Boston Globe publishes bogus GI rape pictures
Taken from pornographic website
as first reported by WorldNetDaily
Posted: May 12, 2004
12:15 p.m. Eastern
By Sherrie Gossett
2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Boston residents got more than they bargained for this morning when their copy
of the Globe came complete with graphic photographic images depicting U.S.
troops gang-raping Iraqi women.
Problem is the photos are fake. They were taken from pornographic websites and
disseminated by anti-American propagandists, as first reported by WND a week
ago.
WND contacted the Globe to question staff about the photos.
Asked whether the photos were the same as the porn photos WND already
investigated, reporter Donovan Slack said, "I have no idea. I'm surprised the
editor even decided we should write about it."
She added: "Oh my God, I'm scared to answer the phone today."
"It's insane," said Slack. "Can you imagine getting this with your cup of
coffee in the morning? Somehow it got through all our checks. Our publisher's
not having a very good day today."
Slack sent the photos to WND, which immediately confirmed they were the same
porn photos reported on last week.
Responding to an e-mail request from the Globe, WND furnished the true source
of the photos, and walked Slack through the "Sex In War" site over the phone,
so she could see the photos matched.
I'll take the 'Five days for $15' deal," Slack quipped, adding, "This is
ridiculous. I'll be working at Penthouse soon."
The photos accompanied an article about Boston city councilor Chuck Turner, who
distributed the graphic photographs yesterday at a press conference with
activist Sadiki Kambon. Turner told reporters the photos showed U.S. soldiers
raping Iraqi women.
"The American people have a right and responsibility to see the pictures,"
Turner said.
Kambon, who is director of the Black Community Information Center, said at the
news conference he received the photographs by e-mail from Akbar Muhammad, a
representative for the Nation of Islam.
The Globe was provided with a statement by Muhammad who wrote, "There aren't
any doubts in my mind about the reports on torture of Iraqi prisoners. All you
have to do is look at the pictures of Saddam Hussein after his capture when he
was being examined on television across the world. He appeared to be drugged
and unaware that he was being filmed to be humiliated and disgraced in front of
the entire world."
As WND previously reported, the pornographic 'rape' images were carried, among
other venues, on the website for the Committee for the Defense of Saddam
Hussein.
In the letter given to the globe, Muhammad termed reservists, "raving beasts,"
and added, "I was fortunate enough to make copies of the pictures before they
became unavailable on the Internet."
The pictures are still on the porn site "Sex In War" and appeared in several
Arabic newspapers.
Muhammad also called for the resignation of Rumsfeld.
Turner and Kambon told the Globe they don't know where or when the photos they
distributed yesterday were taken. But Turner said they came from a "very
legitimate person."
"We cannot document their authenticity," he told reporters. "But you have the
ability to do that."
The Globe published the photographic images despite the fact a skeptical Slack
had raised serious doubts about them and was not able to verify their
authenticity. Slack was assigned to report on the press conference and did not
approve of the photos being published. The photos were approved for publication
by three Boston Globe editors.
In the article the Boston Globe ran with the photos, Slack underscored her
skepticism: "The images, depicting men in camouflage uniforms having sex with
unidentified women, bear no characteristics that would prove the men are U.S.
soldiers or that the women are Iraqis. And there is nothing apparent in the
images showing they were taken in Iraq. Unlike the photographs widely
publicized last week, the images appear to have been taken outdoors in a sandy
area with hills in the background."
Ironically, a simple "Google/news" search using the terms "Iraq rape photos"
would have proven the photos were fake and the story groundless. Specifically,
the search would have retrieved WND's series on the photos as well as a
statement issued the day after WND's expose (May 5) by the U.S. Embassy in
Cairo confirming that the photos were fake and demanding that Arab newspapers
that had carried the photos publish retractions. In addition, WND's expose of
the photos was mentioned at Monday's White House press briefing.
A source with the Globe said the controversy already had reached the president
of the New York Times, who reportedly is furious. The Boston Globe is owned by
the New York Times Co.
Turner said he and Kambon were distributing the photos to force the Bush
administration to release additional documentation of abuses, which Turner said
are not limited to the prison, west of Baghdad.
At the time of publication of this report, Turner and Kambon were not available
for comment.
So far, the Globe hasn't published a retraction. However, as posted on the Free
Republic website, a reader who wrote the Globe's ombudsman, Christine Chinlund,
received the following e-mail reply:
The Globe should not have run the photo. It appeared as the result of a
miscommunication between photo staffers, and a collapse of the usual "checks
and balances" system. In my next column I will provide a more detailed
explanation of how this lamentable mistake happened.
Sincerely,
Chris Chinlund
Globe Ombud
Chinlund's response ended with the following P.S.: "Can you tell me which
website is providing the copy for letters like yours? Thanks."