Well, at risk of adding to the echo effect, here we go again:

Linda Foley, speaking Friday in St. Louis, said the American attacks are focused particularly on Arab journalists...

According to a tape of her remarks, Foley said: "Journalists, by the way, are not just being targeted verbally or � ah, or � ah, politically. They are also being targeted for real, um � in places like Iraq. What outrages me as a representative of journalists is that there's not more outrage about the number, and the brutality, and the cavalier nature of the U.S. military toward the killing of journalists in Iraq."

Foley continued, "They target and kill journalists � uh, from other countries, particularly Arab countries like Al -, like Arab news services like al-Jazeera, for example. They actually target them and blow up their studios with impunity. ..." [WND]

Damning accusation levelled. No supporting evidence supplied. Press worldwide will repeat charges. Readers will believe this proves her charges are true. Retractions will not be issued, will be buried, or, if issued and seen, will be be dismissed as an evil plot on the part of the Bush administration or "right wing" to silence all who disagree.

Lost in the leftist narrative, however, are a few tiny, unimportant questions: (1) Are these charges actually true? (2) What are your standards for fair play?

Regarding (1), if the charges are true, and she knows the military regularly "blow[s] up their studios with impunity", then she should come forward with the supporting information, not just the unfounded charge. (Of course, one can't help but wonder, if Al Jazeera's studios were blown up, how come that action never cut off a broadcast, and why Al Jazeera hasn't aired footage of that rather newsworthy event. Inquiring minds want to know.)

Regarding (2), is it right to accuse someone of something for which you have no evidence? Would it be morally right for me to say that Foley abducts neighborhoood children and tortures them, and yet provide no evidence for my damning charges? Of course, not. So how can she justify making these charges with an apparent lack of supporting evidence?

Of course, it's the fault of the "right wing" as usual:

When asked if she believed U.S. troops had targeted journalists in Iraq, she said, “I was careful of not saying troops, I said U.S. military. Could I have said it differently? There are 100 different ways of saying this, but I’m not sure they would have appeased the right.”

I'm not at war with you, Ms. Foley. The question is whether your statement is true or not, and if you have any evidence for your charges. If your charges are true, then you're being derelict by hiding the supporting evidence, so that the atrocity can be exposed. If your charges are false, then you're using your position for slander and lies.