AP's Jack Stokes and the Salvador Option in Iraq

An Open Letter to:

Jack Stokes
Director of Media Relations
Associated Press
info@ap.org

Dear Mr. Stokes:
In an article of May 13, 2006, entitled "Son of Top Iraqi Judge Killed in Baghdad," AP writer BUSHRA JUHI wrote the following:

"It could also be part of a series of killings by death squads and militias, who have kidnapped and killed hundreds of Sunnis and Shiites, often motivated by sectarian hatred."

I would appreciate receiving justification for the last phrase of that sentence, "often motivated by secarian hatred."

I'm of the understanding that Iraq does not have a history of sectarian division, or hatred. Marriages between Sunnis and Shiites are very common.

I would greatly appreciate the AP taking the time to determine if the phrase used by Bushra Juhi was included on the basis of supportable fact, or whether the phrase is simply a "throw-away" claim, which is potentially an echo of propaganda being generated by forces that seek to engender sectarian strife.

It is my understanding that a greater division exists between forces struggling to keep multinational corporate domination out of Iraq, and forces seeking to profit from enabling the country to be overtaken by foreign commercial power. That division might happen to fall along sectarian lines; however, I'd urge you to dig deeper into the fundamental rationales behind the death squad killings.

As a model, you might refresh AP's institutional memory of the death squads that were active in Central America in the 1980s. Is it coincidence that John Negroponte was deeply involved in those operations, and then served as Ambassador in Iraq during the period that Iraqi death squad activity arose? Many well-informed people speak of the "Salvador Option," including Newsweek among others.

I hope you will take the time to assess whether or not "momentum of habit," and article deadlines, are leading to phrases like "often motivated by sectarian hatred" being used in AP articles. I hope that you will caution your writers to resist potential over-simplifications, which can have a profound effect on the beliefs of readers. I do not believe the killings are primarily motivated by religious infighting. Unfortunately, the phrase used by Juhi would lead most readers to that conclusion.

Thank you for your consideration.