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| Тема |
 Позицията на Дейли Мирър [re: ThePatriot] |
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| Автор |
B2 (Deathcar) |
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| Публикувано | 18.05.04 22:34 |
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OTHERS MUST ADMIT TO MISTAKES TOO May 15 2004
WE WERE HOAXED
By Gary Jones
THE DAILY Mirror did what it felt was right yesterday - and admitted it was hoaxed over the Iraqi abuse pictures.
That was in stark contrast to those who brought about the invasion of Iraq and deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
On the false premise that weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq, the UK and the United States went to war.
Bogus dossiers were produced and lies told to the UN to convince the world it was legally right to invade a sovereign country.
Today, the Mirror's WMD-ometer still shows that after 381 days nothing has been found to have justified the war.
President Bush and Tony Blair still have their jobs. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon clings by his fingernails to his job as does his sidekick Adam Ingram.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who testified before the UN to the existence of WMD, is still in power.
And arch warmonger US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who despite shocking images of torture and atrocities committed in his name by his troops, refuses to stand down.
The Mirror trusted the word of two soldiers, who produced telling testimony that abuses of Iraqi prisoners had been carried out by some members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
These allegations were carefully scrutinised before they were published, and our decision to print the claims was only made after checks.
There is still simmering fury on the Labour backbenches that until last week no minister from Tony Blair down had even read the devastating Red Cross report from last February on prisoner abuse.
Since our story was published two weeks ago, Amnesty International and the Red Cross have revealed concerns about similar abuses that had been outlined to the Government, which chose to keep them under wraps.
The Mirror still stands by its claims about those abuses - but today we admit on the photos we were hoaxed. It hurts this paper and its staff to say we were duped - but that was the case.
These photos were printed in good faith along with important allegations that others have confirmed.
Yesterday, media commentator Roy Greenslade said: "What the Mirror achieved is teasing out from the Government all sorts of facts we did not know like the Red Cross and Amnesty reports and allegations about the QLR. I am sure the pictures were published in good faith. People were not questioning them on the morning of publication."
Following the furore over our allegations, and the Government's insistence that the photos are fakes, the Mirror rightly and properly puts its hands up, to say sorry.
SORRY to the British people for misleading them over the photos.
SORRY to the decent, vast majority of soldiers in Iraq doing their best in trying circumstances, who have been hurt by the false images.
But categorically NOT SORRY for telling the truth that acts of cruelty were committed by a tiny number of British troops.
Since the drums first beat for war in Iraq the Mirror has led the way in reflecting the public's unease. We questioned every facet of the desire for war from the outset.
Our stance reflected an unprecedented outpouring of opposition around the world.
Two million people marched on the streets of London under the Stop the War banner.
Millions more marched through cities across the world in disgust at the rush to war without the backing of the UN.
In Britain the spectre of a Labour government backing right-wing Republicans in the White House was an outrage to many.
The Government's WMD dossier did not just cause problems for Mr Blair and the Cabinet. In Washington Powell was left humiliated after he went on TV and read out intelligence from the UK Government claiming there were mobile biological weapons labs in Iraq.
That claim proved false but the Government still refuses to acknowledge its mistake.
As Mr Blair visited British troops in Basra after the war was over the BBC aired its infamous broadcast casting doubt on the WMD 45-minute claim.
BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan refused to reveal his source was weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
No 10 went on the warpath but it was weeks later that Alastair Campbell narrowed down his point of attack to a sentence in Mr Gilligan's live 6.07am bulletin. That proved to be a mistake and Mr Gilligan said sorry. Dr Kelly killed himself.
The Hutton Inquiry proved much about the rest of the BBC story was right and the Government had made mistakes.
But Mr Blair, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Mr Campbell did not say sorry.
Instead, BBC chairman Gavyn Davies resigned. But that was not enough for Mr Campbell. He wanted more. Then BBC chief Greg Dyke quit.
Mr Blair is still resisting the pressure over the flawed case for war. Many Labour MPs and swathes of the public believe the Government should come clean for sending UK troops into war on the false pretext that Iraq had WMD.
There is still anger ministers have not apologised for what many see as a hoax on the British people and on Parliament.
In September last year Mr Blair and his spin chief Campbell decided to draw up the infamous dossier which claimed Iraq had missiles capable of delivering weapons in 45 minutes. UN chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix was denied more time to hunt them.
Since the post-war search for the weapons began 1,400 inspectors have been unable to unearth a shred of evidence they existed.
Hundreds of servicemen and women have died along with an estimated 17,000s Iraqis.
And still Mr Blair refuses to apologise for the dossier in which the Government set out the central plank of the case for joining a US-led war, against international opinion.
Last night allegations from Soldier C about abuses which we published were repeated on ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald. He told how his colleagues beat Iraqis "for fun".
Now the Daily Mirror has apologised, how long will it take before others own up to their mistakes? We will continue to question and probe. Our readers would accept nothing less.
Който знае английски да чете. Накратко - Редактора си подава оставката веднага след като се е оказало че е заблуден. Въпроса е Буш и Блеър кога ще си подадат оставките след като вкараха страните си (а и нашата) във война под един лъжлив повод.
Путриота пак се на.ака.
Агресорът ще получи каквото заслужава!
NO PASARAN!Редактирано от B2 на 18.05.04 22:38.
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