Updating the Story on Slandering US Marines

Michelle Malkin got a response from Gerard Baker, editor at the Times Online. His response was as follows:

Thank you for pointing out the dreadful error on our website involving the wrong picture and capture of murdered Iraqis. I have asked that it be removed immediately and an apology issued.
I'm sorry you have jumped to the conclusion that this was a deliberate misrepresentation and the result of slanted journalism and sorrier that you have shared that view with your readers without any attempt to verify it. The Times has been meticulously fair in its coverage of the Iraq war and of US policy in general. Our editorial line has been to support the war and we continue to do so, though not without some reservations, of course. We have eschewed completely the sort of vile anti-Americanism so common in much of the British press and our correspondents have done their level best to paint a fair picture of conditions in Iraq today.

I'm personally offended both by the error on the Times website and by your association of me with what you call the intentional slander of US marines..

You're probably not aware of my writing but I think I think most readers would probably describe myself as one of the most pro-American columnists currently employed by a British paper. I have repeatedly defended the Bush administration's foreign policy; I supported the Iraq war, and continue to do so. Please be apprised that this was a genuine and very unfortunate error.

Gerard Baker
US Editor
The Times

The Times Online has indeed removed the highly offensive photo, but questions remain how and why the editors or other newsroom workers thought it appropriate to conflate the slaughter of innocents by insurgents with the allegations against US Marines through the use of photos accompanying a story on Haditha.

Strangely, there's no note on the site that the photo was removed or that there was any issue with the story in the first place. No letters to the editor. Curious. And there's no online corrections section where this issue was addressed.

The Times Online should do more than simply pull the photo. They need to run an above the fold correction and apology. The Marines deserve as much.