The Chris Moeller Archives

Another trip down the toilet

The latest media "scandal" is Newsweek's report of US interrogators flushing a Koran down the toilet. Yesterday, the magazine retracted the account after a "longtime reliable source" recanted his/her statement.

After hearing about the riots in Afghanistan that killed 14 people, I think we're all still trying to figure out how it is that so many more Afghan Muslims read Newsweek than do Americans, how so many people could become so angry about the abuse of prisoners who were not from their country, and how they could commit such violence at this time, considering that reports of Koran desecration and Muslim religious abuse by American military interrogators go back at least two years.

To begin with, any reasonable observer should acknowledge the complete plausibility that the prison environment at Guantanamo Bay is ripe for such abuse. It is so plausible, in fact, that the State Department had 10 days after the report was published to deny the story, and failed to do so.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan should be ashamed of himself for pressuring Newsweek to "repair" damage done by the report. The story, he said, "has done damage to our credibility abroad and it has done damage to the credibility of the media and Newsweek in particular. People have lost lives. This report has had serious consequences."
Funny then that last Thursday, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Richard Myers, was attributing the violence to the on-going "political reconciliation process" in the area. Is McClellan calling Myers a liar?

It's the same old shellgame from the Bush Administration-- blame, blame, and blame some more-- shifting attention from the various fiascos of their own making. Who has done more "damage to our credibility abroad" and "lost (more) lives" than the Bushies themselves? Where's the apology and the attempt to "repair" the damage done by their illegal war, which was sold to the American public and the world on discredited intelligence? I'll show you a soggy holy book in Cuba after you show me the Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.

The Newsweek reporter in question, it is worth noting, is not a hack. Michael Isikoff has a reputation for being a relentless and disciplined reporter. He was even a champion of the Right after he uncovered the Monica Lewinski affair. Yesterday, Linda Tripp's literary agent, Lucianne Goldberg (who also recorded the Lewinsky phone conversations,) said that Isikoff had been "infuriatingly professional" in his dealings with Tripp.
The magazine's retraction reeks to high heaven, and the stench is coming from the corporate office where the suits are hoping against hope to avoid the fate of the New York Times and "60 Minutes 2" after those news outlets planted themselves in the crosshairs of the White House's formidable PR machine.

Isikoff is ultimately responsible for editing and re-checking even a simple one-sentence blurb in an extended investigative piece, but the role of our fourth estate is to put every story into its proper context. In this case, that would include taking the White House and the Pentagon to task for Gen. Myers' initial statements. It includes calling out the administration's habit of concealing information, remaining silent when asked to issue denials, and then attacking published and broadcast reports. And it now must include delivering a thorough follow-up to this entire story-- including the initial charge-- one that will allow Americans the fullest access to government information. Only at that point can they make up their own minds about this administration's credibility.

posted by CM @ 10:12 PM