Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan are still upset with the United States on the heels of Newsweek's apology for their false contention two weeks ago that Guantanamo Bay interrogators flushed the Koran down a toilet.

The apology, released on the 'net yesterday and in print today, included an apology to those directly affected by violence caused by the erroneous report, as well as to US troops put in greater harm's way as a result of the false statement.

Muslims said they suspected that pressure from Washington was behind the magazine's climbdown, Reuters reported Monday.

"We will not be deceived by this," Islamic cleric Mullah Sadullah Abu Aman told Reuters in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.

"This is a decision by America to save itself. It comes because of American pressure. Even an ordinary illiterate peasant understands this and won't accept it."

Other bloggers are looking for Sgt. Eric Saar, former Guantanamo Bay guard and co-author of a new "tell-all" book (Inside The Wire) on so-called abuses. It looks like Saar may be the source of the report that Newsweek relied on to support the false story.

Posted by: mhking at 04:16 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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