Time’s “Corrections” About Haditha

Time/Sweetness & Light ^ | June 9, 2006 | N/A

[Sam Hill]

This is a now all too familiar pattern with our one party media.

The following "corrections" have been added to the very bottom of Time's two blockbuster exclusives on Haditha in their current online versions:

Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?

Last November, U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes. Was it self-defense, an accident or cold-blooded revenge? A Time exclusive

By TIM MCGIRK / BAGHDAD

Sunday, Mar. 19, 2006

In the original version of this story, TIME reported that "a day after the incident, a Haditha journalism student videotaped the scene at the local morgue and at the homes where the killings had occurred. The video was obtained by the Hammurabi Human Rights Group, which cooperates with the internationally respected Human Rights Watch, and has been shared with TIME." In fact, Human Rights Watch has no ties or association with the Hammurabi Human Rights Group. TIME regrets the error.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1174649-1,00.html

One Morning in Haditha

U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes last November. Was it self-defense, an accident or cold-blooded revenge?

By TIM MCGIRK/ BAGHDAD

Mar. 27, 2006

In the original version of this story, TIME reported that "a day after the incident, a Haditha journalism student videotaped the scene at the local morgue and at the homes where the killings had occurred. The video was obtained by the Hammurabi Human Rights Group, which cooperates with the internationally respected Human Rights Watch, and has been shared with TIME." In fact, Human Rights Watch has no ties or association with the Hammurabi Human Rights Group. TIME regrets the error.

http://time-proxy.yaga.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1174682,00.html

In fact, Time had originally reported that it was Human Rights Watch who had provide the tape. They then retracted that and claimed that it came from Hammurabi which works with Human Rights Watch. And now they have backed off even that.

Note that even now Time still does not correct the intentionally false portrayal of the source of the videotape that they gave in all of their original stories and interviews.

Time's source, Thaer Thabit al-Hadithi, is not a "young man. " He is not a "budding journalism student."

And al-Haditha is not separate and apart from the Hammurabi Human Rights Group. Nor is he a man who wanted to remain anonymous because he feared for his safety.

Thaer Thabit al-Hadithi

Al-Haditha is 43 years old. He "created" Hammurabi 16 months ago. (Before that he worked directly under the head of Haditha's hospital, Dr. al-Obeidi, who pronounced that all the victims had been shot at close range.)

In fact, al-Haditha is one of Hammurabi's only two members. He serves as its "Secretary General" while the only other member, Abdul-Rahman al-Mashhadani, performs as its "Chairman.")

Al-Haditha is the one and only person behind this tape. He made it. And he sat on it for four months before turning it over to Time magazine.

But it looks like Time did not consider these mundane facts about the maker of this tape compelling enough. So they made up additional romantic details and invented the involvement of the "internationally respected Human Rights Watch" to burnish the video's provenance.

It's something Time does on a regular basis.

Here is another "correction" that is now buried at the bottom of another Time Haditha story from last month. It is by Matthew Cooper of Plame/Rove notoriety.

The Haditha Scandal's Other Casualty

With the Pentagon completing its probe into whether U.S. forces massacred civilians one November morning in Western Iraq, the damage to America's image abroad could take a further hit

By MATTHEW COOPER/WASHINGTON

Posted Friday, May. 26, 2006

In the original version of this story, TIME  reported that "one of the most damning pieces of evidence investigators have in their possession, John Sifton of Human Rights Watch told Time's Tim McGirk, is a photo, taken by a Marine with his cell phone that shows Iraqis kneeling — and thus posing no threat — before they were shot." While Sifton did tell TIME that there was photographic evidence, taken by Marines, he had only heard about the specific content of the photos from reports done by NBC, and had no firsthand knowledge. TIME regrets the error.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1198843,00.html

Never mind that now "one of the most damning pieces of evidence" has already taken on the mantle of historical fact. Time regrets the error.

So much so that they once again buried the correction at the bottom of its online archive of the story which few will revisit.

Clearly Time thinks very highly of the Soros-funded (and viscerally anti-American) Human Rights Watch. They use every opportunity to cite HRW to bolster their claims, even if they have to make things up.

Apparently Time believes invoking "the internationally respected  Human Rights Watch." gives their questionably sourced facts credibility

And so what it if they aren't involved?

Time can always sneak in a retraction later when nobody is looking, once the story has "gotten legs."

[Sam Hill]

More of the same from Time.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Bump and ping.

[Sam Hill]

Ping.

[nikos1121]

There should be outrage on this...

[stevestras]

Traitors!

[pissant]

Keep them coming Sam!

[quikdrw]

Why would any one even bother to read TIME? There is much better fiction in any library.

[Logical me]

Who reads Time? That rag wouldn't know the truth if it hit them in the face.

[tubebender]

Bump

[Agent Smith]

...and these fools in the dead tree media wonder why their readership is in the toilet.

[Sam Hill]

"Who reads Time? That rag wouldn't know the truth if it hit them in the face."

If nobody read Time we wouldn't have heard about the Haditha "massacre."

It was their "exclusive."

[MizSterious]

Sadly, I'm seeing the lies from TIME and other similar "sources" being repeated and elevated to "good evidence" of a massacre by many (way too many) Freepers.

[Darkwolf377]

Someday, on the bottom of a page, TIME will have a note reading "The accusation that Marines killed civilians in Haditha, as reported in two cover stories here, was untrue, and in fact the deaths were caused by Al Qaeda. TIME regrets the error."

[MizSterious]

I do not consider TIME a good source for much of anything, but the rag sells on the newsstands. I would guess a lot of people read it.

