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<P><B><FONT face=Times color=#cc3300 size=6 roman,times,serif="" new="">Fatal
Error: The Lies of Our Times</FONT></B> </P></TD><TD width="200" valign="top"
rowspan="4">
<P><B><FONT face=Arial color=#cc3300 size=4>by Amy Goodman and David
Goodman<BR><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif color=#000000 size=2><B><A
href="http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/26/1610213">Democracy
Now</A></B></FONT></FONT></B> <BR><FONT face=Arial color=#4c4c4c size=2><B>May
27, 2004</B></FONT> </P>
<P> </P>
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<TD vAlign=top><FONT face=Arial size=1><A
href="http://www.zmag.org/watching_mainstream_media.htm">MAINSTREAM
MEDIA </A></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><A
href="http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/26/1610213"><FONT
size=2></FONT></A></FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2><FONT size=2>In our new book, The
Exception To the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers and the
Media That Love Them, we titled one chapter "The Lies of Our Times" to examine
how The New York Times coverage on Iraq and its alleged stockpiles of weapons
of mass destruction helped lead the country to war. Yesterday, The New York
Times, for the first time, raised questions about its own coverage in an
1,100-word editor's note. Here is an excerpt from our section of the book on
the New York Times and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<?xml:namespace prefix = o
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>"From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new
products in August." -- Andrew H. Card, White House Chief of Staff speaking
about the Iraq war P.R. campaign, <st1:date w:st="on" ls="trans" month="9"
day="6" year="2002">September 6,
2002</st1:date><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>In the midst of the buildup to war, a major scandal was
unfolding at The New York Times-the paper that sets the news agenda for other
media. The Times admitted that for several years a 27-year-old reporter named
Jayson Blair had been conning his editors and falsifying stories. He had
pretended to be places he hadn't been, fabricated quotes, and just plain lied
in order to tell a sensational tale. For this, Blair was fired. But The Times
went further: It ran a 7,000-word, five-page expose on the young reporter,
laying bare his personal and professional
escapades.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>The Times said it had reached a low point in its 152-year
history. I agreed. But not because of the Jayson Blair affair. It was The
Times coverage of the Bush-Blair
affair.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>When George W. Bush and Tony Blair made their fraudulent
case to attack <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>, The
Times, along with most corporate media outlets in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place>, became cheerleaders for the war. And
while Jayson Blair was being crucified for his journalistic sins, veteran
Times national security correspondent and best-selling author Judith Miller
was filling The Times' front pages with unchallenged government propaganda.
Unlike Blair's deceptions, Miller's lies provided the pretext for war. Her
lies cost lives.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>If only The New York Times had done the same kind of
investigation of Miller's reports as it had with Jayson
Blair.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>The White House propaganda blitz was launched on <st1:date
w:st="on" ls="trans" month="9" day="7" year="2002">September 7,
2002</st1:date>, at a <st1:place w:st="on">Camp David</st1:place> press
conference. British Prime Minister Tony Blair stood side by side with his
co-conspirator, President George W. Bush. Together, they declared that
evidence from a report published by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) showed that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place> was "six months away" from
building nuclear weapons.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>"I don't know what more evidence we need," crowed
Bush.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Actually, any evidence would help-there was no such IAEA
report. But at the time, few mainstream American journalists questioned the
leaders' outright lies. Instead, the following day, "evidence" popped up in
the Sunday New York Times under the twin byline of Michael Gordon and Judith
Miller. "More than a decade after Saddam Hussein agreed to give up weapons of
mass destruction," they stated with authority, "<st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>
has stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and has embarked on a worldwide
hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb, Bush administration officials said
today."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>In a revealing example of how the story amplified
administration spin, the authors included the phrase soon to be repeated by
President Bush and all his top officials: "The first sign of a 'smoking gun,'
[administration officials] argue, may be a mushroom
cloud."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Harper's publisher John R. MacArthur, author of Second
Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War, knew what to make of this
front-page bombshell. "In a disgraceful piece of stenography," he wrote,
Gordon and Miller "inflated an administration leak into something resembling
imminent Armageddon."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>The Bush administration knew just what to do with the
story they had fed to Gordon and Miller. The day The Times story ran, Vice
President Dick Cheney made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows to advance the
administration's bogus claims. On NBC's Meet the Press, Cheney declared that
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place> had purchased aluminum tubes
to make enriched uranium. It didn't matter that the IAEA refuted the charge
both before and after it was made. But Cheney didn't want viewers just to take
his word for it. "There's a story in The New York Times this morning," he said
smugly. "And I want to attribute The
Times."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>This was the classic disinformation two-step: the White
House leaks a lie to The Times, the newspaper publishes it as a startling
expose, and then the White House conveniently masquerades behind the
credibility of The Times.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>"What mattered," wrote MacArthur, "was the unencumbered
rollout of a commercial for war."4<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Judith Miller was just getting warmed up. Reporting for
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s most influential
newspaper, Miller continued to trumpet administration leaks and other bogus
sources as the basis for eye-popping stories that backed the administration's
false premises for war. "If reporters who live by their sources were obliged
to die by their sources," Jack Shafer wrote later in Slate, "Miller would be
stinking up her family tomb right
now."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>After the war, Shafer pointed out, "None of the
sensational allegations about chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons given
to Miller have panned out, despite the furious crisscrossing of
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> by <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
weapons hunters."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Did The New York Times publish corrections?
