Monday, May 16, 2005

Will They Get Their Story Straight

Newsweek retracts story on Koran under pressure
Let see - they reported falsely, apologized, blamed the military/Pentagon, now retracting that report... Maybe someday they will just admit they made a mistake - they failed - and take their lumps. Notice the olive branch stretch out to the military - I like the fact the Pentagon is not sitting back and taking the allegation lightly instead standing up for themselves and the military.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine on Monday retracted a report that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran after the story triggered protests in Afghanistan that killed 16 people and the White House criticized it.
'Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay,' Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker said in a statement, a day after apologizing for the report.
The retraction came as the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department all heavily criticized the report and said it had damaged the U.S. image abroad. White House spokesman Scott McClellan had said it was 'puzzling' that Newsweek had not retracted the story a day after apologizing for it.
'A retraction is a good first step,' McClellan said after Newsweek issued its statement. 'This allegation was unsubstantiated and it was contrary to everything that we value and all that our military works to uphold. We encourage Newsweek to now work diligently to help undo what damage can be undone.'

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