The truth behind the hype

Andres Raya, a former Lance Corporal, caught the liberal media's attention when he died in a bloody shootout, during which he murdered a police officer. The Liberals made him another anti-war cause celebre ("See," they said, "this is what happens to young men who face death in the battlefield and must return to those same killing fields."). Except, as Michelle Malkin points out, virtually none of the MSM story was true:

This much is true about Raya: The 19-year-old man did in fact serve with the Marines' 1st Intelligence Battalion's motor transport unit as a driver in Iraq. But contrary to the impression left by initial media reports, Raya had never seen combat. And he was not headed back to Iraq. He had been transferred to a new unit scheduled for deployment to Okinawa. 'During our investigation, we found he wasn't due to go back to Iraq, never faced combat situations and never even fired his gun,' Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Woodman said. Raya was high on cocaine at the time of the ambush, according to police reports. He was reportedly affiliated with the prison gang Nuestra Familia. Investigators found photos of Raya wearing gang colors and a shopping list in his bedroom safe that included body armor, assault rifles, and ammunition. Authorities also discovered a video showing Raya smoking what appears to be marijuana and making gang sign gestures. The tape showed desecrated pieces of the American flag laid on a gymnasium floor to spell out expletives directed at President Bush. Family members deny Raya's gang ties and blame the military. Meanwhile, Raya's neighborhood was decorated with anti-cop graffiti such as 'Kill the Pigs' in his memory. And militant Hispanic residents celebrate Raya. Ceres resident Hilda Mercado told the New York Times that Raya 'died like a true Mexican: He died standing on his feet.'

Now, are MSM reporters idiots who are incapable of gathering the whole story, or are they political zealots who have no interest in the truth?