Bilal Hussein update: Military details collaboration, MSM still in denial
I meant to note this intriguing New York Times story on Associated Press stringer/suspected jihadi collaborator Bilal Hussein earlier today, but got tied up with column-writing duties. As the Jawa Report points out, there are some important details revealed in the piece that once again downplays the dangers of collaborating with foreign stringers. Look:
A spokesman for the military said that Mr. Hussein had been detained as “an imperative security threat” and that he has persistently been “treated fairly, humanely and in accordance with all applicable law.”
In a lengthy e-mail message, the spokesman said that Mr. Hussein had been named by “sources” as having “possessed foreknowledge of an improvised explosive device (I.E.D.) attack” on American and Iraqi forces, “that he was standing next to the I.E.D. triggerman at the time of the attempted attack, and that he conspired with the I.E.D. triggerman to synchronize his photograph with the explosion.”
That’s not all:
The military spokesman said further: “The Associated Press was informed that the sources had reported Mr. Hussein’s knowing and willing offer to provide a false Iraqi national identification card to an alleged sniper, whom Mr. Hussein knew was wanted” by the military, “in order to assist the sniper in eluding capture.”
You’ll note that the reporter had space to fit this in…
The role of Iraqis as front-line reporters, and the dangers they face working for Western news organizations, is well known. In a few recent examples, in October a journalist for The Washington Post, Salih Saif Aldin, was shot dead in a Baghdad neighborhood rife with sectarian violence. That death occurred three months after a local journalist working for The New York Times was killed in the same area. Of the 124 journalists killed in Iraq since the war began, 102 have been Iraqi, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
And while Western journalists do depend on Iraqi freelancers, several news organizations, including The New York Times, continue to have resident correspondents who leave their compounds to report in Baghdad and beyond.
…but no space to mention the multiple cases of suspected staged, faked, or questionable war photos–including incidents involving Hussein.
You’ll also find no mention of the tough questions posed by LTC Robert Bateman, the military journalist with expertise in dealing with AP cover-ups and the AP P.R. machine.
As I said on Dec. 9, “What you will not read in the AP’s coverage of itself (or in the coverage by its supporters) is any honest, in-depth acknowledgment of the enormous perils of Western media outlets relying on dubious foreign stringers.”
This NYT propaganda piece is no exception.
***
Bryan Preston has further dissection.
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Michelle, Is it Bilal Hussein Obama? Just wondering.
Bullseye!
The fact that he sat there, camera ready, waiting for a US GAC to hit an IED -should- be enough to warrant some action on AP’s part.
Is anyone really surprised?
At the risk of, yet again, sounding like I am repeating myself:
Isn’t this a bit redundant?
I continue to be amazed that this is not national headline news/FOX News Alert etc….This guy is as guilty as the guy with his finger on the IED. Thanks MM for all the work you do to keep us informed.
We can only hope that he gets what he deserves. Of course that wont happen in New Jersey now, will it.
Michelle, You wrote:
Here’s my problem with that assertion. Although true, it uniquely relinquishes Western media outlets who rely on dubious foreign stringers from some of the ultimate responsibilities. You know, the old “lost-in-translation” argument. By tacitly placing some of the blame on media outlets stringers, it gives their hegemonic control over translating foreign news an excuse, implicitly, for getting it conveniently wrong.
I don’t think you’ve been folowing my coverage closely.
The NYT and the rest of the MSM are joining in the lie.
This quote from an article over at American Thinker about Iran’s deception seems to fit.”the Shiite-created doctrines of “taqiiya” (deception) and kitman (dissembling) explicitly permit Muslims to lie to non-Muslims if such lying furthers Islamic interests.”
“several news organizations …have resident correspondents who regularly leave their compounds”- to f*** with American Marines.While I am all for freedom of the press,if you can’t or won’t get the story first-hand(like Michelle and Brian did),then stay the hell out of the military’s way.The Libs bit** and moan about how long we have been in Iraq,but through there own actions they are prolonging the war by printing reports from unreliable stringers,and enemy sympathizers.
#10 and #11 you got it right on.. couldn’t have said it better myself!
The problem with the dinosaur media is they no longer have anyone with the guts to go out with the troops and take the same risks they take. From what I have heard from folks that have served in Iraq most stayed in the comfort and relative safety of the “Green Zone” instead of risking their butts on the firing line. Now they turn to enemy collaborators and enemy propagandist to get their news stories such as the Associated “with terrorists” Press. They claim to be neutral, but always seem to come down on the side of the enemy when crafting their news stories.
