AP Concerned for Jamil Hussein

Fri, Jan 5, 2007 at 6:39:00 pm PST

The Associated Press’s Kathleen Carroll is suddenly concerned about the well-being of Jamil Hussein: AP’s Editor Criticizes Those Who Questioned Iraq Source.

NEW YORK Associated Press Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll on Friday criticized those who questioned the existence of an AP Iraq source, who was proven this week to be real, saying the scrutiny has now endangered the man’s life.

“I never quite understood why people chose to disbelieve us about this particular man on this particular story,” Carroll told E&P, referring to Jamil Hussein, an Iraq police captain. “AP runs hundreds of stories a day, and has run thousands of stories about things that have happened in Iraq.”

Carroll pointed out that critics should be more concerned with the fact that Hussein could face imprisonment for being a source to journalists than how AP handled the situation. “A man who is a legitimate police official who has talked to journalists is threatened with arrest for doing so,” she said. “Doesn’t that bother anybody other than me? Officials being threatened with arrest for talking to reporters ought to be of concern.”

The Associated Press has quoted “Iraqi police Capt. Jamil Hussein” by name in more than 60 articles published on web sites and in newspapers around the world, identifying where he works and his title. But bloggers have put him in danger?

Give me a break.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press’s story about the incidents of November 24 in the Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriyah keeps on changing.