http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/politics/20newsweek.html
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Simon Schorno, a spokesman for the Red Cross committee, declined yesterday to discuss the details in the reports of how Koran was handled and would not say whether any reports involved a Koran’s being flushed down a toilet.
He said the committee received “multiple allegations” of abuse of the Koran from the detainees. He said workers for the committee, which monitors the treatment of prisoners of war and works in tandem with the military to ensure that the Geneva Conventions are followed, did not witness any of the reported incidents.
Mr. Schorno said the committee began receiving the accusations in 2002, when the detainees first arrived in Guantánamo, and they continued until mid-2003. The reports were “substantial enough for us to bring to the attention of authorities,” he said, and included information not only from detainees but also from military personnel.
After the Red Cross submitted its reports, he said, complaints from detainees stopped.
Mr. Whitman said the Pentagon had received the reports of “some mishandling by U.S. personnel and by the detainees themselves,” but he said the incidents were “minor” and “inadvertent.”
Mr. Whitman and Mr. Schorno referred to the same number of reports but characterized the number differently. Mr. Whitman said the incidents were “rare”; Mr. Schorno said they were “multiple.” Neither would release the reports.
Meanwhile, Laura Bush, the first lady, added her voice to White House criticism of Newsweek for its report on the Koran.
“I am glad that they retracted it,” Mrs. Bush told Fox News Channel. “But I think it’s really important for America to be able to get over to people in the Middle East what we are really like, and that freedom of religion and respect for other people’s religion is a very, very important part of our country.”
Asked whether Newsweek needed to do anything else about its error, she replied: “Well, sure. I mean, I think that they can let people know that it was a mistake, try to get the word out, but I think we all need to get that word out.”
Ken Weine, a spokesman for Newsweek, said the magazine had no comment on Mrs. Bush’s remarks. He also said the magazine’s editor in chief, Richard Smith, would be writing a letter to readers to address the editorial principles that guide Newsweek and its use of sources.
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