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New York Times and Washington Post remain silent
on murder allegations against Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi
By James Conachy
19 August 2004
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Paul McGeough, the award-winning Australian journalist who
published eyewitness accounts that Iraqi interim Prime Minister
Iyad Allawi carried out the extra-judicial execution of six prisoners,
authored a further comment on the issue in the August 12 edition
of the Sydney Morning Herald.
McGeoughs original article, containing the accounts of
two anonymous sources describing Allawis murderous actions,
was carried on July 17 by two of Australias leading daily
newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.
It included charges that American military personnel were
present at the scene of the crime, which allegedly occurred in
late June.
McGeoughs latest comment, headlined They Saw No
Evil, Heard No Evil, and Certainly Will Not Speak of It,
is a denunciation of the US government for opposing any investigation
of the allegations against Allawi. (See: http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/11/1092102521384.html)
The Australian journalist declared: Now there is unambiguous
proof of two things we knew were happening in liberated IraqIraqi
prisoners are being abused by the new, US-appointed regime; and
the Americans, as a matter of policy, refuse to do anything about
it.
McGeough drew attention to the events of June 29, when US National
Guardsmen in Baghdad intervened to stop the torture of Iraqi prisoners
by Allawis Interior Ministry police, only to be ordered
by their commanders to leave the victims in the hands of their
tormentors. This crime took place several weeks after Allawis
alleged murder of six prisoners at Baghdads Al-Amariyah
security center. (See: US commanders
stop troops from protecting Iraqi torture victims)
To document the US government cover-up of Allawis actions,
McGeough recounted in his August 12 article an exchange between
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher and a reporter that
occurred at a Washington press briefing held on August 3.
The following is taken from the State Department transcript
of the briefing, available at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2004/34897.htm:
Question: Id just like to ask, has the
United States Government or the State Department made any attempt
to ascertain the truth or otherwise of reports that Prime Minister
Allawi, on or about the third weekend in June, while the Coalition
Provisional Authority was still in charge in Iraq, executed six
prisoners, shot seven in front of witnesses reported to include
US Security personnel? If not, will you do so, given the serious
natures of the charge, claims by two independent witnesses to
an Australian journalist and, as I said, the claim that American
personnel were present?
Mr. Boucher: I think this is something that
has been dealt with and discussed in Baghdad and here. Prime Minister
Allawi himself has said there is nothing to these reports. I think
hes responded very directly when asked about them. We have
said before we have no information to indicate such an event had
taken place, and thats where I stand at this point.
Question: But my question was whether you
had done any investigation, in the sense there were Americans
allegedly present.
Mr. Boucher: I dont know who those Americans
might have been. I dont know if any of the Armed Forces
or other units in Baghdad might have done some sort of investigation,
but Im told the U.S. Government has checked and that we
dont have any information that would indicate those reports
are true.
Question: So you are satisfied there is absolutely
no truth to those reports?
Mr. Boucher: We have nothing to indicate those
reports are true. Im not going to rephrase it. I tell you
the extent of our knowledge, but thats the extent of our
knowledge.
Question: But youre not making any effort
to extend the extent of your knowledge?
Mr. Boucher: Id say we have checked
on what information we do have and we dont have any information
that would indicate those reports are true.
Question: And youre not looking to make
any further investigations to
Mr. Boucher: Were always open to any
further information or investigations that might be done.
Question: Thank you.
The first thing to be said about this exchange is that Boucher,
while carefully parsing his responses, did not deny the truth
of the allegations against Allawi. The second thing is that Boucher
made clear the US government has no intention of investigating
the incident.
McGeough draws the following entirely justified conclusion
from this remarkable exchange: [I]t seems that if you have
Washingtons backing, you can get away with murder.
The American media is complicit in facilitating this US government
cover-up. It has for the most part failed to even report the account
of Allawis crimes published by McGeough. Similarly, the
major media outlets have suppressed the report that US military
officials ordered National Guardsmen to withdraw their protection
of Iraqi prisoners being tortured by Iraqi Interior Ministry police.
Among the newspapers that have refused to report these stories
are the New York Times and the Washington Post.
The news briefing recounted by McGeough makes it clear that
the allegations against Allawi are a hotly discussed issue within
press and government circles. Those who publish such newspapers
as the Times and Post are well aware that the eyewitness
accounts of murder carried out by Washingtons hand-picked
interim prime minister are, far from a marginal question, a matter
of immense importance.
The Times and the Post have maintained their
silence, despite the fact that prominent political figures in
Britain and Australia have called for an independent investigation.
Allawi himself was obliged to publicly deny the accusations at
a press conference in Baghdad.
On July 19, this writer emailed the public editor of the New
York Times and the ombudsman of the Washington Post,
seeking an explanation for the failure of their newspapers to
report the allegations against Allawi.
The Washington Post ombudsman, Michael Getler, has failed
to reply to my inquiry.
The New York Times public editor, Daniel Okrent, replied
on July 29 that the Times would be guilty of unethical
journalism if it were to report the allegations against Allawi
without independently substantiating them or disproving them.
(See: Murder allegations against
Iraqs Allawi: an exchange of letters with the New York
Times public editor)
Okrents argument does not hold water. The Times
prominently reported all sorts of unverified gossip about Clinton
during the rightwing impeachment campaign spearheaded by Independent
Counsel Kenneth Starr, as did the Post. Both papers
routinely publish unsubstantiated statements by government officials,
often anonymous, concerning alleged terrorist threats, the war
in Iraq, and other matters. They infamously retailed the Bush
administrations bogus claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
and collaboration between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda in the run-up
to the US invasion of Iraq, without ever undertaking a critical
and independent investigation of the governments assertions.
There is no innocent explanation for the silence of the New
York Times and Washington Post on a story that illustrates
the criminal character of the US intervention in Iraq, and exposes
Washingtons man in Baghdad as a thug and killer.
The editorial boards of the New York Times and Washington
Post have decided it is better that the American people not
know that murderers and torturers have been imposed on Iraq in
their name.
See Also:
Iraqi interim regime implements further
police state measures
[10 August 2004]
Iraqi prime minister accused
of murdering detainees
[19 July 2004]
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