[UPDATE] 830pm Glenn Beck is talking about the Jamil Hussein on his show and telling AP to produce Jamil and that the story will not be let go til answers are found.
[UPDATE #2] BizzyBlog has some additional info.
[UPDATE #3] 12/01/06- Curt over at Flopping Aces has more updates plus more on that news conference that I pasted part of below, with a with the questions and answers. AP still stands by their story, but has not produced the fraud Jamil Hussein, nor pictures, nor any proof.
Curt is really keeping up with this, so keep checking back with him.UPDATE 1545hrs PST
Centcom also sent me a more in-depth memo on the press briefing today. It is quite lengthy so I will have it available to download soon.
Here are a few interesting Question & Answers:Q There is conflicting news about burning six people in one of the Baghdad neighborhoods. What is the truth about this incident?A This is another rumor; we dispatched our forces to the area where the rumor claimed the burning took place and found nothing. We also send a team to Al-Dab Aladly (medical center) and I was in touch with this center. No one can confirm any burned, dead body was received. MOD also has no information about this incident, either.
[...]Q Are there any changes or modifications in the Baghdad security plan or new measures that have been added to this plan?
A Iraq does not have only one city. Iraq has 18 provinces and their hot security is deteriorating in four provinces. The ministry doing its best to control the security in these provinces. Our responsibility does not stop in Baghdad; yes we put more effort here than in other provinces. In this past week, after the Sadr City incident, we have use most of our resources and capability in hunting down terrorists and dismantled many terrorist networks. Regarding the Baghdad security plan, it is controlled by security partners, and that is why you do not see us in some sectors of Baghdad. But we are coordinating activities and operations in every step of the process.
UPDATE 2115hrs PSTAs most of you have noticed the statements coming from the AP have been slightly incredible. They can't produce evidence that Jamil Hussein is real, they can't produce any proof that any bodies we're burned except for 5 witnesses. 3 unnamed, 1 one recanted, and 1 has been proven to have lied about his employment.
That's it...
11/30/06
Michelle Malkin has the latest in the saga about our media spreading rumors and trying to pass it off as actual news.
Long Story short, Curt from Flopping Aces noticed that the source AP was using had been used before and after contacting Centcom, discovered this "source" was not actually a police officer as AP claimed. Centcom asked AP to correct their story, AP refused and this is where we are.
From Malkin.
From CPATT PAO:
BG Abdul-Kareem, the Ministry of Interior Spokesman, went on the record today stating that Capt. Jamil Hussein is not a police officer. He explained the coordinations among MOI, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defense in attempting to track down these bodies and their joint conclusion was that this was unsubstantiated rumor.
He went on to name several other false sources that have been used recently and appealed to the media to document their news before reporting. He went into some detail about the impact of the press carrying propaganda for the enemies of Iraq and thanked "the friends" who have brought this to their attention.
AP did attend the press conference.
She then went on to ask for more details and Lt. Dean provided her with this:
Ministry of Interior Weekly Press Conference Thursday, November 30, 2006Please visit Flopping Aces and Michelle Malkin's site for the rest, it is a serious situation that not only is our media spreading nothing but rumor, but they are also, in effect, telling outright lies and refusing to correct them.
By Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf Al-Kenani
Ministry of Interior spokesman
Press conference synopsis:
1. Media, especially satellite news channels, must adhere to
responsible practices:
a. MOI is monitoring coverage, and will insist on corrections to
false reports.
b. Unnamed sources should not be used. Two recently named sources
do not work for MOI. Contact MOI PAO for official information.
c. Rumors are rampant, and media should be careful to check with
official sources about information to avoid spreading false rumors.
2. MOI succeeded in a number of operations against terrorists in
Baghdad.
a. The Baghdad Sniper was apprehended, and information gained from
him led to the arrest of 30 others in his organization.
b. Two unauthorized "courts" that had issued death fatwas were
broken up.
c. A kidnapping cell, including one that raped a young girl, was
arrested.
Statement:
This press conference will cover MOI operations from Nov. 23 to 29, 2006.
