Bang the Drum Loudly: The Failed Journalism That Sent America to War in Iraq

[deminks]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/bang-the-drum-loudly-the-_b_2908061.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

The timing was a thing of pure political beauty. President George W. Bush was only a few days away from speaking to the United Nations' General Assembly about Iraq's renewed efforts to acquire banned weaponry. And, in a month, the president was going to Congress to seek a resolution approving of a war against Iraq. A Sunday morning story, September 8, 2002, in the New York Times made the U.N. speech and the congressional debate much easier for the White House.

Under the headline, "Threats and Responses: The Iraqis; U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts," a 3,603 word story by Michael R. Gordon and Judith Miller detailed the administration's case against Saddam Hussein related to weapons of mass destruction. America was about to be scared. Citing "administration officials," "Iraqi defectors," and "intelligence sources," Gordon and Miller wrote that Iraq had attempted to buy the type of aluminum tubes needed for the construction of a gas centrifuge to develop nuclear materials.

"In the last 14 months," they reported, "Iraq has sought to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes, which American officials believe were intended as components of centrifuges to enrich uranium."

(end snip)

Never forget the MEdia's role. Never forget.

[benld74]

1. And THAT information was priovided by the Bush administration as well,

cherry picked, never vetted, never investigated, just taken verbatim and printed.

[Cha]

2. Judy Miller.

They were all in on it. msnbc fired Phil Donahue. Those stand out in my mind but they all had that "March to WAR" Inevitability. Their ratings were more important than Lives.

Poor David Bloom of NBC paid the ultimate price over there in Iraq.

[rhett o rick]

3. Judith Miller has blood on her hands. I hope she comes back in her next life as a

roach.

[deminks]

4. kick for the evening