The AP and “Destroyed Mosques”
The right-wingers are getting all up in arms, shouting LIBERAL MEDIA from their rooftops over this one. They say that the AP reported that four mosques were destroyed in Iraq, when really they just had minor damage. And the Bush supporters out there, desperate to show that no, this whole Iraq thing is completely under control, have pictures showing that at least some of the mosques suffered some damage but are still standing.
And they even have quotes from the AP story proving — in their minds, at least — that the AP made this claim. Take this segment from Michelle Malkin’s blog:
Update: Some AP apologists are denying that the news organization ever reported that the mosques were destroyed. As I noted above, Mary Katharine Ham saved the timestamped and dated wire copy and tracked the evolution of the story:
11/24/06 10:10:28
Sunnis claim mosques and houses burned by Shiite militia, police watch
By QAIS AL-BASHIR
Associated Press WriterBAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Sunni residents in a volatile northwest Baghdad neighborhood claimed Friday that revenge-seeking Shiite militiamen had destroyed four Sunni mosques, burned homes and killed many people, while the Shiite-dominated police force stood by and did nothing.
The reports were the most serious allegations of retribution in Baghdad the day after Sunni insurgents killed 215 people and wounded 257 with five car bombs and mortar fire in the capital’s Sadr City Shiite slum.
(emphasis not mine.)
Did they even read what they’re trotting out as proof? The article that they’re holding up to support their side of the story clearly says that Sunni residents claimed that the mosques were destroyed, and that these were “allegations.” I don’t see anything there saying that it actually happened.
But I guess they need something to help out their cause. “Oh no, see, the war is going fine, all that sectarian violence just damaged some mosques, but with a little tender loving care, and maybe a visit from a home renovation show, it’ll be as good as new! We’re greeted as liberators and redecorators!”