Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee deserves a huge thank you from those of us who still care about what is happening in Iraq. He has totally exposed the Associated Press for spreading lies about a massacre in which, allegedly, twenty beheaded bodies were discovered. The story was a fabrication. From the states, Owens investigated and exposed the AP for once again repeating insurgent propaganda and relying heavily on “stringers” for their reports.
I ask this question, because on Thursday, June 28, The Associated Press—and to a lesser extent, Reuters, and a small independent Iraqi news agency—ran stories claiming that 20 decapitated bodies had been found on or near the banks of the Tigris River in Um al-Abeed, a village near Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad, with sectarian violence strongly implicated.
There were no named sources from this story from any media outlet, and the two anonymous Iraq police officers cited in the widely-carried AP account were nowhere near the scene of the alleged massacre, with Um al-Abeed being roughly 12 miles from the southeast edges of Baghdad, and Kut being 75 miles away, respectively. Further, in the Associated Press story by Sinan Sallaheddin, the massacre claim itself was purposefully distanced for the dubious location of the anonymous police officers by an account of a bombing in Baghdad.
This claimed massacre never happened, and was formally repudiated by the U.S. military on Saturday, June 30, who ascribed the claims to insurgent propaganda. To date, the Associated Press has refused to print a retraction or a correction for this false story, just as it has failed to print a retraction for previous false beheading stories.
Apparently, correcting misinformation you’ve disseminated ranks low on the list of Associated Press priorities.
At the same time, the Associated Press has refused to run the story of a verified massacre in Iraq discovered on June 29 and supported by named sources, eyewitness statements, and photographic evidence provided by noted independent journalist Michael Yon in his dispatch, Bless the Beasts and Children.
The AP has responded to Owens, rather lamely, here.
Meanwhile, Michael Yon has offered this massacre story on a silver platter to the media. Not surprisingly, no takers.
Michael Yon will join us tonight at 9:20pm EST on Pundit Review Radio, live from Iraq, to discuss this entire affair. You can stream the show at WRKO.