That pretty much seems to be the reasoning of the Muslim gov'ts, who are arguing that Newsweek should be held responsible for the fact that the people who live in those countries are irrational idiots who got themselves killed over a book:
The article, published in Newsweek's May 9 edition, said U.S. investigators found evidence that interrogators at the military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, put copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms and flushed one book down the toilet to try to get inmates to talk. The article sparked protests in several other Muslim countries. Afghan presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said Newsweek's retraction Monday was a "positive step" toward clearing up concern about the report. "But at the same time, we feel angered at the way this story has been handled," Ludin told a news conference Tuesday. "It's only fair to say at this stage that Newsweek can be held responsible for the damages caused by their story."
And surprise, surprise: the Bush administration knows a scapegoat when it sees one:
The White House on Monday said the magazine had taken a "good first step" by retracting its story, but it wants the magazine to do more to repair damage caused by the article. "The report had real consequences," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Monday. "People have lost their lives. Our image abroad has been damaged. There are some who are opposed to the United States and what we stand for who have sought to exploit this allegation. It will take work to undo what can be undone."
Yeah, no reason at all that people in Afghanistan would be pissed off at America - just this article alone was enough to enrage the Muslim world.
This is pathetic. The administration and Muslim gov'ts cannot have their cake and eat it, too. On the one hand, they want to eliminate Muslim extremists who commit horrible, violent acts (such as, oh, for instance, the propensity to riot over a motherfucking book). On the other hand, they want to say that these people are victims of the West - that they were somehow manipulated by Newsweek and the free press which we advocate into becoming irrational crazy people who burn and get themselves killed. Get iit right - either violent people need to be stopped, or they need to be coddled. Either extremism is a Muslim problem or a result of Western practices - you can't pick and choose from the root causes of terrorism out of momentary political expedience. That, my friends, is a sure way to not be taken seriously by countries you're occupying, ahem, liberating.
I realize there's a "hearts and minds" element to the "War on Terruh", but bear in mind that Michael Isikoff, the author of this article, didn't just run the story without the Pentagon's prior knowledge, as he explains:
Whenever something like this happens, you've got to take stock and review what you did - how the story was handled. The big point that leaps out is the cultural one. Neither NEWSWEEK nor the Pentagon foresaw that a reference to the desecration of the Koran was going to create the kind of response that it did. The Pentagon saw the item before it ran, and then they didn't move us off it for 11 days afterward. They were as caught off guard by the furor as we were. We obviously blame ourselves for not understanding the potential ramifications.
And Isikoff taking the fall for this story doesn't even begin to speak to the issue of alleged Koran desecration. I mean, supposedly, the Army was and is investigating the allegations. Great - but given the political backlash caused by even the allegation of desecration, does anybody seriously think that it would be publicized now if it were found to be true? I mean, look at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib - it's not like military prison abuse is something the Pentagon owns up to immediately (it took a solider releasing photos to the press for anything to come out about it).
This isn't the most open and honest Administration - unfortunately, we can't just give them the benefit of the doubt. But part of the reason why investigative reporting with anonymous tips like this has to occur is precisely because the Admin is so secretive. They don't have credibility in the Muslim world or the Western media industry, but somehow I doubt that's what White House press secretary Scott McClellan was referring to when he said:
Our image abroad has been damaged... It will take work to undo what can be undone.
This is true - and not just because Newsweek messed up.
UPDATE: Bush admits that right-leaning news outlets are exempt from journalistic liability / integrity. I mean, at least Newsweek felt bad about their gaffe...
Read this article
