Those "in the know" are stressing the importance of an item buried in the second portion of a news conference from the Iraq Interior ;
This is the sniper known as Juba, who is a real hero to the jihadis around the world. He has real superhero status and there are plenty of popular myths surrounding him. He's not what you'd call a 'Big Fish' in the organizational sense, but as a moral victory his capture is ENORMOUS.
The main thrust of the news conference centered on the continuing pattern of MSM reporting of unsubstantiated rumour as fact. Michelle Malkin has a lengthy, link rich post, from which I'm sharing a few exerpts.
The first involves the Associated Press named source for the of "6 Sunnis burned alive" story that swept the international news cycle last week;
BG Abdul-Kareem, the Ministry of Interior Spokesman, went on the record today stating that Capt. Jamil Hussein is not a police officer. He explained the coordinations among MOI, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defense in attempting to track down these bodies and their joint conclusion was that this was unsubstantiated rumor.He went on to name several other false sources that have been used recently and appealed to the media to document their news before reporting. He went into some detail about the impact of the press carrying propaganda for the enemies of Iraq and thanked "the friends" who have brought this to their attention.
A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes on this story among bloggers, despite the protests of Associated Press. But it's not the only instance causing concern for the Iraqi government.
The ministry received in a week more than 12 cases of claims, one stating 50 killed were there, 200 kidnapped here, 30 corpses found there etc. And when we dispatched our forces and investigators to the locations, we found nothing.
Finally, an officer in the US Army Reserves currently serving in Iraq writes in The American Thinker;
Sunni "eyewitnesses" confidently denounced the Shiite-dominated government for their inaction. There were bold claims that the Iraqi Army stood by and did nothing as this horrifying crime happened. People around the world braced themselves for the spectacular reprisals that would surely come from the Sunni. The press practically salivated at the bloodshed (and glorious headlines) that would be forthcoming.A winning situation all around.
Except, well, except for the tiny little detail that the incident most likely never happened. A week has gone by and no charred bodies were produced. No dramatic funeral parades, with all the attendant wailing and gnashing of teeth, occurred. Not one photo. No grand reprisals. Not even any speeches (and it is hard to imagine Iraqi religious leaders miss an opportunity to make speeches). Just a few remarks from the Iraqi government, largely ignored by the U.S. press, that all reports showed that that particular district had been quiet, and pleading the Iraqi people for calm.
No one thought to question this unusual divergence from normal protocol.
And don't forget the blogger who started it all - a sure bet for the latest developments - Flopping Aces.
The excuses given - that it's hard for reporters to move freely in Iraq, that the circumstances demand they rely on Iraqi stringers just doesn't cut it. If they can't confirm, then they shouldn't report. If the account is disputed by official sources, they need to place that disclaimer front and center.
Perhaps Capt Hussein exists. Perhaps his employment records are stuck in a drawer or spelled incorrectly in the database. But at this point, the only people who are steadfastly defending his credentials are those with most to lose - Associated Press. Whatever the facts turn out to be in this case, there is no doubt that the media we rely on has allowed themselves to become deeply compromised. Until they've addressed the issue of relying on stringers and rumour reportage, it is probably wisest to approach any and all reporting coming out of Iraq with the "suspension of belief".
Update: This story has gone mainstream, prompted by the almost palpable anger generated in the media by an announcement that the Iraqis are setting up a media monitoring unit that will demand accuracy in reporting.
For an example of "gratuitous slam reporting" - in the last paragraph of this response from the Associated Press we are reminded of media oppression under Saddam Hussein.
It's why they've been leading the charge to have him return, I guess.
The idea of a media monitoring unit is not an ideal solution by any stretch of the imagination - but hey - from the Jenin massacre to green helmet man to the unluckiest homeowner in Lebanon to the unburned mosques and mysterious Capt Hussein - they've made their bed.
Dec. 4 updates - it's revealed that NYT Baghdad correspondent Ed Wong questioned the legitimacy of the AP report when it originally broke.