Before we start the weekly briefing, I have some points to highlight and to remind the brothers that work in the media, especially the Satellite television Channels. We meant by this note to stress the ministry of interior's intention that we believe in free press and truthful press, in order not to confuse what the free press presents and the misleading media show, where the latter's intention is to make the situation in Iraq worse than what it is.
The press release issued by the ministry of interior has three main points: First, a warning to the satellite TV. Channels continue broadcasting false news, and based on that we have formed a special observation room to monitor these TV stations; the purpose of this unit is to determine the fabricated and false news that hurts and gives the Iraqis a wrong picture that the security situation is very bad, when the facts are totally different.
After the monitoring process, we will contact those TV stations by presenting them with the mistakes and errors they committed by broadcasting such false news, hoping they will correct these false reports on their main news programs. But if they do not change those lying, false stories, then we will seek legal action against them.
For example, we have some of the respected news outlets that deal with news fast and have a relation with many TV channels and the media in general, who distributed a story quoting a person called Jamil Hussein. Afterward, we searched our sources in our staff for anyone by this name-- maybe he wore an MOI uniform and gave a different name to the reporter for money. And the second name used is Lt. Maythem.
However, all of you know that the ministry of interior has a large public affairs office and its official spokesman, and we are ready to answer any questions you may have. Therefore, you should contact MOI PAO for all your needs to get real, true news. Based on that, we strongly deny any relation with those two names. In order to serve you better and strengthen the relationship with MOI, do not take statements that have no meaning and do not represent any official. We would like this note to be helpful to you and any statement made by those persons to be ignored.
The second subject is rumors. The ministry received in a week more than 12 cases of claims, one stating 50 killed were there, 200 kidnapped here, 30 corpses found there etc. And when we dispatched our forces and investigators to the locations, we found nothing.
On this note, I would like to thank some of the brothers in the media who are cautious and take the extra step to make sure the news he gets is correct or not, by contacting the ministry to verify any news through us that they hear or receive. Not only (do we reply), but we also give them more detail than they expected, and we hope others will follow suit. Also, we ask our people, please do not take any news or give it credibility, except from a well-known source with a name and an address that is part of the security ministries, etc., such as a minister or police station commander. Or if it is from the MOD or MOI, the name of the officer, his rank, his unit, etc. It is not enough to say "a source from the ministry of interior."
Doing otherwise, you will end up helping the spread of the rumors and make them reality, even thought it was a false rumor. This rumor business -- if a large issue, it will take a long time to cover it, but the purpose of the rumors is to disrupt life and make the security apparatus busy with other things than its main tasks. We will end up following rumors instead of hunting terrorists and criminals.
The third subject is, this week the strikes we made against the al-Qaeda terrorist organization in Baghdad were many and very strong in Baghdad. Before my arrival to this press conference, I was informed that one of the three who were just captured or detained is Mazer Al-Jubouri, aka the Baghdad Sniper, and his group. He admitted many things that are very important and very dangerous and our forces used this information about his network and conducted raids in the past 24 hours and detained 30 terrorists.
Those terrorists executed several explosions in Palestine and Beirut streets, and the New Baghdad area. He also admitted that their base is in Diyala province, which supplied them with money, weapons and explosives. They are now under investigation and we think this cell or network has been dismantled.
This week also, we dismantled what are called "courts" in northern and southern Baghdad, and detained the two persons who issued fatwas to kill the people. Our force dismantled what is called the Omar network, this criminal network that used to exercise its criminal activities in southern Baghdad. And they admitted many things about other terrorist networks and our forces are pursuing them now, as well as other networks for kidnapping.
One of them, we regret, kidnapped a girl and used narcotics on her and raped this little innocent young girl. We captured those criminals and the little girl is receiving medical attention. This is not Iraqis' culture. Just look how far down in debasement they have traveled. With regret, I told you that, because MOI activity does not hold in the media the position it deserves, and also to show the great sacrifice by MOI this week.
