Anxious to pile on more accusations against U.S. troops, the BBC has an article out today claiming they have a “new Iraqi massacre tape“. The most curious thing about this article is not the massacre claim itself, but a line buried 15 paragraphs into the 16 paragraph article:

The pictures came from a hardline Sunni group opposed to coalition forces.

That’s like interviewing Hitler for his take on life at a concentration camp. Who needs fact-checking when you have such unbiased and trustworthy sources? Apparently the threshold for credibility in the MSM these days is simply that you’re against the U.S.

Not only are the sources questionable, but so is the motive for re-running this story now… a story that’s several months old. The motive is pretty obvious based on what the BBC chose to include above the fold:

The new evidence comes in the wake of the alleged massacre in Haditha…

In fact, the “new” story comes even after another journalist was allowed to review the incident report and came to this conclusion back in March (thanks to CY for the link):

According to the preliminary report, none of the bodies bore only a single gunshot wound, contradicting one Iraqi police officer’s account that each had been shot once in the head.

One body had two gunshot wounds to the head. Five others showed signs of entrance and exit wounds to the head caused by “flying projectiles,” which the report noted could be “consistent with either bullets or shrapnel.” Four others showed signs of entrance and exit wounds to the chest or abdomen, also attributed to flying projectiles.

The 11th person had “crushing of the head and neck,” the cause of which was undetermined.

Nevertheless, the BBC wants you to believe anti-troop insurgents instead.

Update: An investigation has cleared the troops in Ishaqi. I’m sure the BBC is saddened.

1. Jason, I believe a firestorm is brewing; a firestorm intended to weaken our national ability to mobilize a will to win. It is an insidious plan designed to emulate the anti-war triumph associated with Vietnam. That is why there is constant reference to My Lai. That is why the term “massacre” is continuously used. The intent it to force the public to believe we are doing more harm than good – that we should “redeploy”.

   The fallacy in this plan is that if we do not leave Iraq totally victorious over al-Qaeda then we will have merely validated their claim of our being a paper tiger without the fortitude necessary to engage a protracted war. They will become emboldened and more of our people will die as a result. There will be another confrontation with radical Islam, but it may occur on our soil. This is not an enemy we can appease.

   Comment by Old Soldier — 8:47 am
   

2. The Waiting Game

   If you’re in the media, you can’t wait for a story to unfold, especially one as potentially explosive as the Haditha incident. You’ve got to scoop your competition, work your contacts, and hope for leaks that will produce copy… Or making up the ne…

   Trackback by A Blog For All — 5:14 pm
   

3. The local Sunni Iraqi police officers in Ishaqi that filed their false version of events should be investigated and prosecuted if they pursued this false claim. Has anyone besides me noticed that the Iraqi police report was signed off by Staff Colonel Fadhil Muhammed Khalaf, and that five of those killed in that raid has the last name of Khalaf?

   http://www.securitywatchtower.com/archives/003390bbc_airs_propaganda_obtained_from_sunni_insurgents.html

   Comment by C.S. Scott — 10:19 pm
   

4. Gosh, I wonder how many people haven’t realized their receipt of the daily load of garbage shoveled out by the MSM. I detest Brian Williams almost as much as Dan Rather. Why don’t they all go live in Fwance or Palistine? Their reporting would be a perfect fit.

   Comment by Judith — 10:45 pm
   

5. Sorry, Palestine.

   Comment by Judith — 10:45 pm
   

6. […] And then comes the MSM template being used in all of the pile-on stories: Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that in light of recent allegations of atrocities committed by Marines in Haditha and other towns in Iraq, the video should be investigated by the Pentagon and Congress. […]

   Pingback by Texas Rainmaker » Hadji Girl — 6:29 am
   

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