Reminds me of the BS that used to (and still does) come out of Palestine using "dead" bodies seen playing soccer the next day. Nice to see the MSM becoming the laughing stock they so richly deserve. Lenin/Stalin must be rolling in their graves laughing at all the useful idiots in the MSM.
I was (as usual) going to simply read and digest this post without commenting. It occurred to me, however, that this was an apropos time to use a quote from Jean-François Revel's magisterial book The Flight From Truth:
"The foremost of all the forces that drive the world is falsehood."
If they can't confirm, then they shouldn't report.
They never taught me that in journalism school.
During WWII and the post-war occupations would the news services have employed German or Japanese stringers???
I rest my case.
"Capt Hussein", that's "Smith" here, doesn't exist. If he does, you can bet he's an operative of somebody that's up to no good because there have been lots of consequences in Iraq because of his piece. (Any bloggers checked to see if Dan Rather has kept his dentist appointments recently?)
The MSM is a Fifth Column. They are in Europe. They capitulated during the Cartoon War. Putin owns them again, without a whimper, in Russia.
They can't die fast enough!!!
AP Responds: "We're Satisfied with Our Reporting"
Flopping Aces has a response from AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll, in the case of their nonexistent news sources filing imaginary stories.
It’s really not much of a response; they’re standing by their reporting, to no one’s surprise. At no point does Carroll deal with the major issue—the only issue, really:
that enemy sources are using Western news gathering networks, specifically the Associated Press and Reuters, to disseminate propaganda.
They refuse to deal with this endemic rot, even though the corruption has been exposed over and over again. ...-
LGF
I get the impression that AP and others are looking for a wider audience. One not attached to the web as ubiqutously as the Americans. Not to mention with over 1 billion muslims what a market.
So they seem to be telling the story the bigger market wants to here or see told not the truth. They are selling out to the highest bidder it would seem.
Our media has a great opportunity here to play the same game in reverse.
Start publishing that we have captured or killed important members of the Jihad and wait for the denials.
Then stand by the story until they can tell us where those criminals are so the story can be proven wrong.
Muslims are like children. They won't be able to contain themselves and will likely reveal where their heroes are ... then we can go kill them toot suite.
Just a thought.
If our media cannot be relied on to use their power to help us, then it follows they are using their power to help our enemies and they should be charged with treason.
Jeff Cosford @ 7:08
Good point.
Saudies join Israel to stop Iran?
Spectator.co.uk
What to believe? Even Ehud Olmert waffels.
Sunni Saudi Arabia is not going to take the rise of Shi’ite Iran lying down. Among the options the Saudi government is supposedly considering are: arming former Saddam loyalists, the creation of Sunni brigades to fight the Shi’ite militias and attempting to bankrupt Iran by forcing the oil price down.
The Saudis will clearly stop at little to avoid sharing a 500 mile border with an Iranian vassal state. They also fear that a Shi’ite Iran could shift the confessional balance of the Islamic world. The adviser stresses that a Saudi failure to help Iraq’s Sunnis would undermine its *credibility in the Sunni world and would be a capitulation to Iran's militarist actions in the region.*
This saif-rattling also suggests that Saudi Arabia is toughening its attitude to Iran going nuclear. It has long been thought that the Saudis would respond to the development of an Iranian bomb by buying one off the shelf from the Pakistanis, their fellow Sunnis.
Another option, which at first seems too fantastic to contemplate, is that the Saudis could cooperate with the Israelis to degrade Iran’s nuclear facilities.
http://tinyurl.com/y8ahoc
Fantastic as it may seem, there are already some straws in the wind indicating that this might actually happen. Israel and the Saudis met to discuss the Iranian threat in September.