Clarifications? Did heads roll? Not a chance: Judith Miller's "scoops"
continued to be proudly run on the front
pages.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Here are just some of the corrections The Times should
have run after the year-long campaign of front-page false claims by one of its
premier reporters, Judith Miller.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Scoop: "<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> Says Hussein Intensifies Quest
for A-Bomb Parts," by Judith Miller and Michael R. Gordon, <st1:date w:st="on"
ls="trans" month="9" day="8" year="2002">September 8, 2002</st1:date>. The
authors quote Ahmed al-Shemri (a pseudonym), who contends that he worked in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s chemical weapons program
before defecting in 2000. " 'All of <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> is one large storage facility,' said Mr.
Shemri, who claimed to have worked for many years at the Muthanna State
Enterprise, once <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s chemical weapons plant." The
authors quote Shemri as stating that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place> is stockpiling "12,500 gallons
of anthrax, 2,500 gallons of gas gangrene, 1,250 gallons of aflatoxin, and
2,000 gallons of botulinum throughout the
country."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Oops: As UN weapons inspectors had earlier stated-and
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> weapons inspectors confirmed
in September 2003-none of these claims were true. The unnamed source is one of
many Iraqi defectors who made sensational false claims that were championed by
Miller and The Times.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Scoop: "White House Lists <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Steps to Build Banned Weapons," by Judith Miller and Michael Gordon, <st1:date
w:st="on" ls="trans" month="9" day="13" year="2002">September 13,
2002</st1:date>. The article quotes the White House contention that <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>
was trying to purchase aluminum pipes to assist its nuclear weapons
program.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Oops: Rather than run a major story on how the United
States had falsely cited the UN to back its claim that Iraq was expanding its
nuclear weapons program, Miller and Gordon repeated and embellished the
lie.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Contrast this with the lead paragraph of a story that ran
in the British daily The Guardian on September 9: "The International Atomic
Energy Agency has no evidence that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place> is developing nuclear weapons
at a former site previously destroyed by UN inspectors, despite claims made
over the weekend by Tony Blair, western diplomatic sources told The Guardian
yesterday." The story goes on to say that the IAEA "issued a statement
insisting it had 'no new information' on <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>'s nuclear program since December 1998 when
its inspectors left <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Miller's trumped-up story contributed to the climate of
the time and The Times. A month later, numerous congressional representatives
cited the nuclear threat as a reason for voting to authorize
war.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Scoop: "<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> Faulted Over Its Efforts to
Unite Iraqi Dissidents," by Judith Miller, <st1:date w:st="on" ls="trans"
month="10" day="2" year="2002">October 2, 2002</st1:date>. Quoting Ahmed
Chalabi and Defense Department adviser Richard Perle, this story stated: "The
INC [Iraqi National Congress] has been without question the single most
important source of intelligence about Saddam
Hussein."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Miller airs the INC's chief complaint: "Iraqi dissidents
and administration officials complain that [the State Department and CIA] have
also tried to cast doubt on information provided by defectors Mr. Chalabi's
organization has brought out of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Oops: Miller championed the cause of Chalabi, the Iraqi
exile leader who had been lobbying <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state
w:st="on">Washington</st1:state></st1:place> for over a decade to support the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. As The Washington Post revealed, Miller
wrote to Times veteran foreign correspondent John Burns, who was working in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Baghdad</st1:city></st1:place> at the
time, that Chalabi "has provided most of the front page exclusives on WMD
[weapons of mass destruction] to our
paper."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Times readers might be interested to learn the details of
how Ahmed Chalabi was bought and paid for by the CIA. Chalabi heads the INC,
an organization of Iraqi exiles created by the CIA in 1992 with the help of
the Rendon Group, a powerful public relations firm that has worked extensively
for the two Bush administrations. Between 1992 and 1996, the CIA covertly
funneled $12 million to Chalabi's INC. In 1998, the <st1:city
w:st="on">Clinton</st1:city> administration gave Chalabi control of another
$98 million of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> taxpayer money. Chalabi's
credibility has always been questionable: He was convicted in absentia in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Jordan</st1:country-region></st1:place> of stealing some $500
million from a bank he established, leaving shareholders high and dry. He has
