Jamil Lives!

I've not commented much on the Jamil Hussein affair. He may be a real officer in the Iraqi security forces. A real mobile one who seems to be everywhere an atrocity takes place (Maybe he's the Iraqi "Ex" File guy), but real. That is being verified as we speak.

He could be real but not the same person that was the source for the AP articles. And we still haven't verified his stories nearly enough to make me comfortable. AP can be misleading even if they never invented a source.

So I do apologize for stating he does not exist.

But let me add that I never really focused on this. I deal with the media we have and not the media I want.

But my main point in mentioning this affair was to highlight the impact on the war of reporting on atrocities whether real or fake; and the handicap we have in fighting a media war with our current media. The media works against us for whatever reason, and so we need a way to nullify the impact of the media coverage of the war.

Since I never had too much invested in this story, my apology may not count for much.

And I reserve the right to rescind it based on further information.