Following press reports, the usual denials followed. But Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, made it quite clear they were not sincere when he said, *We have decided that, on this subject, I am going to deliver a denial, but you don't have to believe it. On other matters, believe all my denials.*
Spectator.co.uk ========= TG
what we need is such a grotesque fabrication carried by some so called investigative news bunch to really bring attention to this new variation of an age old 'atrocities !! atrocities !! atraocites I say !!'
cripes. this was even an episode on the old star trek next generation.
I'm a bit dubious about the Juba story. Up until recently the "authorities" were insisting that Juba had been killed or didn't in fact exsist.
That's right Jose - just as the capture of Saddam and the elimination of Al Zarqawi were staged. Get a grip. And then, read the link.
Wow.
"BG Abdul-Kareem, the Ministry of Interior Spokesman"
is that your only source? Seriously? You stupid morons.
This was pretty rich - from Michelle Stupidkin's blog:
"The AP reported on Sept. 26 that a Washington-based firm, the Lincoln Group, had won a two-year contract to monitor reporting on the Iraq conflict in English-language and Arabic media outlets.
That contract succeeded one held by another Washington firm, The Rendon Group. Controversy had arisen around the Lincoln Group in 2005 when it was disclosed that it was part of a U.S. military operation to pay Iraqi newspapers to run positive stories about U.S. military activities."
To which Michelle stupidly, brazenly replies:
"What the hell does this have to do with anything? Are they insinuating that independent blogs have been in touch with this Lincoln Group thing? What is the proof of that? Are they insinuating that Curt at Flopping Aces (and all the bloggers that followed up) didn't independently come up with questions about the AP's Burning Six Sunnis report and other reports using sources called into question by the military?
If AP isn't making such insinuations, why was the reference included in the story?"
The point, you imbecile, is that the US gov't and the US military has a track record of dishonesty, up to and including blatant planting of propaganda and lies implemented under contractors like the Lincoln Group.
So they have NO CREDIBILITY when it comes to doubting anyone else. You, Malkin, have no credibility. You Kate, have no credibility.
What is the point of this stupidity of yours?
Death squads are running rampant through Iraq. Murders, rapes, mutilations, mass graves, ... it's all a daily tragedy.
And you shameless pukes, who cheerleaded this atrocity, who believed every clumsy lie told by the bush II regime and its supporters, ... have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly???
To assert that Iraq has not become a charnel house thanks to your dear leader's policies?
To hades with you, you human garbage. To hades with you, now and forever.
> have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly???
True ? - even AP has backtracked - now there's only one damaged Mosque not four. Oh, and the 'Police Captain', sadly AP couldn't produce him at the news conference to verify their pathetic whoppers.
And only one arbitrary incident you say?
Obviously you haven't been following things too closely. Did you miss last summer's continuous barrage of fauxtos and fake stories? Maybe go back and do a bit of reading besides Kos and Rabble.
In Iraq there are something like 16, yes 16, suspected fake 'spokesmen' the terrorists have been using over time. This particular 'Police Captain' has been used for many, many months over and over again, particularly by one Iraqi stringer - Qais al-Bashir. Does it not strike you as odd that NO ONE else ever gets to talk to the 'Police Captain'.
A little reading and you will see how the terrorists have used the (willing) AP for their purposes all along. Oh, and now because of the 'six burning Sunnis' the old Media dinosaurs have taken to calling Iraq a Civil War. Perfect ! Mission accomplished AP.
> have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly??? > have latched onto one arbitrary incident, pronounced it false when it's true, ... in some sort of bizarre, insane, desire, to do what exactly???
True ? - even AP has backtracked - now there's only one damaged Mosque not four. Oh, and the 'Police Captain', sadly AP couldn't produce him at the news conference to verify their pathetic whoppers.
And only one arbitrary incident you say?
Obviously you haven't been following things too closely. Did you miss last summer's continuous barrage of fauxtos and fake stories? Maybe go back and do a bit of reading besides Kos and Rabble.