been accused by Iraqi exiles of pocketing at least $4 million of CIA
funds.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>In the lead-up to war, the CIA dismissed Chalabi as
unreliable. But he was the darling of Pentagon hawks, putting an Iraqi face on
their warmongering. So the Pentagon established a new entity, the Office of
Special Plans, to champion the views of discredited INC defectors who helped
make its case for war.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>As Howard Kurtz later asked in The Washington Post: "Could
Chalabi have been using The Times to build a drumbeat that <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>
was hiding weapons of mass
destruction?"<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Scoop: "C.I.A. Hunts <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Tie to Soviet Smallpox," by Judith Miller, <st1:date w:st="on" ls="trans"
month="12" day="3" year="2002">December 3, 2002</st1:date>. The story claims
that "<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place> obtained a particularly
virulent strain of smallpox from a Russian scientist." The story adds later:
"The information came to the American government from an informant whose
identity has not been disclosed."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Smallpox was cited by President Bush as one of the
"weapons of mass destruction" possessed by <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>
that justified a dangerous national inoculation program-and an
invasion.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Oops: After a three-month search of Iraq, " 'Team Pox'
turned up only signs to the contrary: disabled equipment that had been
rendered harmless by UN inspectors, Iraqi scientists deemed credible who gave
no indication they had worked with smallpox, and a laboratory thought to be
back in use that was covered in cobwebs," reported the Associated Press in
September 2003.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Scoop: "Illicit Arms Kept Till Eve of War, an Iraqi
Scientist Is Said to Assert," by Judith Miller, <st1:date w:st="on" ls="trans"
month="4" day="21" year="2003">April 21, 2003</st1:date>. In this front-page
article, Miller quotes an American military officer who passes on the
assertions of "a man who said he was an Iraqi scientist" in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
custody. The "scientist" claims that <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> destroyed its WMD stockpile days before
the war began, that the regime had transferred banned weapons to <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>, and that Saddam Hussein was
working closely with Al Qaeda.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Who is the messenger for this bombshell? Miller tells us
only that she "was permitted to see him from a distance at the sites where he
said that material from the arms program was buried. Clad in nondescript
clothes and a baseball cap, he pointed to several spots in the sand where he
said chemical precursors and other weapons material were
buried."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>And then there were the terms of this disclosure: "This
reporter was not permitted to interview the scientist or visit his home. Nor
was she permitted to write about the discovery of the scientist for three
days, and the copy was then submitted for a check by military officials. Those
officials asked that details of what chemicals were uncovered be deleted." No
proof. No names. No chemicals. Only a baseball cap-and the credibility of
Miller and The Times-to vouch for a "scientist" who conveniently backs up key
claims of the Bush administration. Miller, who was embedded with MET Alpha, a
military unit searching for WMDs, pumped up her sensational assertions the
next day on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: Q: Has the unit you've been
traveling with found any proof of weapons of mass destruction in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>JUDITH MILLER: Well, I think they found something more
than a smoking gun. What they've found...is a silver bullet in the form of a
person, an Iraqi individual, a scientist, as we've called him, who really
worked on the programs, who knows them
firsthand.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Q: Does this confirm in a way the insistence coming from
the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> government that after the war,
various Iraqi tongues would loosen, and there might be people who would be
willing to help?<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>JUDITH MILLER: Yes, it clearly does.... That's what the
Bush administration has finally done. They have changed the political
environment, and they've enabled people like the scientists that MET Alpha has
found to come forth.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Oops: The silver bullet got more tarnished as it was
examined. Three months later, Miller acknowledged that the scientist was
merely "a senior Iraqi military intelligence official." His explosive claims
vaporized.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>A final note from the Department of Corrections: The Times
deeply regrets any wars or loss of life that these errors may have contributed
to.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>UP IN SMOKE <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Tom Wolfe once wrote about a war-happy Times correspondent
in Vietnam (same idea, different war): The administration was "playing [the
reporter] of The New York Times like an ocarina, as if they were blowing smoke
up his pipe and the finger work was just right and the song was coming forth
better than they could have played it themselves." But who was playing whom?
