NYT- In Iraq, a Tug of War Over the Truth

[maddezmom]

By ROBERT F. WORTH

Published: April 24, 2005


AGHDAD, Iraq — It is famously hard to get accurate information in the chaos of war. But in Iraq, where nearly every militia, political party and insurgent group has its own propaganda arm, truth is becoming more elusive every day.

Last weekend, a political firestorm erupted here after reports that Sunni kidnappers had taken as many as 150 Shiite hostages in Madaen, a town just south of Baghdad. The kidnappers were said to be threatening to kill them, unless Shiites agreed to leave Madaen.

It should have been easy to determine what happened. Either people were kidnapped and threats were made, or they were not.

But it has not been that simple. Three Iraqi Army battalions searched the town and found no hostages. Days later, Shiite political leaders issued grisly photographs of several dozen bodies taken from the Tigris River, saying the bodies - some of which appeared to have been killed weeks earlier - were those of the hostages.

~snip~
more:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/weekinreview/24wort.html

[necso]

1. Good read. /nt

[Igel]

2. It's getting to that point with some sections of American society. n/t