Despite the early report by NBC News, promoted by the Drudge Report, the Iraqi Special Tribunal judge assassinated today by terrorists was not Raid Juhi, the presiding judge. NBC has corrected its preliminary reporting with an update from the same reporter that originally reported it was Juhi:

A judge working on the special tribunal established to try Saddam Hussein and other senior officials in his toppled regime was assassinated Tuesday in Baghdad, but U.S. officials told NBC News that initial reports that the victim was the presiding judge were erroneous.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the person killed by unidentified gunman was not Ra’id Juhi, the 35-year-old chief investigative judge of the special tribunal set up to try Saddam and senior officials, but was another judge working for the tribunal.

The officials did not immediately identify the victim.

None of this lets the ever-execrable Robert Fisk off the hook. Fisk first revealed Juhi's name in his report for the British newspaper The Independent last summer, putting the judge and the tribunal itself at unnecessary risk:

The Iraqi Special Tribunal had asked the media to protect his anonymity. But he was named by Robert Fisk, foreign correspondent of The Independent.

Downing Street warned that the judge now faced reprisals from Saddam loyalists. A Foreign Office source added: "Obviously this shows questionable judgment about an individual's safety." When TV footage was broadcast yesterday, censors made sure the judge was pictured only from behind.

Simon Kelner, editor of The Independent, defended his decision, saying: "This was not a British court, it was an Iraqi court. We don't want to compromise the judge's safety but the cameras showed side views of him and he was instantly recognised by many Iraqis."

Fisk has been a rotten, biased, and discredited shill for the radical left for years, but in this case he actively assisted the enemy in targeting Iraqi officials. His editor's smarmy excuse that Juhi's nationality made his safety less of an issue should repulse anyone who has watched the Iraqis brave bombs and bullets to rebuild their nation. (hat tip: Molten Thought)

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Tracked on March 1, 2005 8:09 PM