I see the BBC has opened up a new front in Iraq by claiming that those bad Americans are responsible for a rise in the number of birth defects amongst the children born in Fallujah. Yes, John Simpson has been spearheading this investigation and we all know John is a very unbiased kind of guy. This is a great story that the BBC has created since it will then disseminate these unfounded allegations until they become presented as being fact. I look forward to future questions of Question Time when learned members of the audience shout out “What about the Fallujah deformities.” The BBC – always keen to attack US Armed forces.
THE FALLUJAH HORROR
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Quite breathtaking lack of science here
Simpson visits one hospital and interviews a few parents – the doctor he talks to says she needs to be scientific and has not determined a cause
Then the studio expert notes that there could be any number of causes, including genetic, environmental plus random defects (up to 3%)
So in essence, there seems to be a number of child birth defects in this area
BBC meme – US denies causing birth defects
BBC ‘journalism’ at its best
Funny thing is, it’s probably just as valid to draw the opposite conclusion: Since the Americans arrived in Fallujah, more children with birth defects are surviving long enough to be encountered by a journalist in hospital.
Surely in the interests of being even remotely objective the BBC should mention the Iraqi tradition of marrying first cousins off to one another? As that is an established and in many areas predominant means of behaviour, isn’t that likely to be a causative factor? Oh wait mentioning that might not suit the BBC’s meme! Or even upset Muslims..
Yes, inbreeding and incest are pretty normal in the muslim societies I am familiar with. Maybe the BBC could do a fearless investigation.
I heard this on 5Live this morning (just after 7.30am, listen back on iplayer!). It was utterly ridiculous, emotive stuff blaming the nasty US for the birth defects of thousands of helpless Iraqi children.
Nevermind mind that “from my [Simpson’s] untrained eye” these poor children “seem to have heart defects” (how can you tell from looking at them?)
Nevermind that there’s no records to compare the pre-liberation occurrence of such defection.
Nevermind that this is the generation that follows the gasing and brutality of the Saadam regime.
I thought journalists reported facts? This was just editorialising.
Its all those depleted uranium M&Ms wrappers out of the MREs.
Iraq is probably awash with enormous quantities of chemicals procured over the decades by the Saddam regime, either used on his own people, or hidden from inspectors. About 70 different chemicals in all from lethal to incapacitating: nerve agents, asphyxiants, cytotoxins, mustard gas, defoliants etc. Is this not a huge factor too, or is it all the fault of those pesky Americans?
Islamic jihad murders of Muslims by Muslims in Iraq.
E.g. yestereday:
“Suicide blasts kill 33 ahead of Iraq polls. Bomber rode in ambulance to hospital”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100304/world-news/suicide-blasts-kill-33-ahead-of-iraq-polls
I heard this ridiculous report by Simpson as the 6am Today headline and thought – “bound to be the main item at 8.10 and splashed by the BBC all day”.
Firstly – the story sounds like unfounded unproven allegation – from hostile Sunnis. The BBC already had a track record of falsifying what haqppened in Fallujah – and downplaying WHY the US troops had to go into that city in such force.
Secondly, as others have said, there could be various causes for any high incidence of deformed births.
Thirdly – why does this story merit such prominence, personally led by the BBC’s Word Affairs Editor. It costs us a small foirtune to keep Simpson on the road – but he seldom appears. There are any number of more important stories right now that he should be fronting – meltdown in Greece, the Argentina Falklands dispute, breakdowns in the Venezualan economy, Zimbabwe, the Dutch elections, Obama wobbling etc etc. But no – once again we have Simpson on a rant against the evil US.
I’ll be glad to see the back of the man. His clear bias and unctious manner is sickening.
Oh – I missed out the key story Simpson should be leading on if he is in the Middle East – the Iranian nuclear threat.
… or as Simpson would say: “What Iranian nuclear threat?”
Scotland too has had its share of heartbreaking childhood deformities. But they dont blame the US.
Neither should these people, aided and abetted by chief – slug Simpson.
With thanks to gurublog btw.
The esteemed John Simpson.
Say no more.
I saw a behind the scenes thingy with him once and he came accross (to me) as a bit of a Naomi Campbell – if you see what I mean.
If only they could somehow tie in the Is-rae-lies too, life would be perfect for them!
Oh, and by the way, Simpson is a flabulent t****r!
Without comparable information about pre-2004 deformities or at least some kind of report about the incidence of birth defects in other war zones, this is just an anecdote. And is Fallujah the only place in Iraq where this happens, or is this the thin end of the latest BBC wedge to condemn George Bush. One would have thought that if the US weapons caused this, it would be happening all over the place, and it would be a bigger story.
I remember the noise about the use of white phosphorous at the time. Ooh, “chemical weapons”! Where’s the information about birth defects in the rest of the world where this stuff is used? I mean, the BBC always screams about Israel’s use of white phosphorous, so one would have thought that they’d be stampeding to do a report on the rise of birth defects in Gaza.
Oh, and it’s apparently “never been established” that the US actually threw depleted uranium all over the place. So this is entirely based on supposition and little else. Fortunately, the doctor Humphrys had on mentions that there are quite a number of birth defects there anyway, and most likely plenty of other causes for them. But that doesn’t stop the BBC from doing emotionally manipulative reporting whenever they see fit.
Your quite right. Even Peter Allen was quite clear that there was no evidence that suppoted the theory. Yet they have it as a big news story regardless.Why? There can be only one conclusion.
No doubt about it this was just a usual anti US BBC tirade without any proof at all. I notice that Simpson was reporting from a newly built USA funded top of the range hospital and that before the US provided this, children were dying in their droves each day and also congenital heart defects, organ defects were already prevalent, some of which is due to people marrying close relatives and thus inbreeding defects.
There is no scientific evidence but like most BBC reports regarding the US, it never mentions the faults that could be possible.
Bias, bias, bias.