Newsweek's blunders send troubling message

Although it was highly disturbing to read and hear about Newsweek's blunder reporting a Koran was flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which caused unnecessary riots and deaths in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries, it comesasnosurprise ("Newsweek apologizes for Koran article," Nation, Monday).

Newsweek not only got it wrong, but it poured salt in the wounds when its entertainment critic followed up by declaring a link between the Bush administration and the "dark side" in the new "Star Wars" movie.

It is becoming painfully clear that America's so-called mainstream news media have been recklessly advancing an anti-Bush political agenda with relentless negative reporting about the conflict in Iraq - demoralizing our people, our military and their families, hurting military recruitment, and inflaming non-Iraqi terrorists to cross the border. This has undoubtedly caused additional deaths of our soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians, and increased the threat to our national security.