Journalists and bloggers have teamed up to try answer the question.
Why the fuss about "Jamil Hussein"?
The AP cited him as the key source of a November 24 AP story in which it was reported six Sunnis were burned alive by a Shia mob as they departed a mosque in the Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriya.
Soon after the AP reported the story, U.S. and Iraqi officials dismissed the report as false and said they had no record of an Iraqi police captain by the name of Jamil Hussein.
The AP issued strong statements in defense of its original report and provided additional reporting quoting anonymous witnesses who claimed to have seen the disputed episode.
Curt of the "Flopping Aces" blog, Michelle Malkin, and other journalists and bloggers turned up the heat on the AP, demanding answers to nagging questions about the AP's reporting and, most critically, insisting the AP prove Iraqi Police Captain Jamil Hussein exists.
Today, nearly a month after the reported incident, Jamil Hussein's existence remains in question.
When IraqSlogger debuted in beta form last week, I offered in an IraqSlogger post to send Michelle Malkin to Baghdad to search for Jamil Hussein, and I offered to accompany her on the trip. Michelle accepted the offer, asked if I'd also pay for Curt to make the trip, I said yes, and now I'm working with Michelle offline to make the trip happen -- a hugely challenging, risky journey that will take some time to arrange.
Now the story becomes murkier and perhaps more intriguing with Mark Danziger's most recent post on the "Winds of Change" blog. Danziger, who's not in Iraq, and contacts of his who are in Baghdad are among those hunting for Jamil Hussein. In short, doubts remain about whether there's a captain Jamil Hussein, but there's no conclusive evidence, either way.
Several IraqSlogger colleagues in Baghdad are tracking leads in an effort to locate Jamil Hussein.
IraqSlogger's two biggest concerns: determining the ground truth and not losing lives in the process.
The Baghdad neighborhood where the disputed episode occurred, Hurriya, is a dangerous Shia area, while the neighborhoods where Captain Jamil Hussein is supposedly based (Yarmouk and/or Khadraa) are volatile Sunni-dominated Sunni-Shia mixed areas.
Iraqi police are themselves the frequent target of terrorist and insurgent attacks -- thousands have been killed -- and police stations are difficult-to-approach fortresses. Iraqi police have understandable anxieties and suspicions when outsiders start poking around in an effort to track down a certain police officer. Also worrisome: Some Iraqi police are alleged to be members of sectarian death squads. Bottom line: This effort to find Jamil Hussein is dangerous for all involved on the ground.
Nevertheless, since "Jamil Hussein" has been quoted in dozens of AP stories, he'd seemingly not be impossible to track down in person.
We'll get back to you with ground truth when we determine it.
In the meantime, here's a satellite image that shows the west Baghdad neighborhoods in question.
The distances involved: Hurriya (reported incident location) is two miles from Khadraa (is "Captain Jamil Hussein" based here?), Khadraa is 1.5 miles from Yarmouk (is "Captain Jamil Hussein" based here?), and Yarmouk is 3.3 miles from Hurriya.
Stay tuned.