Jamil Hussein is a regular source for the AP and now, not only has Centcom told the AP repeatedly that the man is a fraud, but the AP has refused to issue corrections and although they were at this press conference, they still have not acknowledged their wrongdoings, as of this post.
We all know Iraq is not a pretty picture, but with reports that are being called outright lies by our military and the MOI, how are we to know exactly what is going on if we do not listen to our military.
Below is what our military is telling us.
The American Thinker:
Our contributor Sharon Tosi Moore is an officer in the United States Army Reserves, currently serving in Iraq. Today, she writes about the disputed report of Sunnis burned alive by Shiites.
"Sunnis Burned Alive in Revenge Attacks"
This headline was blared with authority and gleeful revulsion across every newspaper in the U.S. Even Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper overseas, declared this in 2-inch letters on its front page.
And why not? It is compelling story and a sure sign that sectarian tensions in Iraq have reached a new high (or low). THIS is surely the signal that Iraq has descended into new depths of barbarity and depravity. MSNBC's story is typical:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Revenge-seeking militiamen seized six Sunnis as they left Friday prayers and burned them alive with kerosene in a savage new twist to the brutality shaking the Iraqi capital a day after suspected Sunni insurgents killed 215 people in Baghdad's main Shiite district.
Iraqi soldiers at a nearby army post failed to intervene in Friday's assault by suspected members of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia or subsequent attacks that killed at least 19 other Sunnis, including women and children, in the same neighborhood, the volatile Hurriyah district in northwest Baghdad, said police Capt. Jamil Hussein.
Sunni "eyewitnesses" confidently denounced the Shiite-dominated government for their inaction. There were bold claims that the Iraqi Army stood by and did nothing as this horrifying crime happened. People around the world braced themselves for the spectacular reprisals that would surely come from the Sunni. The press practically salivated at the bloodshed (and glorious headlines) that would be forthcoming.
A winning situation all around.
Except, well, except for the tiny little detail that the incident most likely never happened. A week has gone by and no charred bodies were produced. No dramatic funeral parades, with all the attendant wailing and gnashing of teeth, occurred. Not one photo. No grand reprisals. Not even any speeches (and it is hard to imagine Iraqi religious leaders miss an opportunity to make speeches). Just a few remarks from the Iraqi government, largely ignored by the U.S. press, that all reports showed that that particular district had been quiet, and pleading the Iraqi people for calm.
No one thought to question this unusual divergence from normal protocol.
The gullible press swallowed the initial claims whole. Of the major news sources, only TIME Magazine used the word "reportedly" in their headline. Besides, there are always new and dramatic stories of gore and bloodshed in Iraq and no one has the time to check their sources carefully or to go back and correct erroneous reports.
A review of the databases that painstakingly record every single incident in Iraq shows no evidence or report of the event. It is hard to believe that something as momentous as this would have escaped the notice of both the U.S. military and the entire Iraqi government. And yet not one major news organization has recanted their article. The story has been allowed to stand, and as such has become a truth. It is now just one more legend that will be confidently repeated as truth in future histories of the conflict.
To be sure, there are manifold horrors unfolding in Iraq, and the media does have a responsibility to report each and every one. However, perhaps it would be wise for the press to once in a while ask questions first and report later.
A good point and one the AP should heed.
We will end up following rumors instead of hunting terrorists and criminals.
This comment is very telling, the AP in their carelessness and refusal to admit that their longtime source is either entirely made up, or a fraud at best, is endangering the mission in Iraq. Once again as I pointed out about the NYT, this should be considered treason.
In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to one's nation or state. A person who betrays the nation of their citizenship and/or reneges on an oath of loyalty and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor.
These media outlets should be held accountable when they endanger American soldiers lives.
To catch up:
Reporters Source in Iraq Proven False.
Enemy Propaganda From Our Media.
Putting the Brakes on the Media Spreading Propaganda.
Enemy Propaganda Update.
Others discussing this:
The Jawa Report.
Hot Air.
Gateway Pundit.
Prairie Pundit.
Junkyard Blog.
Don Surber.
Stop the ACLU.
Keep up with who is discussing this at memeorandum.