In the latest episode of vile slander against The United States, its citizens and its armed forces, the Times of London published a revolting photo of murder victims in Haditha, Iraq. The Times said that the victims, who can be seen with their hands tied behind their backs, were victims of a slaughter by US Marines. Michelle Malkin runs a photo taken by Newsweek magazine 6 months prior to the alleged masacre in Haditha, this time of 15 Iraqi Shiite fishermen who were kidnapped and executed in the soccer stadium in Haditha by Sunni terrorists. Guess what? The photos are of the same murder victims.
Trot over to Michelle's and read the post. In an update, the editor of The Times, USA, one Gerard Baker, writes Michelle that the Times photo was a "dreadful error" and that he, Baker, is, "personally offended both by the error on the Times website and by your association of me with what you call the intentional slander of US marines." Mr. Baker of The Times declares that,
The Times has been meticulously fair in its coverage of the Iraq war and of US policy in general. Our editorial line has been to support the war and we continue to do so, though not without some reservations, of course. We have eschewed completely the sort of vile anti-Americanism so common in much of the British press and our correspondents have done their level best to paint a fair picture of conditions in Iraq today.So, I thought I'd take a look at The Times Sunday Edition to see if there is any vile anti-Americanism and how fair is the picture being painted by its coverage of the Iraq war today.
I find on the front page of the online edition a total of 5 references to us Americans in Iraq and 1 reference to us in Afghanistan. Here they are with links to the articles included.
Afghans rally to the Lion to oust America
US looks at Britain's Bloody Sunday to learn lessons of army disorder
AMERICA'S SHAME by SARAH BAXTER: If proved, the Haditha massacre could change the course of the war in Iraq
YOUR AMERICA, MR BUSH by ANDREW SULLIVAN: I am sorry, Mr President. This is America. And you have helped make it
Tales of US shame and dishonour
Third claim of atrocity rocks US servicemen
I think you can see by the ledes that we're not going to have a very good day in the pages of the fairly painted and anti-vile anti-Amercanism Times of London.
In Afghans rally to the Lion to oust America, the author writes that,
In their panic the American troops opened fire, killing six and wounding 20.He doesn't mention that the rioters were shouting, "Death to Karsai" or that most experts have determined that the riot was a staged affair or that miliary investigators have already determined that the troops acted properly in their own defense.
In US looks at Britain's Bloody Sunday to learn lessons of army disorder, the author reports that the US army’s staff college at Fort Leavenworth is using the 2002 documentary Bloody Sunday to train officers to avoid a repeat of
The massacre at Haditha and the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib . . .The author is apparently privy to the as yet unreleased results of the Navy's probe into what exactly occurred at Haditha.
Sarah Baxter, a no doubt highly experienced war correspondent, is absolutely positive and unhesitant in America's Shame that,
If proved, the massacre could change the course of the war in Iraq.She is very firm in her opinions, is she not? A real Helen Thomas.
and
. . . could mark a turning point in America’s perception of the war.
and
Disturbingly, the incident may not be an isolated one.
and
. . . it could become one of the defining images of the Iraq war.
Since we know that President Bush came out today publically in support of the Constitutional amendment on marriage, then we must also know that Andrew Sullivan has sharpened his nails and will be viciously attacking the president at every opportunity. I didn't bother to even visit his article, YOUR AMERICA, MR BUSH, since I know he'll be blaming Bush for every wartime atrocity since the massacres of militiamen's families up and down the frontier during the French and Indian War.
In Tales of US shame and dishonour we find Gerard Baker himself. Remember, he told Michelle Malkin that,
You're probably not aware of my writing but I think I think most readers would probably describe myself as one of the most pro-American columnists currently employed by a British paper. I have repeatedly defended the Bush administration's foreign policy; I supported the Iraq war, and continue to do so.That was yesterday. Today, Gerard starts out OK, "If proved, the alleged Haditha massacre . . .," then, it becomes,
the escalating tale of dishonour and shame that unfolded last November at al-Haditha in Iraq.and then goes on to blame Bush and Condoleezza Rice. I guess he may have "supported the Iraq war " and "defended the Bush administration's foreign policy" but I don't think he "continues to do so."
and
As the week wore on and other stories of US military excesses dominated the headlines, it seemed as though the most powerful image of the US serviceman was not the hero of Iwo Jima or Normandy but the callow bully, rampaging through the homes of helpless civilians in desert villages.
and
The slaughter seems to have had its origins in the desperate and frightening conditions of a counter-insurgency operation in Iraq for which most American servicemen have not been well prepared.
There is a gathering sense that the outrages of al-Haditha and elsewhere are not isolated examples of bad behaviour . . .
And, finally, in Third claim of atrocity rocks US servicemen, we get an honest-to-God news report from some real reporters. They lay out the facts as they are known, quote the American military's responses, quote the Iraqi Prime Minister (who Tony Snow says was miss-quoted) and refrain from offering us their uninformed opinions. Thank you, Tim Reid and Ned Parker (who is in Baghdad).
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TAGS: Michelle Malkin, Haditha, Gerard Baker, The Times of London, Andrew Sullivan
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