A key U.S. Senator says the military bought advertisements in Iraqi newspapers to promote the U.S.-led coalition’s work in Iraq, but that some had been published without the disclaimer that they had been funded by the military.
So THAT’s what happened. The US military wasn’t doing something tacky like buying stories in Iraq newspapers, they were buying *advertisements*, But (slapping forehead) someone forgot to print that in the newspaper.
This ranks up there with "The dog ate my homework" and "It was a bookkeeping error" in the annals of silly excuses no one believes.