Middle East Editorial Weblog

The first entry I ever posted to this weblog discussed the story of US Army Capt. Rogelio Maynulet, who shot and killed a critically wounded Iraqi man in Sadr City last spring, possibly as a display of mercy. The mainstream coverage of the incident and of the case against Maynulet was so scant and so atrocious, I could not help using it to highlight the difference between the way TNS covers the news and how the corporate outlets do so.

Maynulet is back in the news this week because his court martial has been set and his murder indictment exchanged for assault charges. And once again the fawning affection with which the mainstream has treated Maynulet stands in stark contrast to the barely veiled contempt shown his victim. And once again, the and have taken the lead.

Speaking of leads...

In our headline and article body, we wanted to highlight the fact that what is really new about this story is that Maynulet's murder charge was dropped. We also thought it was crucial to name the victim early on in the story (and not call him the "alleged victim" like the Chicago Tribune ).

Another important aspect of this case that is usually buried or not even mentioned is that perhaps the only reason it is going to trial at all is that a helicopter videotaped the whole incident. That needs to be pointed out, lest the reader be mislead into believing murder charges are routine in wartime. Once we realize this is a Rodney King beating moment -- newsworthy and prosecution-worthy perhaps only because there's no way to ignore it -- we are prompted to wonder how many killings have gone unprosecuted, or even uninvestigated...

The AP story's headline when it went over the wire?

U.S. soldier accused of killing wounded Iraqi to be court-martialed.

The lead? Well, the AP just had to make sure we know the victim was affiliated with a bad guy:

A U.S. tank company commander accused of killing a critically injured Iraqi man who chauffeured radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will be court-martialed, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

But at least the AP had the courtesy of telling the victim's name -- albeit in the 19th paragraph!

This time, AFP did even worse. Their story doesn't even seem interested in letting us know about the reduction in charges. Wire headline:

US army captain faces cort martial over Iraqi murder charges

And we see the same tactic the AP used with the lead:

A US army captain accused of murdering an Iraqi follower of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric in May is to face a court martial, the US army announced.

The closest the AFP report comes to naming the victim was to call him:

1. "an Iraqi follower of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric"
2. "the driver"
3. "the follower of Moqtada Sadr [sic], the radical cleric whose large militia has been involved in protracted battles with the US-led forces occupying Iraq"

Dehumanization of "the enemy" is an ages old staple of warfare, and the home team media must be relied upon to serve as a mechanism (between "us" and "them," even a sometimes fiesty French news service knows which side to stand on).

The AFP story also failed to mention the videotape (which by the way is classified and will only be viewed by military personnel).