[L98Fiero]

If not for hotel chain and Dr's office subscriptions, I'm not sure Time or USA Today could still be in business.

[conserv13]

I'll wait until the US military investigation is over before I comment on anything.

[jazusamo]

Thanks for all the hard work you're putting in on this and for the continuing threads and updates. Yours and a few others efforts have brought fourth many facts that debunk this whole despicable account by the MSM and Murtha.

[bruinbirdman]

"So much so that they once again buried the correction at the bottom of its online archive of the story which few will revisit."

This is one reason these left wing propagandists don't want the internet (FR) to archive their original stories. It is also one of the reasons why they charge a fee to access their archives.

yitbos

[el_texicano]

May God forgive me for the words/thoughts I have towards this Time/lib media. Burning their buildings to the ground and submitting everyone of their pathetic staff members to prolonged horsewhipping would be far too kind for what they are doing.

Someone posted already asking about outrage. Believe me it is there.

Times/lib media attacks the military who do not have the resources for redress to defend themselves by suing these pathetic news agencies. Would to God someone with money could help them sue the crap out of Time and reduce them and other media outlets to homeless vagabonds.

[Mo1]

Take them down, Sam

Don't let them get away with this

Thank you for all your research

[BunnySlippers]

Bump

[Bahbah]

There should be outrage on this...

Well, my head is about to explode. But seriously, I believe this to be another Rathergate. Those two Iraqi bums made this up and Tim McGirk aided and abetted them with the assistance of the editors at Time.

[roses of sharon]

The gallows are waiting for the MSM.

[Velveeta]

Great job, Sam.
I sent it to FOX news. ;-)

[Sam Hill]

Thanks.

It might be a little too subtle to get across quickly on the air.

[pissant]

Me too, and it pisses me off

[new yorker 77]

FYI

[pissant]

If you have been following this closely, you'll know that the Time and Reuters and NY Times stories, which the rest of the MSM has stated as FACT, are holier than swiss cheese.

Purposely lying, IMO to smear the Iraq war.

[I_Like_Spam]

The fact that Time hoped that this story was true is pretty obvious. But they need to learn that merely hoping that something is true, doesn't actually make it true.

Very similar to the Rathergate case, but a lot more hazardous to Time, than Rathergate was to CBS.

The victim in Rathergate , President Bush, wasn't harmed, he was reelected in spite of it. These accused Marines certainly will seem to have a libel suit.

[Patriot Hooligan]

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast." William Tecumseh Sherman

[nikos1121]

EVery single media outlet picked this story up. Then apparently these people died from collateral damage, and the GIs brought them to the hospital.

Those f..in basta*ds...This country is definitely in trouble..if we allow this sort of thing.

Is anyone running with this? Rush or anyone? To bring it all into perspective?

[Velveeta]

Don't miss this:

Propaganda and Haditha
Dahr Jamail and Jeff Pflueger , t r u t h o u t
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m23848&l=i&size=1&hd=0

[Velveeta]

Yep, ditto.

[pissant]

Thanks V, I'll check it out.

[abb]

Pinging the Dinosaur Media Extinction Alert List with important news...

[nikos1121]

How about Murtha? Has anyone cornered him on this? I understand that there is post on Savage about Murtha and his ACTUAL military record.

[martin_fierro]

Time did not consider these mundane facts about the maker of this tape compelling enough. So they made up additional romantic details...

Time Magazine: BY Dumb Broads, FOR Dumb Broads.

[FourtySeven]

Useful facts bump.

[Bobkk47]

Excellent job Sam. Keep plugging away. Man, I would love to see Murtha have to retract his accusations.

[pissant]

In the Fake but Accurate tradition.

[ExTexasRedhead]

Meanwhile, our brave Marines are in solitary and shackled when they're given 5 minutes out of their cells. I'm outraged and said so yesterday to my Congressman. I urge everyone to email and call your elected airheads voicing your outrage as well. Liberals whine about how we treat terrorists where's their whining about our brave soldiers?

[kellynla]

When these Marines are exonerated, I hope Time et al will be as ambitious and forthcoming in publicizing their innocence as they have been with their false accusations. But we Marines won't be holding our collective breath.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[Just A Nobody]

Ditto for me!

[pissant]

I've heard that twice now. What is your source? There was an article about the one marine accused of murder (not Haditha related) that was in shackles, but I have never heard this about those in the Haditha investigation. It seems highly improbable.

[edpc]

Time personifies errors, so they should make "The Error" their Person of the Year for 2006.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Man that's got to leave a mark

Coop, leadpenny over here!

[Grampa Dave]

Slime is a division of Time Warner. TW's products and services need to be boycotted like AOL.

[pollyannaish]

Those are not tiny errors.

Those are glaring, sloppy, lying, dishonest errors. Those three corrections COMPLETELY changed the credibility of the article.

If I was an editor, someone would lose their job.

[Eagle9]

It might be a little too subtle to get across quickly on the air.

Yeah, running a cover story with sensational headlines that grabs everyone's attention will guarantee that every other MSM outlet will run with it and give TIME (or NYT, WaPo, Newsweek, etc.) credit for breaking the story. They give each other credibility and also free advertising with these so-called 'deep background investigative journalism' stories.

Once the story has been splashed everywhere and the desired damage done, it's time for a CYA (legally) very subtle correction or even complete retraction. They know the other outlets won't bother to run the correction/retraction.

[observer5]

"I'll wait until the US military investigation is over before I comment on anything."

Then shut up.