The big news on the streets today is that the people of Baqubah are generally ecstatic, although many hold in reserve a serious concern that we will abandon them again. For many Iraqis, we have morphed from being invaders to occupiers to members of a tribe. I call it the "al Ameriki tribe," or "tribe America." Full Story »
Posted by David Starr
This story grew some legs, and of course, as evidenced by an unhappy reviewer below, the distortions have begun. First, Yon is not a "blogger." In the story itself, Michael Yon clearly contextualizes this anecdote. The official refuses to give his name, the story is hearsay. Should it have been excluded from the dispatch? Perhaps, but I'm not so sure. The author explains that due to the brutality he has witnessed the story is plausible. And he doesn't report it as though it's a verified incident, he reports the event of being told the story and having it translated.
