They May Not Mean To, But They Are Killing Our Soldiers.

Have the MSM been using insurgent propaganda to prop up their “Civil War in Iraq” proclamations?

Flopping Aces says there’s every reason to believe they have. He’s hot on the trail of a Captain Jamel Hussein of the Iraqi police who has been a go-to quote machine for the Associated Press and was the main source for a horrific story that was a huge headline this weekend. CENTCOM has confirmed through the Iraqi government that the source is not an Iraqi police officer and, further that even if he were, that he was not authorized in any way to speak for the Iraqi government. CENTCOMhas demanded a full retraction from the AP, who ought to issue one if it wishes to retain any journalistic integrity at all.

Flopping Aces also has examples of this bogus story being used to support the civil war meme in such publications as the New York Times and the Washington Post, two of the most widely-read newspapers in the US, if not the world.

Meanwhile, Patterico is trying to get to the truth of an alleged bombing massacre conducted by US troops and has found that the Los Angeles Times has decided to rely on unnamed sources, who may have ties to terrorists in Iraq, and has steadfastly refused to report our military’s flat denial of the airstrike.

Dan Riehl has also apparently found some source hanky-panky, again from the Associated Press.

It seems to me that the MSM has been relying very heavily on sources who are parroting terrorist propaganda without giving their claims even a minimally-skeptical examination. They have eagerly swallowed whatever bilge the sources have fed them and reported it as fact while giving short-shrift to any attempt from our own military to tell us whether those sources were giving us good information.

I’m not necessarily willing to say that the MSM is sabotaging our soldiers on purpose. I am willing to say that it’s obvious to me that the MSM has built a narrative for our fighting the war we’re in and they are willing to use anyone willing to help them advance that narrative, even if that help comes from the people who are murdering our soldiers and innocent Iraqis.

At this point I don’t care whether the MSM is intentionally sabotaging our war effort and helping to murder our soldiers. Intention or not, that is exactly what they are doing. Every story they print from a dubious source emboldens the murderers and their bosses in Tehran and Damascus. Every time they decide to push their own narrative instead of doing their job as journalists, they are pushing us farther toward the hideous immorality of retreat and abandonment. We need to call them on it every time we see it. We should not allow them to help the people who are murdering our brave soldiers, no matter their intentions.

UPDATE: Here is a bit of what’s being said elsewhere about the AP’s calumny.

Blue Crab Boulevard:

Look folks, I really do not care if you oppose this (or all) war, support this war or anything else. If you do not understand that the media printing false information as pure propaganda from people who have made multiple threats to destroy your country is wrong, you have a problem. Or a death wish. Or both.

The Anchoress:

This cannot end well. The government needs to slap down the press and demand some accountability. They’ve needed to do it for a couple of years now. They won’t.

Confederate Yankee:

The media isn’t necessarily willfully reporting false stories, they are simply too lazy to verify what they are reporting is comprised of actual facts instead of fantasy. They seem to have adopted a worldview that whatever act is the most depraved, must be the most infallible.

Call it “absolute immoral authority.”

Villainous Company:

With American reporters afraid to venture out of their hotel rooms the media must rely on Iraqi stringers to cover news events. Interestingly, while U.S. media cite possible bias as a reason for refusing to pass on information from their own government, they routinely and uncritically publish unverified reports from unidentified Iraqis whose allegiances are no less suspect.

Sister Toldjah:

Does the MSM feel any responsiblity towards its readers for accurate reporting anymore?

SeeDubya:

Careers ought to end over this.

I have seen no correction or retraction from the AP yet, nor do I expect one. Would you, considering how steadfastly it has used this bogus source? Can you imagine the AP having to retract stories going all the way back to April knowing it would also effectively retract the largest part of the “civil war” narrative they’ve been pushing on us all year? I certainly can’t see it happening.

As far as I am concerned, the AP is no longer a credible journalistic source. I would sooner trust something coming from the the Weekly World News.

At least I know that Bat Boy is fighting the terrorists instead of helping them.