Down the Toilet

On May 9, Newsweek magazine published an article with claims that U.S. interrogators at Guantánamo Bay had flushed a Koran down the toilet to unnerve Muslim detainees. Riots and violence ensued; the deaths of 17 people were attributed to the publication of such an incendiary claim as the destruction of the holy book. A week later, Newsweek issued a retraction of the article stating that “Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Koran abuse at Guantánamo Bay.” Such negligence on Newsweek’s part is undoubtedly regrettable and unacceptable. However, to fault the publication for spreading anti-American sentiment with its false claims of unseemly behavior towards those held incommunicado is ludicrous.

In response to Newsweek’s article, the Bush administration pounced upon the magazine’s shoddy journalism, attacking the publication for its use of an anonymous source and charging it with responsibility for the 17 deaths and increased anti-Americanism in the Muslim world. According to White House spokesperson, Scott McLellan: “The report has real consequences. People have lost their lives. Our image abroad has been damaged.” Such accusations are overblown and, of course, ironic.

Anti-American sentiment has been increasing in scope and intensity for years, exacerbated by the current administration’s cowboy diplomacy, zealous hegemony, and use of questionable interrogation tactics as we wage the “war on terror”—tactics that make the Koran desecration seem unremarkable. The Newsweek article might have been a catalyst for the recent flare of riots and violence. But for the Bush administration to use this mainstream magazine as a scapegoat for our shameful image abroad is ridiculous.

Before the Newsweek article went to print, the writers ran it past a Pentagon official who made no mention of the toilet incident because, according to the magazine, it “seemed shocking but not incredible.” Given Guántanamo’s notoriety, as well as the Bush administration’s infamous approval of highly questionable interrogation tactics—which have led to some of the most disgraceful incidents of torture during the war—it seems reasonable that the official did not question the story. The claims about Koran desecration did not spark any questions of legitimacy because they seem commonplace in context of the administration’s past and current treatment of detainees.

As for Newsweek’s use of an anonymous source, we agree that transparency is always the best policy—but it is not always a feasible one. Sources cannot always be expected to go on the record, particularly when they come forward with the most damning or unpopular information. And it is not as though the media is unaccountable for what it prints—as in this case, Newsweek has come under scrutiny and has now set the record straight. The irony, of course, that the Bush administration—who took us to war based on the most anonymous and absent of evidence—is lamenting the lack of transparency in the magazine’s sources is quite astonishing.

Ultimately, it is obvious and unfortunate that the Bush administration has taken this opportunity to deflect some of the responsibility for the U.S.’s pathetic image abroad, blaming a mainstream magazine for international sentiments that have taken years to cultivate. It is regrettable that Newsweek printed a story with false claims, but it is ridiculous to impute upon them blame for the sorry state of the American image. But to focus blame solely on Newsweek and the Bush administration for the recent riots is to overlook the actions of those who participated in the violence following the article’s publication. Regardless of which parties are to blame for anti-American sentiment, 17 people died at the hands of angry mobs. Nothing, no matter now much legitimate outrage at American policies, can excuse these murders.