AP still in denial on its source for story of burning men

Flopping Aces got a response from the AP after the Minister of Interior press briefing. The AP is still ignoring a key piece of information.

...

For example, we have some of the respected news outlets that deal with news fast and have a relation with many TV channels and the media in general, who distributed a story quoting a person called Jamil Hussein. Afterward, we searched our sources in our staff for anyone by this name– maybe he wore an MOI uniform and gave a different name to the reporter for money. And the second name used is Lt. Maythem.

However, all of you know that the ministry of interior has a large public affairs office and its official spokesman, and we are ready to answer any questions you may have. Therefore, you should contact MOI PAO for all your needs to get real, true news. Based on that, we strongly deny any relation with those two names. In order to serve you better and strengthen the relationship with MOI, do not take statements that have no meaning and do not represent any official. We would like this note to be helpful to you and any statement made by those persons to be ignored.

...

The AP responds:

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By contrast, the U.S. military and Iraqi government spokesmen attack our reporting because that captain's name is not on their list of authorized spokespeople. Their implication that we may have given money to the captain is false. The AP does not pay for information. Period.

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Whether or not any money passed for this story, the bottom line is that the MOI is denying that the many is a policeman and that he is authorized to speak. While the AP cites some physical evidence no bodies have been produced or turned over to the morgue nor have their been the whaling funerals that usually follow such events. Until the AP can produce the "captain" with his identification and verification of his employment with the Ministry of the Interior their credibility is still open to question on this story. It should be added that his testimony is not the only reason the story has been questioned. The military sent troops in to verify the story and could find no evidence to support the AP report.

Update: The Belmont Club has commentary under the header--"The shoe never fits." Who will sue whom? Will the mysterious captain show up to testify?

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