Body Burning Story is Bogus

[red states rule]

It's Official: Media Body Burning Story is Bogus
Posted by Greg Sheffield on November 27, 2006 - 13:25.
The news that six Sunnis were captured by Shiites, doused with kerosine and burned alive, was too sensational to not be picked up by the mainstream media. But it turns out that the event never happened. Furthermore, the Iraqi "spokesman" relied on to give all information regarding this event is as fictional as the story itself.

Jamil Hussein, the man news reports called "police Capt. Jamil Hussein," was the source for all information regarding the burning. Although he is mentioned by USA Today, the Associated Press, CBS News, and other outlets, Central Command says no such person exists. Centcom also asked the Associated Press to retract the story unless it has proof beyond Jamil Hussein's word.


Flopping Aces has a press release from Centcom, which is in charge of all U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Associated Press:

On Nov. 24, 2006, your organization published an article by Qais Al-Bashir about six Sunnis being burned alive in the presence of Iraqi Police officers. This news item, which is below, received an enormous amount of coverage internationally.

We at Multi-National Corps - Iraq made it known through MNC-I Press Release Number 20061125-09 and our conversations with your reporters that neither we nor Baghdad Police had any reports of such an incident after investigating it and could find no one to corroborate the story. A couple of hours ago, we learned something else very important. We can tell you definitively that the primary source of this story, police Capt. Jamil Hussein, is not a Baghdad police officer or an MOI employee. We verified this fact with the MOI through the Coalition Police Assistance Training Team.

Also, we definitely know, as we told you several weeks ago through the MNC-I Media Relations cell, that another AP-popular IP spokesman, Lt. Maithem Abdul Razzaq, supposedly of the city’s Yarmouk police station, does not work at that police station and is also not authorized to speak on behalf of the IP. The MOI has supposedly issued a warrant for his questioning.

I know we have informed you that there exists an MOI edict that no one below the level of chief is authorized to be an Iraqi Police spokesperson. An unauthorized IP spokesperson will get fired for talking to the media. While I understand the importance of a news agency to use anonymous and unauthorized sources, it is still incumbent upon them to make sure their facts are straight. Was this information verified by anyone else? If the source providing the information is lying about his name, then he ought not to be represented as an official IP spokesperson and should be listed as an anonymous source.

Unless you have a credible source to corroborate the story of the people being burned alive, we respectfully request that AP issue a retraction, or a correction at a minimum, acknowledging that the source named in the story is not who he claimed he was. MNC-I and MNF-I are always available and willing to verify events and provide as much information as possible when asked.

Very respectfully,
LT XXXXXX

XXXX X XXXXXXXX
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
MNC-I Joint Operations Center
Public Affairs Officer

http://newsbusters.org/node/9280

 

[NATO AIR]

Big deal. Far worse horrors have been inflicted on both Sunnis and Shiites by the forces of ethnic hatred.

Or have we forgotten atrocities like the 30 odd Shia children blown up in Baghdad by a suicide truck bomber while they were waiting in line for candy being given out by a friendly American solider?

The military and government is rapidly losing credibility. Bitching about the media when you're getting your asses kicked in a war is about as dumb as blaming the divorce lawyer for your wife taking you to the cleaners after a failed marriage.

 

[dilloduck]

Big deal. Far worse horrors have been inflicted on both Sunnis and Shiites by the forces of ethnic hatred.

Or have we forgotten atrocities like the 30 odd Shia children blown up in Baghdad by a suicide truck bomber while they were waiting in line for candy being given out by a friendly American solider?

The military and government is rapidly losing credibility. Bitching about the media when you're getting your asses kicked in a war is about as dumb as blaming the divorce lawyer for your wife taking you to the cleaners after a failed marriage.

You're right--the Shiites and Sunnis are wiping each other out. They can stop anytime they want. The media should spend sometime pointing that out. The US gave them an opportunity for freedom and they're opting for killing. Is the US supposed to feel guilty or something?

 

[Annie]

'Trust AP*', many links:

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/11/ap-is-busted-uses-bogus-source-for.html

AP Is Busted! Uses BOGUS Source For Months in Iraqi Fables!

** The Associated Press is busted for its fraudulent Iraqi reports!!! **

The AP used a bogus source at least 10 times since April of this year!!

Flopping Aces had problems with the account of the 6 Sunni torchings described by Iraqi "Capt. Jamil Hussein" this past weekend.

