Iraq: Unproven Claims Disguised As Facts

Michael Yon relates an extraordinary story of how a passerby in an Iraqi village saved a mosque full of worshippers from a suicide bomber whose explosive pack was filled with ball-bearings (see photo) in order to inflict greater harm.

Yon also offers this cautionary note:

"Unproven claims successfully disguised as facts in the media can be persistent obstacles to finding the truth. Once something is put in print, it becomes referenced as fact by other people who seldom check the source. There was a time when American soldiers were derided in the press for wearing sunglasses in Iraq. Someone had the notion that sunglasses were deeply offensive to Iraqis, many of whom also wear sunglasses. In the retelling of terrorist attacks in Iraq, key details are often left out while others insinuate themselves into places they don’t belong. So it was for the thwarted bomb attack in this village, which quickly found its way into media reports, described as yet another incident of sectarian violence, which on some level it was."

More here.