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Is
the NYT Inventing Quotes Again?
A
BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
BuzzFlash
Preface: The
internationally renowned French Paper Le Monde charges
the New York Times with misquoting a French judge in order to
write an "alarmist
story," claiming that dozens of French Muslims have left to fight
the Americans in Iraq. It should be noted by BuzzFlash that the NYT,
in writing such a story, is following the Bush line that foreign terrorists
are behind the attacks on American forces [LINK].
Of course, then there are U.S. military commanders that say this is not
true. In fact, different
Bush administration officials, on any given day, emphatically attribute
the attacks to each of several different sources, then the next day change
their minds. The Pentagon even refutes Bush's "foreign fighter" theory.
[LINK]
It's kind of like watching a dark comedy of a musical chairs blame game.
It is a sign of the Bush Cartel's incompetence and ineptness that they
don't seem to have a clue as to who is attacking our troops.
*
* * This
is the New
York Times article and characterization of Judge Bruguière's
comments [LINK]:
"Signs of a movement to Iraq have also been detected in Europe.
Jean-Louis Bruguière, France's top investigative judge on terrorism,
said dozens of poor and middle-class Muslim men had left France for Iraq
since the summer. He said some of them appeared to have been inspired
by exhortations of Qaeda leaders, even if they were not trained by Al
Qaeda.
Mr.
Bruguière, who earlier this year opened an investigation
of young men leaving France to fight on the side of Muslims in Chechnya,
said the traffic to Iraq was now a similar problem. He called the changing
pattern 'a new threat.'"
In any case, what's interesting about this Le
Monde article (for those
who don't read French), is that the French judge quoted by the NYT claims he never says what the NYT claims he said.
Very interesting indeed...
Apparently
attempting to outline the invisible enemy ceaselessly harassing
American soldiers, the November 1, 2003 NYT published an investigation
on the "hundreds of jihad warriors" pouring into Iraq.
From Europe and the Middle East supposedly in response to calls to
face occupation
forces by Osama bin Laden and other islamic extremists.
Quoting numerous anonymous sources among several European security
services, the newspaper specifically cites the anti-terrorist Judge
Jean-Louis Bruguière.
According to him, dozens of militant islamists from poor and middle
class backgrounds were said to have left France for Iraq over the last
few
months. Certain among them were said to have been inspired by Al
Qaeda chiefs without having followed formal military training under
their guidance.
Interviewed by Le Monde on Monday November 3, Jean-Louis Bruguière
questions the accuracy of remarks attributed to him: "We have
no elements of information whatever to support a claim that dozens
of French
men have left to fight in Iraq," he explains. "All you
can say is simply that Iraq is potentially attractive to radical
muslim
movements in Europe. This sentiment could eventually, transform [Iraq]
into jihad territory because of the degradation and rottenness of
the situation [under the occupation], but not to the extent that
Afghanistan
and Chechnya have been."
*
* *
Here
is the Le Monde article, in the original French:
Jean-Louis
Bruguière dément le départ de dizaines
de Français en Irak [LINK]
LE MONDE | 03.11.03 | 13h31 • MIS A JOUR LE 03.11.03 | 17h23
Soucieux
de préciser les contours de cet ennemi invisible qui
harcèle sans répit les soldats américains, le New
York Times a publié une enquête, samedi 1er novembre, sur
les "centaines de combattants du djihad" qui afflueraient en
Irak. Venus d'Europe et du Moyen-Orient, ils répondraient à l'appel
d'Oussama Ben Laden et d'autres extrémistes islamistes pour affronter
les forces d'occupation.
Faisant référence à de nombreuses sources anonymes
parmi les services de renseignement de plusieurs pays européens,
le journal cite notamment le juge antiterroriste français Jean-Louis
Bruguière. Selon lui, des dizaines de militants islamistes issus
de milieux pauvres et des classes moyennes auraient quitté la
France pour l'Irak ces derniers mois. Certains auraient été inspirés
par les exhortations des chefs d'Al-Qaida, sans avoir forcément
subi un entraînement militaire sous leur autorité.
Interrogé, lundi 3 novembre, par Le Monde, Jean-Louis Bruguière
conteste la teneur des propos qui lui sont attribués. "Nous
ne disposons d'aucun élément d'information documenté sur
des dizaines de Français qui seraient allés combattre en
Irak, explique-t-il. On peut simplement dire que l'Irak est potentiellement
attractif pour des islamistes radicaux de la mouvance européenne. Ça
pourrait, à terme, devenir une terre de djihad à cause
de la dégradation et du pourrissement de la situation sur place,
mais pas au niveau de l'Afghanistan et de la Tchétchénie."
A la
direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST), on se montre également
fort surpris par le ton alarmiste de l'article du New York Times et,
en particulier, par le chiffre avancé concernant la France. Selon
la DST, la mutation de l'Irak en nouvelle terre de djihad et en aimant
pour les radicaux islamistes n'est qu'une crainte et une hypothèse.
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