Toiletgate: Newsweek Report on Koran Desecration is Wrong

Last week, Newsweek reported that guards at Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention camp allegedly left copies of the Koran in restrooms and flushed them down toilets. The Islamic world reacted to the news with violent anti-U.S. demonstrations. Sixteen Afghans were killed during the outbursts.

Now, in a stunning turn of events, Newsweek has admitted that its report was wrong.

In the name of Moonbat Central, I hereby dub this latest blunder by the mainstream liberal media, "Toiletgate."

It is interesting to note the anti-U.S. bias that affects the original Newsweek report, since it provides a perfect example of the leftist media's destructive habit of pinning the blame for nearly all Mideast turmoil on the U.S., when it's not pinning it on Israel. Thus its claim that:

"Such stories may spark more trouble. Though decrepit and still run largely by warlords, Afghanistan was not considered by U.S. officials to be a candidate for serious anti-American riots. But Westerners, including those at NEWSWEEK, may underestimate how severely Muslims resent the American presence, especially when it in any way interferes with Islamic religious faith."

Has anyone at Newsweek ever considered that perhaps the outrage expressed by Muslims over the alleged desecration of the Koran has more to do with devoutly religious people taking blasphemy, by anyone, seriously, than it does with a specific hatred of America? After all, in Afghanistan and in some other countries where fundamental Islam is practiced, blasphemy is considered a paramount sin, punishable by death.

Who can blame Newsweek for missing this "root cause" of the recent display of Muslim outrage sparked by its erroneous article? After all, most of its writers and staff live in a nation where desecration of religious objects and symbols is sometimes viewed as art.