[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 64 (Monday, May 16, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H3268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             NEWSWEEK ERROR

  (Mrs. MILLER of Michigan asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, all Americans are distressed by 
the anti-American images that surfaced this weekend in Afghanistan. 
United States flags are being burned, the American military is being 
harshly criticized, our good name is being stained. What is more, 
people are dying.
  All of this because of the carelessness of one group of magazine 
editors at Newsweek magazine. This magazine recently reported that U.S. 
investigators had determined American guards at Guantanamo Bay Naval 
Base had desecrated the Quran by flushing the holy book down the 
toilet.
  Now we have learned that Newsweek has acknowledged errors in its 
story. The source used by Newsweek's reporters was anonymous, and it is 
obvious that the magazine failed to fully investigate this ``source'' 
and his or her claims.
  Newsweek decided to publish these accusations in haste, without 
regard for the great pain and suffering that they could, and ultimately 
would, cause.
  Some in the media are simply fanatical about being first, and we as a 
country and as a culture must draw the line and demand more from our 
media.
  Today, I call on Newsweek to fully retract its story and to apologize 
to the people of Afghanistan whose lives have been forever impacted by 
this carelessness and to the American people for damaging our good 
name.

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