Hundreds of civilians killed after protests turn to massacre
Newsweek Apologizes for Report of Koran Insult: Newsweek apologized yesterday for printing a small item on May 9 about reported desecration of the Koran by American guards at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an item linked to riots in Pakistan and Afghanistan that led to the deaths of at least 17 people. But the magazine, while acknowledging possible errors in the article, stopped short of retracting it.
The report that a Koran had been flushed down a toilet set off the most virulent, widespread anti-American protests in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government more than three years ago. [...]
But [Mark Whitaker, Newsweek's editor] said in an interview later: "We're not retracting anything. We don't know what the ultimate facts are."
Newsweek apologises for Koran report: More than a dozen people died last week in riots in Afghanistan triggered by the report, which the magazine now admits may have been inaccurate. The Pentagon has called on the magazine to retract the story.
Editor Mark Whitaker said, ?Our original source later said he couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Qur'an incident in the report we cited, and said it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts.?
The White House said on Monday the apology was insufficient, and that he magazine should retract the report.
How a Fire Broke Out: The story of a sensitive NEWSWEEK report about alleged abuses at Guantánamo Bay and a surge of deadly unrest in the Islamic world.
The Editor's Desk: Did a report in NEWSWEEK set off a wave of deadly anti-American riots in Afghanistan? [...]
Last Friday, a top Pentagon spokesman told us that a review of the probe cited in our story showed that it was never meant to look into charges of Qur'an desecration. The spokesman also said the Pentagon had investigated other desecration charges by detainees and found them "not credible." Our original source later said he couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Qur'an incident in the report we cited, and said it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts. Top administration officials have promised to continue looking into the charges, and so will we. But we regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst.
