Eason Jordon, the man who admitted he kept Saddam’s evil doings secret and was forced to resign in disgrace after he admitted it, the man who told the world that our military deliberately targeted journalists for assassination has offered to pay for Michelle Malkin and myself to go to Iraq and search for Jamil Hussein:
Who is Jamil Hussein? Michelle Malkin is leading the charge for an answer, and she put that question to me in her blog. The AP is in the midst of a public firestorm regarding whether supposed Iraqi police captain Jamil Hussein actually exists and, if so, whether he was a legitimate news source for a disputed November 24 AP-reported story saying Shia thugs in Baghdad "grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive near Iraqi soldiers who did not intervene." The U.S. military, the Iraqi government, and many others insisted the AP story was false and that Jamil Hussein either was fictitious or was not an Iraqi police officer, as asserted in the AP’s report. The AP has issued two strong statements defending its initial report and produced fresh statements from witnesses of the alleged crime, but the AP has not produced Jamil Hussein himself.
So the search for Jamil Hussein is on, and rightly so. IraqSlogger’s team in Baghdad is working to track him down. If we find him, we’ll get back to you with details. If we can’t find him, we’ll report that, too. If Michelle Malkin wants to join the search in Baghdad, IraqSlogger will pay for her trip, and I’d even be willing to accompany her. Stay tuned.
I know, my name isn’t in there, that’s because he offered Michelle to come with him and she asked if he would pay for me to go also.
I e-mailed my acceptance of Jordan’s invitation this morning. No way should we just take the word of they guy who admitted covering up for Saddam Hussein and who resigned from CNN after baselessly slandering the U.S. military (maybe we’ll find the Davos tape while we’re on the search). Plus, it’ll be an incredible opportunity to see Iraq and our troops firsthand. I have many friends, heroes, and contacts there I’d like to meet in person.
I also e-mailed to ask Mr. Jordan whether he would pay for Curt from Flopping Aces, the blogger who first broke open the story and is leading the charge for an answer (see, Jordan got his facts wrong already), to come on the search as well if he is able to do so.
1036am Eastern update: Jordan says he will pay for Curt’s trip.
I have to say, I am honored that she thought of me to go along and find the fraud we know as Jamil Hussein. But alas with a day job as a police officer I first have to get approval from my department for the time off, which won’t be easy…..so stay tuned.
UPDATE
If indeed I am able to go to Iraq I will be in good company:
My friend, photojournalist/milblogger extraordinaire Michael Yon, is scheduled to be in Baghdad on the 19th. He may get answers before we even get off the ground.
Bill Ardolino is also getting ready to embed in Iraq before the end of the month. Bill Roggio is there now.
Still kinda blown away by all this but will update with the results of my time off request soon.
UPDATE II
I worry, as others have, that this may be a set-up of some kind. Think about it. Eason Jordon should have a easy time of finding Jamil Hussein since the AP has said they have been talked to him for over two years. I have blogged many times that there may indeed be a man named Jamil Hussein but my argument has always been he is a fraud. It has already been confirmed that he is NOT employed by the Iraqi government so why would we go skipping around Iraq in search of someone the AP could supposedly produce in a heartbeat?
Picture this, we are tooling around Baghdad and then Eason say’s "AH-HA!" There he is. Jamil produces a fake police ID badge and then asks us to comment. When we say that we would like him to come with us to the Ministry of Interior and have the MoI verify he is indeed a employee Mr. Jordan would spin it as "big time journalist (Michelle obviously, not me) refusing to accept proof that Jamil is real." His story would be "Jamil found" and thats how it will be filed across the land.
Eason Jordan has already proven to us all that he is void of any ethics when it comes to journalism so why should we trust him now?
See author page
Hope the trip works out for you. I excerpted and linked from my daily Jamilgate roundup: CENTCOM says AP’s "Iraqi police source" isn’t Iraqi police — Part 17
Going to a war zone isn’t a game. A lot of experienced correspondents have been killed in Iraq: you have no knowledge as to how to get around in war zone. While part of me would like you to go over and realize that the “MSM” reporters you love to trash from the comfort of your livingroom do an incredible job while living and working in terrible conditions, I don’t want you getting killed as a result of your own lack of tradecraft. A civil war is not the place for war tourists like yourself and Malkin: you should stay in the US.
Malkin and (Hopefully) Curt in Iraq
I told you you needed to be reading Flopping Aces about the exploding AP scandal!
Looks like Michelle Malkin is going to Baghdad to try to find the elusive Jamal Hussein. Curt from Flopping Aces may be going with her.
Hey Curt, I’ll pull your sh…
Scoop! Jamil Hussein spotted in Qana!
The elusive Jamil Hussein has been spotted in Qana. This photograph — shot by a stringer for both the Associated Press and Reuters — is proof positive of two key facts.