“Pristine”

As AllahPundit points out, that is what Associated Press executive editor Kathleen Carroll expects us to believe the Iraqi stringers she employs are. She notes that government officials are suspected of complicity in ongoing violence and disseminating false information. But apparently none of her stringers could possibly be motivated by any of the same sectarian views.

Uh huh.

She’s all but accusing the MOI spokesman who challenged them of being a Sadrist tool, which I guess means we’re unwittingly doing the bidding of the Mahdi Army by extension. The AP’s been accused of doing the bidding of terrorists itself, of course, and in case not so unwittingly. So, touche. But here’s an idea: instead of issuing these snide Friday broadsides, produce Jamil Hussein. Snap a few photos and put them on the wire. Or, if that would endanger him, arrange a meeting between him and someone from MOI. Or, if that would endanger him, between him and the Centcom press director. If Hussein feels safe enough to have himself identified by name, rank, and precinct in AP news reports, he should be willing to chat with an American officer for 20 minutes. It’s exceedingly strange and suspect that the AP has available to it hard evidence that would explode its critics charges, yet so far as we know it’s made no attempt to produce that evidence. Not once have they offered to supply anyone with concrete proof of Hussein’s existence. Why not?

….

Funny too how Carroll understands that the sectarian loyalties of Iraqi government officials might render their motives suspect, yet it escapes her realm of possibility that AP stringers might be moved by the same passion. The Iraqi government, the Iraqi army — universally acknowledged to be crippled by religious partisanship. The Iraqi press corps, though? Pristine. To suggest otherwise is downright offensive.

All the AP had to do was produce this "police captain". I'm going to bet that for all her belligerence here that Ms. Carroll never personally met this captain. She is taking the word of her stringers that they have. If an actual American reporter was led to a meeting with this captain how in the world would he know if the "captain" wasn't just somebody dressed up to play a part? Whether Carroll wants to admit it or not, she really has no way of knowing that her source is any good. And she has official sources in the Iraqi government that are telling her - in no uncertain terms - that this "captain" is not who he says he is.

But it's all about that pristine bunch of stringers she employs.

Uh, huh.

UPDATE: This will sting a lot. Bruce Kesler draws a parallel between what Carroll is doing right now and another rather famous victim of a self-inflicted coverup wound, Richard Nixon.

The AP won’t produce its star source, Jamil Hussein, the policeman that neither the Iraqi Ministry of Interior nor CENTCOM can find record of, any of the immolated bodies or their names, the names and credentials of the local Iraqis the AP used as reporters of the incident and the AP’s follow-up, the purported conveniently located afterward anonymous witnesses, nor any Sunni leaders who are aware of the claimed incident.

Kathleen Carroll has experience, yes. And, Richard Nixon was an experienced politician. Leading Republicans, finally, told him the gig was up, the cover-up had doomed his credibility and position. Where are the responsible media leaders who will tell Ms. Carroll?

Ouch.