Newsweek: The Plot Thickens
OK, Newsweek has retracted its story. It was all just a vicious rumor. This whole notion was just unthinkable. Somebody was trying to tarnish America’s image, but it didn’t work. We can go back to business as usual now.
Seriously, if Newsweek was careless and printed a false story about Korans being flushed down toilets at Guantanamo Bay, then the person(s) in charge needs to be held accountable. Heads should roll. Newsweek’s lie caused 16 deaths. Then again, Bush’s lies have caused the deaths of over 1,600 American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
Not a valid comparison, you say? Right you are.
Using a worst-case scenario, Newsweek’s lie was based on carelessness. Nobody’s accusing a Newsweek editor of thinking “I’m gonna spread this vicious rumor because I hate America.” It was a mistake. Inexcusable, but a mistake nonetheless.
Bush’s lies, on the other hand, were deliberate, meticulous down to the last detail, and planned months (if not years) in advance. The secret memo from July 2002 confirms what many people already suspected. Bush and Blair were already planning to invade Iraq; they just needed to “fit” the intelligence data to their plan.
Allegations of flushing Korans down the toilet — plus a long-running pattern of other abuses — are documented here. And the Newsweek “retraction” itself seems a little, uh, mysterious. Newsweek’s source was “a senior U.S. government official” who later “backtracked” after Newsweek printed his story. Now suddenly the source “is no longer sure.” International editors and senior government officials aren’t usually this flighty and indecisive. What gives?
My guess would be some high-level version of “intimidating a witness.” Certain VIPs are pissed off by this story, and we wouldn’t want that now, would we? I’m not saying a Newsweek editor would find a horse’s head on his pillow or anything like that, but…
Condoleezza Rice’s reaction to this whole mess was “It’s appalling that this story got out there.” It sounds like she really meant “all right, who let the cat out of the bag?”
It seems like the people making the most noise about the deaths caused by Newsweek’s “lie” are making the least noise about Bush’s lies and cover-ups and the cover-up to cover up the cover-up.
posted by Tom Harper @ 5:45 PM
13 Comments:
It sounds like she really meant “all right, who let the cat out of the bag?”
Exactly what I was thinking.... funny how that happens ;-)
~j
The "outrage" of Rummy and McClellan is convienient, considering that little deal going on in the Senate right now with that English fellow that the Bush-neutered MSM doesn't seem to have any time to cover.
~jay: Yeah, that's probably what she was thinking, and I'm sure lots of other people will come to that same conclusion.
Jolly Roger: Yup, those crocodile tears of Rumsfeld and McClellan sure are convincing.
Don't you just love the self-righteous attitude by Rummy and McClellan?
Sally: Yeah, their self-righteous attitude fits right in with the rest of the administration.
OK Democrat: There's definitely more here than meets the eye. We'll probably never know the whole story, but they're sure spinning the hell out of it.
Boinkette: Right, Newsweek definitely isn't the main cause of the riots. But the Right Wing Spin Machine works best when they can point to a single scapegoat and yell "it's his fault."
Did you see Farmer's post showing all the other times this was documented elsewhere?
http://corrente.blogspot.com/2005/05/sunday-night-at-cnn-clowntown-noise.html
I found you looking for info on Libby and the chamber of commerce. Since you have already posted on both I would love you to leave comments and links here please
http://grannyinsanity.blogspot.com/2005/05/asbestos-is-good-food-eat-some-every.html
I don't know why my links were clipped, I don't think I've ever noticed that before, but this is the title of the corrente post
""Sunday Night" at CNN: the Clowntown Noise Network
and other crazy bullshit that makes no sense."
What'll really be interesting, after the retraction, is whether Newsweek actually bows to the pressure to run a story about how honorable our military interrogators really are. Criminy!
I'm glad Newsweek finally retracted that story, because before then, the U.S. has had such a stellar reputation and has been held in such high regard by the entire Muslim world.
Riiight.
Granny: I left a comment at your site and corrente. Both great sites; I bookmarked both of them.
Brother Kenya: Newsweek will have to run a revised story, honoring Great Leader. After all, they tarnished our spotless reputation with that slanderous story :)
JoeyLibJr: Yeah, there's definitely a lot of synchronicity between the media and the War Machine. I'm guessing either that government source and/or the Newsweek editor were intimidated by some powerful people. I'm sure they both have families they care about, and were both "persuaded" to do the "right thing."
Mags: Yup, there goes that pristine reputation we had. One vicious rumor, and our image is just shot to hell.
La Magdalena: You got it, those first lyrics were from "Not to touch the Earth" from the Doors' third album.
Greeneyed Lady: The Newsweek story had credibility because it was consistent with so many other scandals at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. I'm guessing that either the Newsweek editor or his government source backed down because of intimidation. I am personally concerned with the direction our country is taking, and the massive secrecy and powermongering in the Bush administration. I also want the next generation to inherit an intact government; hopefully it'll still be a democracy.
Politely--
I don't think that "red vs. blue" is the right description for what we are talking about here. There are a number of people-- including some conservatives--who feel that this administration and its policies, not the Republican Party as a whole, is getting out of control.
We're talking about how the actions of a few individuals (the fact that they happen to be "Republican" is neither here nor there, IMO) have amounted to some truly frightening consequences for ALL of us. :-)
~jay: You're right. I think this cuts across party lines. People of all political views are feeling this anger and mistrust. I just want these powercrazed would-be kings out of office; I don't care who replaces them if they're honest and willing to abide by the constitution.
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