"The First Slander"

That is the term Hugh Hewitt used yesterday to refer to Eason Jordan's comments in the November 19th Guardian:

"'Actions speak louder than words. The reality is that at least 10 journalists have been killed by the US military, and according to reports I believe to be true journalists have been arrested and tortured by US forces,' Mr. Jordan told an audience of news executives at the News Xchange conference in Portugal."

Hugh says that any mention of the recent Jordan comments at Davos should also mention this "first slander."

The bottom line is this - Eason Jordan should not have quit (or been fired) over this more recent comment from which he quickly backed down. He should have been fired over those first comments - the ones that appeared in print and are indisputable. However, if this current Kerfuffle is what pushed him out the door, that's fine with me.