Credibility Gap

I must admit I'm baffled by the flurry of remarks flowing from the Pentagon and the White House in response to the Newsweek article on the Koran and the toilet.

This AP article seems to suggest both that the Pentagon is continuing to investigate the allegation of Gitmo interrogators flushing a copy or copies of the Koran down the jon and that the allegations are false, unfounded, and damaging to the U.S. "image".

Which is it? Is the investigation continuing or has it been thoroughly investigated and found to be false?

The Newsweek "apology" is strange, too. Sounds a lot like, "we're sorry we printed the truth and that violence erupted as a result." Sounds a lot like the type of nonapology apology one utters after discovering a horse's head under your bedcovers.

But I especially liked this gem:

Lawrence Di Rita, the top spokesman for the Pentagon, called the editor's note "very tepid and qualified." He added later, "They owe us all a lot more accountability than they took."

Accountability. Yeah, the Pentagon is well positioned to talk about the need for accountability. Nigerian yellowcake? Weapons of Mass Destruction, anyone?

Jerry (to George at the coffeeshop): Artistic integrity? You're not artistic, and you have no integrity!

Dear Pentagon: this is what happens when you have no credibility or integrity. When you flush your credibility down the proverbial toilet by saying you aren't abusing detainees and than pictures surface that demonstrate you are, outsiders are more likely to believe reports that your interrogators flushed the Koran down an actual toilet, too.