Just enough to know this stringer was standing by someone setting off an IED to ensure he got the picture is enough to call him an “unlawful enemy combatant” in my book. I really believe the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) needs to be applied to treat the enemy the way they treat the Americans that have been taken prisoner. Oh wait they have tortured, murdered, and mutilated American prisoners of war.
The AP — Always Prepared
to capture the IED detonated on their command and to aid in the escape of a wanted sniper. They have American blood on their hands and as far as I’m concerned, any soldier injured in any attack related to this clown ought to sue the AP for all their worth.
The AP — Anti Patriots
The denial is because they knew full well what was going on. Just like Reuters fauxtography. Drag this guy’s supervisors in for questioning. Pull every email.
Hang him high!! I believe Iraqi’s will be the jury and I believe they have been known to hang traitors….could ya please?
in other news from Iraq, Blackwater killed the NY Times stringers dog.
That’s what happens when your dog attacks a superior bomb-sniffing dog.
It’s not nice but it was necessary. It will also be necessary to make Bilal Hussein pay for attacks on the fine men and women of the United States Military.
In your December 9th post this section caught my eye. It seems this Bilal Hussein character had attracted our troops attention in 2004. Our guys began to keep an eye on him…
Maybe we should begin to refer to that disgraced news agency as AQ Press.
Hang him? Hmmmmm, could set a precedent.
Hey brooklyn red
I sure hope it does set a precendent..this is war.
You want to put our troops in danger be prepared to pay the piper.
Bottom line; no one knows who these guys are.
I talked to Michael Totten at Blogworld Expo and asked him about this. He just shook his head and said that the Iraqi “journalists” would often be relaying 3rd hand information – the Iraqi reporter talked to someone who spoke with an eyewitness to an attack. He also said there’s no way you can vet these people.
How true. But hiring former Saddam era reporters? THey all did it. And when you consider how much the big outfits depended on these guys, you know that the normal fact checking and editorial control went out the window in the constant need to hit deadlines with an interesting story.
I’d like to say that the media will examine their coverage of the war after a decent interval but they don’t want to know how badly they screwed up.
Michelle, You thought I haven’t been up to par with regard to your coverage of this story. You wrote:
However, I have been following this story closely. I’ve read your coverage along with many other blogs.
You’re not the only person reporting on this story who’ve pointed out the dubiousness of using foreign stringers. Too be dubious doesn’t necessarily mean there is malevolence involved. In my opinion, there is malevolence involved.
Let me explain it like this.
I’ve read extensively on Bilal Hussein. And every time I do my blood boils. But let’s be clear, he’s the enemy. It’s to be expected from him. My blood boils because of the deceptive actions of our guile media. And by contemporaneously blaming and excusing them [the media] by implicitly insinuating that foreign stringers are the best they can do, gives my righteous resolve a moment of reprieve towards them. It’s sort of a “who can blame them?” moment.
I’m informed on the subject. Those who are coming in late to this story will be more likely to excuse such cunning buck passing. Besides, they [the media] don’t understand the culture, or so they’d presume.[sarc]
The ultimate blame for such artifice lies solely with Western media outlets. No question. But when all is written those same Western media outlets are given an out for their deceitful cleverness.
It isn’t that I don’t agree with you wholeheartedly. It’s that I want the full gauntlet to come down on these weasels. And by letting them have the “trump card” that “it’s the stringers fault” makes them less likely to have the introspection that’s needed.
It’s not surprising that the MSM is willing to dull the edges on this story. Indirectly, Bilal Hussein is their employee. The Associated Press is a “non-profit” cooperative owned by 1,500 daily newspapers across the country. Directives to the Associated Press come from the Board of Directors (which includes representatives from the most widely read dailies).
This particular piece (New York Times) is missing some key points as Michelle points out. Then again, Mary Jacobus is on the Board of Directors of the Associated Press, and she holds the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of the New York Times Regional Media Group.
In short, there are very few newspapers (or media conglomerates) that can report this story without a conflict of interest since they participate, benefit, and depend on the Associated Press to exist. I think the thing that bothers me beyond the fact that their pieces are void of facts is the failure to acknowledge their relationship with the Associated Press so that it is up front and personal…
Cheers,
IC
I think we’re long past the point were we have a strong, if mostly circumstantial, case that the AP et al have knowingly participated in anti-American propaganda during a time of war.
Since all the evidence is from open sources, a legal case could (and I think should) be brought. At a minimum, the AP should be declared a hostile organization and de-legitimized.
When your brother offers you the kool-aid, just say no.