And yet this fact went unmentioned in TNR’s story. What’s really odd is that TNR claims to have found no fewer than three witnesses to the incident; that the Army couldn’t find one actually works to TNR’s advantage in suggesting either that the troops involved are afraid to tell their commanders the truth or the Army’s not doing a thorough job of investigating. And yet — no mention.

In any case, it’s considered standard journalistic practice to print a denial from the other side if you’ve actually got one, right? Then again, so is fact-checking. Oh well.