The retraction came as the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department all heavily criticized the report and said it had damaged the U.S. image abroad. White House spokesman Scott McClellan had said it was "puzzling" that Newsweek had not retracted the story a day after apologizing for it.
"A retraction is a good first step," McClellan said after Newsweek issued its statement. "This allegation was unsubstantiated and it was contrary to everything that we value and all that our military works to uphold. We encourage Newsweek to now work diligently to help undo what damage can be undone."
"People lost their lives. the image of the United States abroad has been damaged. It will take work to undo what can be undone," McClellan said.
Good first step is right. It's not just the image of the United States that has been damaged. The image of journalism, which couldn't take much more damage, is now more suspect than ever.
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