Report: AP fabricated source, Mosque masacre made-up

Did they, or didn't they? That's the question surrounding the Iraqi offices of the Associated Press, where it sounds like they might have made up at least one police officer's name and perhaps fabricated accounts of a horrible scene of death and carnage. The AP has put out a article detailing witness accounts. (Warning: Story contains graphic descriptions)

But this story hasn't become a firestorm among certian bloggers because of what the AP is saying about themselves, it's about what others are saying about the AP. The AP's main source for this particular news story was a "Capt. Jamil Hussein," a man that the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior says is not a Baghdad police officer nor a MOI employee. In other words, the man quoted in the story does not exist, as far as the Iraqi government is concerned. In addition, the American government is denying that it had any operations in the area at the time the article stated, and as such, what the article said happened simply did not.

Who's right? Who's wrong? Is America's main source of news lying about events in the war, or is the government trying to cover-up a terrible violenent event? That's not for TDIN to say. But we can help you to make up your mind on this issue. Below are some suggested sites for continued reading on this complex, troubling scandal.
- AP: Witnesses detail Iraqi burning deaths
- Flopping Aces (Main site that helped break the story)
- Opinion Column: Pro-AP
- Opinion Column: Anti-AP
- Article talking about the whole complicated mess

Iraq announces their 41 most-wanted

Our top story today comes from Baghdad, Iraq, where that country's government has listed Saddam Hussein's wife and oldest daughter among 41 people on their most-wanted list. Iraq's national security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie also has al-Qaeda's new top chief on the list as well. Al-Rubaie told reporters that the government was releasing the most wanted list "so that our people can know their enemies."

Saddam Hussein's wife, Sajida Khairallah Tulfah was number seventeen, just behind her daughter, Raghad. Raghad lives in Jordan, where she was given refuge by King Abdullah II. Iraqi officials have alleged that Saddam's relatives who fled the country have been financing insurgent groups who are working against the coalition. Raghad has played a key role in organizing the legal defense for her father. But Jordan's Prime Minister Marouf Al-Bakhit said that Raghad was not engaging in any unsavory activities. "Raghad Saddam Hussen and her children are in Jordan for purely humanitarian reasons," al-Bakhit announced.

So who's Iraq's most wanted man? His name is Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who previously served as Saddam's top lieutenant and the highest-ranking regime figure to elude capture. (He is also the "King of Clubs," in the old playing deck given out to U.S. troops.) There is a $10 million reward out for his arrest. Al-Douri is thought to be another key organizer of the insurgency. (Read the full article)