Times Virtually Ignores Haditha Acquittal
After the "Haditha Massacre" in Iraq came to light in July 2006, reporter Paul von Zielbauer filed over 30 stories on the alleged killings by Marines of two dozen Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops in the town of Haditha, which anti-war activists were quick to compare to the My Lai massacre of Vietnam. Now that the case is collapsing, the Times can barely muster a word about it.
The latest blow to the prosecution came on Wednesday, when First Lt. Andrew Grayson, who wasn't even at the scene, was acquitted of charges of a cover-up. The Times made do in its print version with an unbylined, uncredited brief, "Marine Is Acquitted in Iraq Killings." A mere 127 words and four paragraphs long, with no hint that this is the once-infamous Haditha in the lede:
A Marine intelligence officer has been acquitted of charges that he tried to help cover up the killings of 24 Iraqi men, women and children.
The word "Haditha" is not even mentioned until the third paragraph.
Two more Marines still face court-martial. Bruce Kesler has more on the media's coverage.
