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May 16, 2005
The Damage is Done
Did Michael Isikoff think this story could just be retracted with a correction on page 50? If so, he was very wrong:
Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan were skeptical Monday about an apparent retraction by Newsweek magazine of a report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran and said U.S. pressure was behind the climb-down.Newsweek's appalling lapse of journalistic standards (is that even a workable term anymore?) have led to diplomatic damage that cannot be undone.The report in Newsweek's May 9 issue sparked protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Gaza.
Newsweek said Sunday the report might not be true.
"We will not be deceived by this," Islamic cleric Mullah Sadullah Abu Aman told Reuters in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan, referring to the magazine's retraction.
"This is a decision by America to save itself. It comes because of American pressure. Even an ordinary illiterate peasant understands this and won't accept it."
Fire Michael Isikoff. Fire John Berry. Fire Evan Thomas.
Posted by slublog at May 16, 2005 11:05 AM
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