In Iraq there are something like 16, yes 16, suspected fake 'spokesmen' the terrorists have been using over time. This particular 'Police Captain' has been used for many, many months over and over again, particularly by one Iraqi stringer - Qais al-Bashir. Does it not strike you as odd that NO ONE else ever gets to talk to the 'Police Captain'.
A little reading and you will see how the terrorists have used the (willing) AP for their purposes all along. Oh, and now because of the 'six burning Sunnis' the old Media dinosaurs have taken to calling Iraq a Civil War. Perfect ! Mission accomplished AP.
Here's the latest, just for you "thwap"
http://www.floppingaces.net/2006/11/30/getting-the-news-from-the-enemy-iv/
I Know..FREE Saddam. Return him to Iraq and close the door after we leave.
Idiots:
Seeking further information about Friday's attack, an AP reporter contacted Hussein for a third time about the incident to confirm there was no error. The captain has been a regular source of police information for two years and had been visited by the AP reporter in his office at the police station on several occasions. The captain, who gave his full name as Jamil Gholaiem Hussein, said six people were indeed set on fire.
On Tuesday, two AP reporters also went back to the Hurriyah neighborhood around the Mustafa mosque and found three witnesses who independently gave accounts of the attack. Others in the neighborhood said they were afraid to talk about what happened.
Do you get it????
Do you get it yet???????
The reason AP mentioned the "Lincoln Thing" is to point out that if any institution has a credibility problem, it's the US military, deliberately planting lies and propaganda in the media.
AP has said that they have visited this police captain several times at his place of work. They went back to the site of the attack and mustered several witnesses.
And, as i tried to spell out for you, though you were all to dense to grasp, this is one incident out of several daily atrocities.
I'm only taking the time to refute your stupidity because I believe you are the bottom-of-the-barrel troops in a propaganda system that is far too pervasive and dangerous.
You guys have no credibility. zero. zilch. That's what happens when you turn out to be so consistently wrong all the time. That and hundreds of thousands of people get killed.
Thwap - you seem to have some problems following links provided - indeed, you had a problem reading and comprehending the content of this post. Small wonder you are able to offer only insults and irrelevant information - "you're stupid, you kill people, the military lies" - which is pretty much what the Associated Press has engaged in to support their story.
No, actually I went to your link.
A US military spokesperson and someone from the puppet government have said that this Jamil Hussein person doesn't exist.
I read that.
And the AP has maintained that he does in fact exist, they have met with him in his office at work. He hasn't conceded to dance in front of the tv cameras in order to satisfy the paranoid assertions of absolutely contemptible morons like Michelle Malkin, probably out of concerns for his safety. The AP has also gone back and found witnesses to corroborate this story that has become Malkin's fixation.
So it seems we're at an impasse: a mainstream media outlet makes one claim - and they're compromised by being a generally useless corporate media outlet,
and,
the US military makes another claim - and it is compromised for having a track record of deliberate programs of lies and deception, for having a political agenda,
and
an Iraqi government that is compromised for being a basketcase,
and
Michelle Malkin, who is compromised for supporting the SBVFT's threadbare nonsense, for believing the WMDs nonsense, and for being an overall idiot.
I'll go with AP's account on this one. And, as I keep asking: what is the point of challenging this one story, when tortured bodies show up daily in Bagdhad?
Are you trying to assume that every report out of Iraq is all nonsense, fed to lazy reporters in the Green Zone by sources from the insurgency?
That if these reporters actually walked around in the quite safe, sunny streets of Bagdhad, they'd find out that all the atrocity stories are lies?
That the entire US and Western media sources are opposed to the bush II regime in Iraq and are engaged in the most blatant fraud to portray a crisis that doesn't exist? This same media that didn't explode the WMDs lies at the very beginning, but instead (Judith Miller, NY Times) actually helped to fabricate the case?
You're obviously free to believe in any stupid thing that you want. You're free to concoct all the conspiracy theories your little hearts desire. Just don't be surprised if some people disagree.