Mystery from The Memory Hole
The Memory Hole >Associated Press Deletes Crucial Portion of Witness StatementThe first version of the article, "Deadly Bomb Explodes Near Baghdad Hotel," was filed on 12 Oct 2003 at 8:01 AM. It contained the following paragraphs:
Sabah Ghulam, 37, was in a car right behind the one that exploded.
"I was in my car and the car in front of us, a 1990 Toyota Corolla, suddenly turned into the hotel. I saw the driver. He was not an Iraqi, he had a lighter complexion. He did not have a beard and was wearing a hat. We were protected by the wall. A policeman shot at him four times, and then there was the explosion." He said the windows in his car were shattered."
Just seventeen minutes later, the AP released another version of the story onto the newswire. Now titled "Deadly Car Bomb Rocks Central Baghdad," this 8:18 AM version had some new details--and a gutted witness statement.
The AP used the ellipsis (...) to delete Ghulam's description of the driver as a light-skinned non-Iraqi.
* Ray, 10/15/2003 01:36:38 PM
