A transcript posted at the blog Think Progress quotes NBC as factoring in a story from now-discredited source Jamil Hussein about Sunni worshippers being burned alive as a major factor in NBC's decision to declare a "civil war" in Iraq [emphasis added]:
The news from Iraq is becoming grimmer every day. Over the long holiday weekend bombings killed more than 200 people in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. And six Sunni men were doused with kerosene and burned alive. Shiite muslims are the majority, but Sunnis like Saddam Hussein ruled that country until the war. Now, the battle between Shiites and Sunnis has created a civil war in Iraq. Beginning this morning, MSNBC will refer to the fighting in Iraq as a civil war — a phrase the White House continues to resist. But after careful thought, MSNBC and NBC News decided over the weekend, the terminology is appropriate, as armed militarized factions fight for their own political agendas. We’ll have a lots more on the situation in Iraq and the decision to use the phrase, civil war.
It's too bad that NBC and the rest of the mainstream media apparently haven't put much thought into validating sources and confirming their stories. It's especially appalling that NBC has decided to start using the phrase "civil war," which they concede will erode support for the war, based at least in part on information from an untrustworthy source.
It's not just NBC. Since the Adnan Hajj/Reutersgate/fauxtography scandal during the Israeli/Hezbollah war led to grave questions about the current state of Western journalism, it has become increasingly obvious that there is something basically wrong with the way the major media companies are covering events in the Middle East.
Via Curt at Flopping Aces who has been continuously updating the story.
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Typical. If the great unwashe
November 28, 2006 - 00:54 ET by liberal_bug_zapperTypical. If the great unwashed masses that voted Democrats in do not see this and turn away from Democrats... they're lost.
I kind of feel we're in our own civil war here in the US... only, it hasn't reached the level of full out warfare yet. I sure hope someone gets the balls to start prosecuting traitors and putting them in jail or we will come to blows sooner than later.
I think we're in one too!
November 28, 2006 - 01:22 ET by terrigYou know Liberal Bug Zapper, I think we're in a civil war somewhat too. My husband & I were talking about where we wanted to live when he retired from the military and the People's Republic of Hawaii was not on the list.
I've been saying this for mon
November 28, 2006 - 08:39 ET by fosstenI've been saying this for months. I think it may end up being blue v. red eventually. Better move to Texas where they have a mint and all the guns.
"...there is something b
November 28, 2006 - 02:45 ET by mattm"...there is something basically wrong with the way the major media companies are covering events in the Middle East."
How about changing it to: "...there is something basically wrong with the way the major media companies are covering everything."
It's about time for the President to call these propagandists to the carpet. All he'd have to say is "We don't make foreign policy based on errors, misinformation and downright lies reported by the mainstream press." And then point out a few of the lies and tell them he won't answer another question from them until they answer for the terrorist propaganda they're engaged in.
I agree with you mattm; both
November 28, 2006 - 07:53 ET by The Real TonyI agree with you mattm; both on your assessment of the media and that it is about time that the President and his administration stand up and hold the press accountable. There have been documented cases where the media has acted not just irresponsibly but consciously made these decisions that I consider treasonous.
Fight Terrorism at home - defeat a liberal!
"It's too bad that NBC
November 28, 2006 - 06:18 ET by sarcasmo"It's too bad that NBC and the rest of the mainstream media apparently
haven't put much thought into validating sources and confirming their
stories."
They have this inborn need to act surprised that the mideast has its own Captain Janks (minus the humor) in Jamil Hussein.
JMR