Stardate 20040604.1053

(On Screen): Reuters is unbiased. Just ask them, they'll tell you.

The AP offers us this report:

Iraq Report Gives Coalition Some Praise
U.N. Report Credits Coalition With Ending Saddam's Atrocities but Notes Iraq Prisoner Abuse

The U.N. human rights commission credited the U.S.-led coalition Friday with ending years of systematic violations by Saddam Hussein's regime but also cited concerns about prisoner abuse by coalition forces.

A report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the coalition's invasion of Iraq "removed a government that preyed on the Iraqi people and committed shocking, systematic and criminal violations of human rights."

In particular, the commission noted Iraqis have greater freedom of expression now than they did under Saddam's regime.

But Reuters sees through this unconscionably biased propaganda, and instead tells us the real story:

UN Says Coalition Troops Violated Rights in Iraq

The United Nations' top human rights official said on Friday U.S.-led occupation forces had committed "serious violations" of international humanitarian law in Iraq and had ill-treated ordinary Iraqis.

Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan said coalition troops were able to act with impunity and urged appointment of an independent figure to monitor their behavior.

In a report for the world body's Human Rights Commission, Ramcharan also indicated that U.S. male and female soldiers accused of gross abuses of detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison could be guilty of war crimes.

Whew! For a moment I was afraid we might have lost sight of what was really going on in Iraq. Good thing Reuters was there to set us straight, wasn't it?