Is this story for real? Part 2.

Let's pick up where we left off in the previous post and bury war-blogger and hack journalist Michael Yon (and his adoring groupies) good and proper, shall we? (Oooooooh, I feel like Boy Detective Steve Janke, but without the creepy, sociopathic obsessions with female genital areas and dead women.)

To recap, here's Yon's original, completely uncritical reporting of the "al Qaeda baked boy" story (emphasis added):

Speaking through an American interpreter, Lieutenant David Wallach who is a native Arabic speaker, the Iraqi official related how al Qaeda united these gangs who then became absorbed into “al Qaeda.” They recruited boys born during the years 1991, 92 and 93 who were each given weapons, including pistols, a bicycle and a phone (with phone cards paid) and a salary of $100 per month, all courtesy of al Qaeda. These boys were used for kidnapping, torturing and murdering people.

At first, he said, they would only target Shia, but over time the new al Qaeda directed attacks against Sunni, and then anyone who thought differently. The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man’s words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, “What did he say?” Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.

The Deputy Governor for Diyala Province had told me on 04 July that al Qaeda burned the home of a Provincial Council leader named Abdul Jabar. Jabar, an Iraqi official who has no reservations about being named as a source, provided information about the killings I described in the dispatch “Bless the Beasts and Children.” ...

I deliberately emphasized that last paragraph to demonstrate how, after "reporting" on the baked boys incident, Yon simply moved on without expressing any skepticism about it whatsoever or asking for any kind of verification. Feel free to read the article in its entirety to see that for yourself.

Not surprisingly, some of Yon's commenters (the clinically sane ones, at least) are a bit skeptical:

I have no difficulty believing any accusation levelled against AQ other than compassion, but the ‘baked children’ story is so explosive and so open to ridicule as urban myth it really does cry out for maximum corroboration. Any chance Michael can speak to the families or any eye witness? ...

Just showed up this site and I like your work, but, ah, that baked children story is far out there, man. I find it really strains incredulity. I don’t suppose you could back that up more?

The majority of Yon's commenters, however, are simply airheaded, gullible buffoons:

Well, if that doesn’t garner some main stream attention I don’t know what will. Jesus, what a bunch of barbarians.

The moral equivalency argument needs to be crushed. We detain someone without due process and AQI bakes a child and feeds him to his family. Yet many people in the west are saying ‘we’re no better’. ...

The baked Iraqi boy story is truly horrible. I feel bad for the victim’s families. al-Q is a vicious enemy and I hope more and more people will see that. ...

Another great post. That some in our country want us to abandon these people is almost unthinkable to me. Keep up the great work! ...

Michael, thanks. Your work is important. You get us closer to what’s really going on over than any other media. Amazing work. I pray that you continue to see progress. Please stay safe, and God bless.

But here is truly the best comment:

Paul says:

I have no difficulty believing that AQ baked those children. This is the same type of aanimals that killed 3000 + of us on 9/11, the same type that put people in wood grinders, feet first to make it last longer, the same folks that dripped acid on people who were in jail.

Why, sure ... we can believe this story about al Qaeda because, hey, it's something they might do, and what more evidence do we need than that? But this is where the story gets fun as Yon clearly provoked a shitstorm of controversy with this claim and was forced into re-addressing it thusly (all emphasis tail-waggingly added):

With dispatches in the works for these topics, the 5-July update was more a chronicle of my observations of the long overdue and very much welcome emergence of Iraqi political leaders from out of hiding. During a meeting, an Iraqi official in the room—who asked to remain anonymous—provided a narrative of how al Qaeda took control of Baqubah and much of Diyala Province. The paragraph that generated controversy follows:

The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man’s words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, “What did he say?” Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.

Every syllable I wrote about this reported incident was in that paragraph, which offers no opinion about the veracity of his words.

Mr. Abdul Jabar had lived near the al Hamari village. He had more details about what happened there, and he was willing to go on the record. The reported incidents, wretching though they were and are, were reported “as is.”

When context is other people’s children

As I write these words just a few miles from the graves I saw, the resulting controversy about whether what the man said was true, or whether his words should have been written if the writer couldn’t verify them, seems precious. There is no imaginary line of credulity that al Qaeda might cross should it go from beheading children to baking them.

To which one can only respond, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yon makes an incendiary accusation, quoting an anonymous source, admits he reported the accusation "as is" with absolutely no followup and no corroboration, and finally seems to accept the story because, well, it's something al Qaeda might do. Really, is it even possible to be more of an irresponsible, sensationalistic hack than that? But wait -- the best is yet to come. Stay tuned.