Flopping Aces also points out these other accounts of mass violence and death published by the AP using Capt. Jamil Hussein as their source:

* April 30, 2006 Dora Neighborhood, Baghdad:

In yesterday's worst violence, the bodies of six handcuffed, blindfolded and tortured men were found in the Baghdad neighborhood of Dora, said police Capt. Jamil Hussein.

* May 27, 2006, Southern Baghdad:

Gunmen in three speeding cars also ambushed a patrol in western Baghdad, wounding 10 people, including six policemen, and two other policemen were injured in drive-by shootings in a nearby neighbourhood, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.

* June 19, 2006, Southern Baghdad:

Two explosions struck an Interior Ministry patrol and a market in the Baghdad area on Monday evening, killing at least seven people and wounding 16, police said. The first attack was a car bomb that struck an Interior Ministry patrol in western Baghdad, killing four commandos and wounding six, Capt. Jamil Hussein said.

* July 10, 2006, Predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah in Western Baghdad:

Gunmen also ambushed a bus in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah in western Baghdad, killing six passengers, including a woman, and the driver, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.

* September 20, 2006, Western Baghdad:

The truck bomb attack in the southern Baghdad neighbourhood of Dora came at 07:45 as policemen were coming on duty and the blast razed the building, said captain Jamil Hussein. He said the number of casualties was expected to rise.​

Flopping Aces was right!

The Associated Press has been using a bogus source describing horrible Iraqi atrocities for months!

Imad al-Hasimi, a Sunni elder in Hurriyah according to the SFGate was another "witness" to this crime.

Here is the letter that Flopping Aces received today from Centcom:

BIG UPDATE…..Centcom has confirmed this Capt. Jamil Hussein is NOT a Police Officer nor is he employed by the Ministry of Interior:

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Associated Press:

On Nov. 24, 2006, your organization published an article by Qais Al-Bashir about six Sunnis being burned alive in the presence of Iraqi Police officers. This news item, which is below, received an enormous amount of coverage internationally.

We at Multi-National Corps - Iraq made it known through MNC-I Press Release Number 20061125-09 and our conversations with your reporters that neither we nor Baghdad Police had any reports of such an incident after investigating it and could find no one to corroborate the story. A couple of hours ago, we learned something else very important. We can tell you definitively that the primary source of this story, police Capt. Jamil Hussein, is not a Baghdad police officer or an MOI employee. We verified this fact with the MOI through the Coalition Police Assistance Training Team.

Also, we definitely know, as we told you several weeks ago through the MNC-I Media Relations cell, that another AP-popular IP spokesman, Lt. Maithem Abdul Razzaq, supposedly of the city’s Yarmouk police station, does not work at that police station and is also not authorized to speak on behalf of the IP. The MOI has supposedly issued a warrant for his questioning.

I know we have informed you that there exists an MOI edict that no one below the level of chief is authorized to be an Iraqi Police spokesperson. An unauthorized IP spokesperson will get fired for talking to the media. While I understand the importance of a news agency to use anonymous and unauthorized sources, it is still incumbent upon them to make sure their facts are straight. Was this information verified by anyone else? If the source providing the information is lying about his name, then he ought not to be represented as an official IP spokesperson and should be listed as an anonymous source.

Unless you have a credible source to corroborate the story of the people being burned alive, we respectfully request that AP issue a retraction, or a correction at a minimum, acknowledging that the source named in the story is not who he claimed he was. MNC-I and MNF-I are always available and willing to verify events and provide as much information as possible when asked.

Very respectfully,
LT XXXXXX

XXXX X XXXXXXXX
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
MNC-I Joint Operations Center
Public Affairs Officer

Not only is Capt. Hussein bogus, but another source the AP has used extensively is bogus.​

Update: It looks like the AP has been using Capt. Jamil Hussein since at least April 27, 2006!

