http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/16/191823/130
An Apology from Newsweek to Its Readers
We deeply regret the factual errors in last week's Periscope report on abuse and humiliation of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We admit that the criticism of Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whiteman was correct - that our report was "irresponsible" and "demonstrably false." Though we realize it may be impossible to fully restore our credibility now, in the interest of truth we would like to make corrections here that are as specific as possible.
Past reports from FBI and other sources confirm that Guantanamo Bay detainees are shackled and chained to the floor for days, while being subjected to extreme cold, loud music and in some cases, wrapped in an Israeli flag. These prisoners would ultimately urinate or defecate on themselves. These prisoners have no toilets.
Thus when Newsweek quoted an anonymous source saying that interrogators had "flushed a [copy of the sacred Muslim text the] Qur'an down a toilet," it was physically impossible - a blatant demonstration of bad faith from our source, and of dereliction on Newsweek's part. Any Qur'an hurled into a prisoner's excrement and urine in this context would never have been in contact with any toilet. Our report was simply wrong.
This is likewise true even of detainees who have not been shackled to the floor. Guantanamo Bay detainees' cells have no toilet, though they may contain a bucket that sometimes serves that function. So in hindsight, the anonymous source for our quote was clearly lying. Moreover, reports confirm that some detainees were offered their meal portion in the bucket - suggesting that the detainee bucket should not be referred to "a toilet" since it does not serve that exclusive function.
Finally, it should be obvious that while a bucket can be flushed out with water, it can not be "flushed" - so again, it would be physically impossible to "flush a Qur'an down [a detainee's] toilet." Corroborating reports confirm that Korans were actually kicked, thrown down and repeatedly dropped in the soiled buckets by guards and interrogators - never flushed - and that in every case it was an accident.
Again, we apologize for these grave errors, for the shoddy reporting and poor editing accountability that led us to publish the incorrect report, and for the worldwide outrage and violence that resulted. We know that once the truth has been widely circulated, the reputation of the United States can be properly restored.
Sincerely,
Mark Whitekar, Editor Michael Isikoff, Reporter Newsweek Magazine 16 May 2005