Chalk up another amazing discovery by Michelle Malkin and fellow blogger Joe G. The UK Times published an article on June 1 headlined " 'Massacre Marines blinded by hate.'" Right next to the headline, a photo showed row of Iraqi bodies with their hands tied behind their back, massacred execution style.
The work of US Marines? Not so. The bloggers tracked the photo back to a Newsweek article from May, six months before the alleged "Haditha massacre" in November. Writes Malkin:
Read the (Newsweek) caption:
"Insurgents in Haditha executed 19 Shiite fishermen and National Guardsmen in a sports stadium."
Our Marines did not kill these people.
The terrorists did.
Michelle Malkin promptly emailed the editors of the UK Times, and received a quick personal apology from Gerard Baker. That's fine. The slanderous photo has been removed from the website, with the following note:
Note: This story originally appeared with a picture of slain Iraqis whose caption erroneously described the scene as being related to the alleged incidents in al—Haditha. The image was in fact from a separate incident in the area in which Iraqi insurgents are believed to have massacred local fishermen. We apologise for the mistake.]
But public slander deserves an equally public explanation and apology. You know that that picture went around the world a dozen times, especially in the Muslim media, and is now taken for gospel by millions of people. After all, the Times published it.
Americans should demand equal headlines, and equal coverage for the libelous error. Under UK libel law, the Times could be sued for large damages if it does not publicly explain and retract this false and libelous accusation. A footnote is not enough.
This lie must not stand.
James Lewis 6 5 06
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