Here is the April 27, 2006 AP article, southwest Bahgdad:

In southwest Baghdad, police received a tip that two men were traveling in the area with explosives hidden beneath their clothes, said police Capt. Jamil Hussein. After a brief gunbattle, the explosives detonated, killing both men, he said.
​

Another AP article from July 8, 2006 from the Ghazaliya neighborhood:

Gunmen in two speeding cars opened fire on a Sunni mosque in west Baghdad's Ghazaliya neighborhood. Mosque guards returned fire and the attackers fled, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.
​

Another AP article from June 1, 2006 and the al-Bayaa neighborhood:

Three gunmen shot to death two mechanics at their workshop in an industrial area in the al-Bayaa neighborhood in western Baghdad, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.
​

The AP reported the horrible and phoney story on November 24, 2006, in the once-mixed Hurriyah neighborhood:

Revenge-seeking Shi'ite militiamen grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive near an Iraqi army post. The soldiers did not intervene, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.
​

And of course, the AP report on November 25, 2006, more from the neighborhood of Hurriyah:

Iraqi soldiers at a nearby army post failed to intervene in the assault by suspected members of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia or subsequent attacks that killed a total of 25 Sunnis, including women and children, said police Capt. Jamil Hussein.​

* NOT

 

[Gunny]

Big deal. Far worse horrors have been inflicted on both Sunnis and Shiites by the forces of ethnic hatred.

Or have we forgotten atrocities like the 30 odd Shia children blown up in Baghdad by a suicide truck bomber while they were waiting in line for candy being given out by a friendly American solider?

The military and government is rapidly losing credibility. Bitching about the media when you're getting your asses kicked in a war is about as dumb as blaming the divorce lawyer for your wife taking you to the cleaners after a failed marriage.

How exactly are we getting our "asses kicked?" I keep hearing this bullshit, but so far, ZERO evidence.

Speaking of, WHAT war?

Revealing enemy propaganda to be false is relevant as Hell, and I'm kind of surprised to hear a US military person say something so dumb. Enemy propaganda from within and without our country has people like YOU running around saying the US is getting its ass kicked in a war.

 

[NATO AIR]

Bloggers and pundits spending more time bitching about the media than about the idiots who have screwed up the war effort from day one and continue to.

Not they or the AP have much of any credibility left....

 

[Annie]

Bloggers and pundits spending more time bitching about the media than about the idiots who have screwed up the war effort from day one and continue to.

Not they or the AP have much of any credibility left....

NATO, regardless of MSM or bloggers, exactly HOW are we getting our 'asses kicked'? I am well aware of the casualties, each of them and the injured. I know about the many with missing limbs, several, all. With that said, that's been true since mankind turned to firesticks.

There is no doubt, that this has been the most 'low human cost' war prosecuted, yet we keep hearing of 'the cost.' So what is worth the 'cost'? Anything? Nothing?

 

[Gunny]

Bloggers and pundits spending more time bitching about the media than about the idiots who have screwed up the war effort from day one and continue to.

Not they or the AP have much of any credibility left....

Again, WHAT war? The US isn't fighting a war in Iraq. IF we were actually fighting a war, shit'd be a WHOLE LOT different, and you know it.

The politicians in charge of US efforts in Iraq are a separate issue from enemy propaganda. Pointing a finger at them is deflecting from the issue, and attempting to claim one wrong is lesser because of another.

The lies that have permeated the MSM have eaten away at the American people every bit as much as their short attention span/demand for instant gratification. EVERY lie that the enemy perpetrates for the purpose of propaganda HAS TO BE exposed when and wherever possible.

It's f-ing with people's heads. It's robbed a lot of their will to sustain a fight. We, and I ESPECIALLY mean YOU -- a military person -- KNEW from the beginning this was going to take every bit as long as President Bush said it would -- a LONG time.

Because miles 10 and 11 of a 25 mile hump really suck and there's no end in sight, do you drop out of the hump? Or suck it the fuck up and march on?

 

[NATO AIR]

Again, WHAT war? The US isn't fighting a war in Iraq. IF we were actually fighting a war, shit'd be a WHOLE LOT different, and you know it.

The politicians in charge of US efforts in Iraq are a separate issue from enemy propaganda. Pointing a finger at them is deflecting from the issue, and attempting to claim one wrong is lesser because of another.

The lies that have permeated the MSM have eaten away at the American people every bit as much as their short attention span/demand for instant gratification. EVERY lie that the enemy perpetrates for the purpose of propaganda HAS TO BE exposed when and wherever possible.

It's f-ing with people's heads. It's robbed a lot of their will to sustain a fight. We, and I ESPECIALLY mean YOU -- a military person -- KNEW from the beginning this was going to take every bit as long as President Bush said it would -- a LONG time.

Because miles 10 and 11 of a 25 mile hump really suck and there's no end in sight, do you drop out of the hump? Or suck it the fuck up and march on?

