The big news today, as reported by U.S. News and Newsweek, is that Colin Powell was so disturbed about the quality of intelligence on Iraq that he assembled a team to review the information he was given before the big UN speech on February 5th. According to U.S. News, during the speech's rehearsal, "Powell tossed several pages in the air. 'I'm not reading this. This is bullshit.'"
Well, of course. It came from Chalabi. But the make-believe intel didn't go to waste. Several of the tossed pages ended up on the front page of the New York Times, as reported by Judith Miller. (For a complete takedown of Miller, and a call for a Times investigation of her, see Jack Shafer's latest.)
The unfortunate flip-side of the amusing Powell anecdote is that one may conclude the things that made the cut for his Feb. 5th speech were true ... which would be wrong. As Glen Rangwala has pointed out, most of Powell's 44 claims were bullshit, as well.
posted by dackOn the real NY Times scandal, I just found this NY Observer piece (scroll down):
The New York Times has quietly ended its relationship with Sarah Khalil, who helped set up the paper’s Kuwait bureau for the war—and who is also the niece of Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress.
BTW, don't know if I mentioned this before, but Judith Miller moonlights at the right-wing Middle East Forum, where she works along with Daniel "Muslims are smelly" Pipes and Laurent "Take the Saudi out of Arabia" Murawiec.
If the neocons were smart, they'd realize that the Times is on their side.
Posted by: Vin Carreo on June 3, 2003 05:39 AM