The Washington Post reported that while Miller was embedded with MET Alpha,
her role in the unit's operations became so central that it became known as
the "Judith Miller team." In one instance, she disagreed with a decision to
relocate the unit to another area and threatened to file a critical report in
The Times about the action. When she took her protest to a two-star general,
the decision was reversed. One Army officer told the Post, "Judith was always
issuing threats of either going to The New York Times or to the secretary of
defense. There was nothing veiled about that
threat."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>Later, she played a starring role in a ceremony in which
MET Alpha's leader was promoted. Other officers were surprised to watch as
Miller pinned a new rank on the uniform of Chief Warrant Officer Richard
Gonzales. He thanked her for her "contributions" to the unit. In April 2003,
MET Alpha traveled to the compound of Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed
Chalabi "at Judy's direction," where they interrogated and took custody of an
Iraqi man who was on the Pentagon's wanted list-despite the fact that MET
Alpha's only role was to search for WMDs. As one officer told the Post, "It's
impossible to exaggerate the impact she had on the mission of this unit, and
not for the better."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>After a year of bogus scoops from Miller, the paper gave
itself a bit of cover. Not corrections-just cover. On <st1:date w:st="on"
ls="trans" month="9" day="28" year="2003">September 28, 2003</st1:date>, Times
reporter Douglas Jehl surprisingly kicked the legs out from under Miller's
sources. In his story headlined AGENCY BELITTLES INFORMATION GIVEN BY
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">IRAQ</st1:place></st1:country-region> DEFECTORS, Jehl revealed: An
internal assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that most
of the information provided by Iraqi defectors who were made available by the
Iraqi National Congress was of little or no value, according to federal
officials briefed on the arrangement. In addition, several Iraqi defectors
introduced to American intelligence agents by the exile organization and its
leader, Ahmed Chalabi, invented or exaggerated their credentials as people
with direct knowledge of the Iraqi government and its suspected unconventional
weapons program, the officials said.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>The Iraqi National Congress had made some of these
defectors available to...The New York Times, which reported their allegations
about prisoners and the country's weapons program. Poof. Up in smoke went
thousands of words of what can only be called rank
propaganda.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>This Times confession was too little, too late. After an
unnecessary war, during a brutal occupation, and several thousand lives later,
The Times obliquely acknowledged that it had been recycling disinformation.
Miller's reports played an invaluable role in the administration's propaganda
war. They gave public legitimacy to outright lies, providing what appeared to
be independent confirmation of wild speculation and false accusations. "What
Miller has done over time seriously violates several Times' policies under
their code of conduct for news and editorial departments," wrote William E.
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jackson</st1:place></st1:city> in
Editor & Publisher. "Jayson Blair was only a fluke deviation.... Miller
strikes right at the core of the regular functioning news
machine."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>More than that, Miller's false reporting was key to
justifying a war. And The Times' unabashed servitude to the administration's
war agenda did not end with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>On <st1:date w:st="on" ls="trans" month="9" day="16"
year="2003">September 16, 2003</st1:date>, The Times ran a story headlined
SENIOR U.S. OFFICIAL TO LEVEL WEAPONS CHARGES AGAINST SYRIA. The stunningly
uncritical article was virtually an excerpt of the testimony about to be given
that day by outspoken hawk John R. Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms
control. The article included this curious caveat: The testimony "was provided
to The New York Times by individuals who feel that the accusations against
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place> have received insufficient
attention." The article certainly solved that
problem.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2>The author? Judith Miller-preparing for the next
battlefront.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT
face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=2></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=2><FONT size=2><SPAN> </SPAN>-- Jeremy Scahill
Producer/Correspondent Democracy Now! Phone: +1-212-431-9090
Fax:+1-212-431-8858 </FONT><A
href="https://www.zmag.org/admin/dynamic/www.democracynow.org"><FONT
size=2>www.democracynow.org</FONT></A><FONT size=2> Sign up for the Democracy
Now! Daily News Digest: </FONT><A
href="http://www.democracynow.org/maillist.pl"><FONT
size=2>http://www.democracynow.org/maillist.pl</FONT></A></FONT></SPAN></P></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></DIV>
<P><FONT face="Arial Black" color=#800080 size=2>----</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face="Arial Black" color=#800080>Mark and
Andrea<BR></FONT></FONT></P>
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