Bush and co. told the American people this would be a cakewalk. Not to mention they botched the war so badly that even now when we've got our shit together, its now hopeless becuase the Iraqis will never get their shit together while we're still there. They're intent on a civil war, they've got it and they will continue to get it, and our poor bastards are stuck in the middle, one minute saving Shia from Sunni terror attacks, the next getting attacked by Shia for keeping their militias from slaughtering innocent Sunni civilians.

The American people are weak-minded anyway, just like anyone else in the world. They have never felt since the WMD argument evaporated that they were in mortal danger. Thus, their support of the war was always going to be weak anyway, regardless of the media. Not to mention anytime anyone screams BS over the disgraceful coverage of some media organizations, I always raise the military's disgraceful, dishonourable behaviour with regards to Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, among others.

Our wars, campaigns and actions against terrorists and their allies are going to be nothing like the good old wars of WW1 & WW2. We're waging counterinsurgency, and our military (with the exception of the Marines, God bless them, who actually get it and have consistently embraced the challenge of COIN and 4GW) and their leaders seem intent on ignoring the fact that the wars of the future will be much like this one, nasty campaigns fought in urban environments with multiple foes with a myriad of motivations and allies.

 

[Gunny]

Bush and co. told the American people this would be a cakewalk. Not to mention they botched the war so badly that even now when we've got our shit together, its now hopeless becuase the Iraqis will never get their shit together while we're still there. They're intent on a civil war, they've got it and they will continue to get it, and our poor bastards are stuck in the middle, one minute saving Shia from Sunni terror attacks, the next getting attacked by Shia for keeping their militias from slaughtering innocent Sunni civilians.

President Bush did NOT say it would be a cakewalk. He said it was something that wouldn't be finished within a couple of years.


The American people are weak-minded anyway, just like anyone else in the world. They have never felt since the WMD argument evaporated that they were in mortal danger. Thus, their support of the war was always going to be weak anyway, regardless of the media. Not to mention anytime anyone screams BS over the disgraceful coverage of some media organizations, I always raise the military's disgraceful, dishonourable behaviour with regards to Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, among others.

Our wars, campaigns and actions against terrorists and their allies are going to be nothing like the good old wars of WW1 & WW2. We're waging counterinsurgency, and our military (with the exception of the Marines, God bless them, who actually get it and have consistently embraced the challenge of COIN and 4GW) and their leaders seem intent on ignoring the fact that the wars of the future will be much like this one, nasty campaigns fought in urban environments with multiple foes with a myriad of motivations and allies.

The country could be secured. It just isn't in the best interest of politics, nor political correctness.

 

[dilloduck]

Bush and co. told the American people this would be a cakewalk. Not to mention they botched the war so badly that even now when we've got our shit together, its now hopeless becuase the Iraqis will never get their shit together while we're still there. They're intent on a civil war, they've got it and they will continue to get it, and our poor bastards are stuck in the middle, one minute saving Shia from Sunni terror attacks, the next getting attacked by Shia for keeping their militias from slaughtering innocent Sunni civilians.

The American people are weak-minded anyway, just like anyone else in the world. They have never felt since the WMD argument evaporated that they were in mortal danger. Thus, their support of the war was always going to be weak anyway, regardless of the media. Not to mention anytime anyone screams BS over the disgraceful coverage of some media organizations, I always raise the military's disgraceful, dishonourable behaviour with regards to Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, among others.

Our wars, campaigns and actions against terrorists and their allies are going to be nothing like the good old wars of WW1 & WW2. We're waging counterinsurgency, and our military (with the exception of the Marines, God bless them, who actually get it and have consistently embraced the challenge of COIN and 4GW) and their leaders seem intent on ignoring the fact that the wars of the future will be much like this one, nasty campaigns fought in urban environments with multiple foes with a myriad of motivations and allies.

He also said that it would be a long hard struggle that could take years----pick your poison. America has failed as a people. Do you see anyone else stepping up with any great advice on how to prosecute this war?

 

[NATO AIR]

The country could be secured. It just isn't in the best interest of politics, nor political correctness.

Ever read H. John Poole's books before? I.E. "Terrorist Trails", "Tiger's Way: A US Private's Best Chance For Survival", "Phantom Solider: The Enemy's Response To US Firepower".

His is a more attractive and realistic 3rd way