When the Press Dropped the Ball on Haditha

Haditha is back on the front pages with news that eight marines now face serous charges for the alleged massacre in Iraq. But the press showed remarkably modest interest in the subject after it was first reported last March.



By Greg Mitchell


(December 22, 2006) -- Haditha is back on the front pages, with the announcement on Thursday that four marines were being charge with murder in the alleged 2005 massacre of 24 villagers in Iraq, with four officers hit with serious dereliction of duty charges. Since this case has been simmering for many months now, with repeated press references (as other possible atrocities surfaced), it may seem as if the media has bird-dogged this episode from the start.


In fact, the media dropped the ball at the start - helped by a military cover-up -- and it stayed off the radar for quite some time... http://tinyurl.com/y5udf4 [Open in new window]
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Synopsis of Haditha charges: http://tinyurl.com/yxrktn [Open in new window]
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