance on the unnamed source, have sparked considerable anger at the Pentagon. Spokesman Bryan Whitman called Newsweek’s report “irresponsible” and “demonstrably false,” saying the magazine “hid behind anonymous sources which by their own admission do not withstand scrutiny. Unfortunately, they cannot retract the damage that they have done to this nation or those who were viciously attacked by those false allegations.“
The Political Teen has some great video on the event. Don’t miss Cox & Forkum weighing in on the topic.
The problem with such inaccurate reporting in an area of the world where American’s are so rarely trusted is that it is nearly impossible to get the genie back in the bottle. Newsweek’s admission of their inaccurate story regarding the desecration of copies of the Koran while questioning prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and their formal apology to that story may not be enough to right their initial wrong. According to CNN, Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan were skeptical after Newsweek backed away from their initial report.
But Muslims said they suspected that pressure from Washington was behind the magazine’s climbdown, Reuters reported Monday.
“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.”
Thank you Newsweek for giving the hate-America at all cost crowd in the Muslim world a voice. Thank you for pandering to the outlandish vile hatred that exists against the US and its troops as they are trying to bring a country back to some semblance of order. Do you people at Newsweek have any idea how much you have undone with one inaccurate story that you never verified?
“Newsweek is backtracking, but it’s not just their report,” said Ghaffar Aziz, a top official of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. “All innocent people released from U.S. custody have said on the record that there was desecration of the Koran.”
A spokesman for the Taliban, who denied any involvement in last week’s Afghan protests, said the original report was true.
“Newsweek is changing its story because of pressure from the U.S. government,” Abdul Latif Hakimi told Reuters by telephone.
One really has to wonder what those at Newsweek were thinking? How does one light a flame to such a tinderbox issue in the Muslim world at this point and time and not comprehend the severity of the consequences? In one of the most pathetic and naive statements I have ever heard from a news organization Newsweek editor Whitaker said:
“I suppose you could say we should have foreseen the consequences of the report, but we didn’t.”
No kidding. Now who knows what it will take to make this situation right? The irresponsibility of the news media strikes again and this time it actually cost lives.
More great info on the story from: Michelle Malkin and The Captain’s Quarters
PoliPundit makes a great point: People have died because of this story.
If Newsweek doesn’t understand this, then it’s time for Newsweek to go the way of Dan Rather.
Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, and Americans shouldn’t let a self-described “news” magazine get people killed out of recklessness.
Update: Newsweek Retracts Koran Story
However, the problem is its tough to put the genie back in the bottle once it has been opened.
The damage control efforts by Newsweek followed criticism by White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who called it “puzzling” that Newsweek, in his view, had “stopped short of a retraction.”
“That story has damaged the image of the United States abroad and damaged the credibility of the media at home,” McClellan said in an interview. He said that Americans, including President Bush, “share in the outrage that this report was published in the first place.”
Vincente Fox is Going to Really Annoy the NAACP today
I am going to let this one stand on itself. All I can ask is, what would the NAACP say to this?
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Vicente Fox called recent U.S. measures to stem illegal immigration a step back for bilateral relations on Friday and said Mexican migrants do jobs “that not even blacks want to do.”
In comments likely to raise the temperature of the immigration debate, Fox defended the role of undocumented Mexican workers in the United States to a group of Texas business people meeting in Mexico.
“There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States,” he said in a speech broadcast in part on local radio and reported on newspaper web sites.
Fox said recent, tougher measures against immigrants do not represent “the road we should be building between friends and partners.”
Mexico has been seeking an accord with Washington for years to make it easier for millions of illegal Mexican immigrants to live and work in the United States. The country expects to repatriate this year more than 250,000 foreigners, mostly Central Americans headed for the U.S. border.
Update: Upon further reflection, this story may put a huge roadblock between Vincente Fox and George W. Bush. They have had a cozy relationship over the past few years and the only thing that has kept the borders from opening up further is the Republicans in Congress. Now that the racial angle has been brought up, and I guess we still have to see if the mainstream media covers it, there is no way the blacks can let such a slap in the face go unnoticed. This will force the Democrats to also get on the closed border side of the issue. Thus taking away a political tool that they would have otherwised used in 2008.
Very interesting.
Hat Tip Drudge
BRAC Coming to a Military Base Near You
Due to (BRAC), tomorrow most likely in Southern Maine and the New Hampshire seacoast will be referred to as Friday the 13th or Black Friday. The .The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will most likely wind up on the base closure list along with many others around the country. Many eyes will be on BRAC, The Base Realignment and Closure Commission list tomorrow as the closures this time will be effecting many states.
I do not have a horse in this race, although I do have friends that work on the base. The local newspapers have had a constant barrage of editorials and stories claiming the shipyard closure would ruin the economy. I am not completely sure I buy that argument as the local economy has changed so drastically from the day when the last round of closures occurred and Pease Air Force Base was closed. Like it or not the Portsmouth, NH & Kittery, ME area is fueled by tourism as seen by the complete transformation of the downtown Portsmouth area. Also the influx of Bostonians fleeing the city, traffic and taxes have transformed the area as well.
There has been a concerted effort by the shipyard to prevent the shipyard from being put on the base closure list as seen by the 9000 letters to Rusmsfeld and a protest march that was done recently. Many of which I believe had good intension I just wonder whether in some cases it may have been too little too late.
I will continue posting through out the day on some of the positives and negatives that come with base closure. Things that can be done and should have been done. I would compare base closures to down sizing in the private sector of the economy. No one likes them to happen in their area but they are a necessary evil and do occur. I believe if it were me and my job and livelihood was on the line that I would do everything humanly possible to save my job. EVERYTHING.
Previous posts: Not a Good Sign For Blue State Bases
Could Iris Scanning be Coming To an Airport Near You
The Orlando International Airport will begin a 90 day test period of optical iris scanning as the latest high tech method to help in the war on terror. According to the report individuals will have both irises scanned to determine their identity and add to the many methods already implemented to help fight in the war on terror.
“This will be an additional layer of information that is enrolled, which will be biometric information,” OIA director of security Brigitte Rivera Goersch said. “Employees irises will be enrolled for the additional layer of security.”
If all goes well it would appear that iris scanning will become permanent and be introduced to airports throughout the United States. Any additional method to protect us from another 9-11 cannot be a bad thing.
WHITE HOUSE EVACUATED
I first heard this on the radio an then saw the story on Fox News and one hopes not again… Now from Drudge
SMALL PLANE ‘OFF COURSE’ CAUSES RAW ALARM IN WASHINGTON… WHITE HOUSE, CAPITOL WERE EVACUATED; VP CHENEY RACES OFF IN LIMO, STAFF RUNS FOR THEIR LIVES; Guard in West Wing of White House shouted at reporters, ‘Go down into the basement’…’Leave, run’ security officers shouted to staff and reporters at the Capitol Building. ‘This is not a drill,’ guards shouted forced people away from the building… Officers rushed through Supreme Court told staff to get into the basement…
Via Drudge
“Run, this is no joke, leave the grounds,” a U.S. Secret Service agent told CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Update: According to Fox News – OK given to return
CNN: An all-clear announcement was issued about 15 minutes after the alert
Michelle Malkin has an interesting view from the Left moonbat point of view. One wonders how such events can be considered a laughing matter. From the pages of DU come the pointless and irrelevant. Does anyone really wonder why the Democratic Party is not in power with folks like this supporting them? Simply shameless.
