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01-23-2008, 06:41 PM
By Douglass K. Daniel
Assoicated Press.
Washington, D.C. --
A study of two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officals issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Intergrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administrations position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.
"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgement of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.
The Center for Public Intergrity, a research group that focuses on ethics in government and public policy, designed the new website to allow simple searches for specific phrases such as "mushroom cloud" or "yellow cake uranium," in transcripts and documents totaling some 380,000 words, including remarks by President Bush and most of his top advisors in the two years after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The study counted 935 seperate statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officals stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or hand links to al-Qaida or both.
"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush Administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous enformation that it methodically propogated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."
Named in the study along with Bush were top officals of the administration during the period studied: Vice-President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House Press Secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McCellan.
Bush led with 259 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years begining on September 11, 2001, and information from over 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.
"The cumulative effect of these false statements-amplified by thousands of new stories and broadcasts-was massive and with media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months on the run-up to war," the study concluded.
"Some journalists-indeed, even some entire news organzations-have acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea cuplas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall coverage provided additional, Independent" validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it (the report) said.
There is no startling new information in the archive, because all of the documents have been published previously. But the new computer tool is remarkable for its scope and its replay of the crescendo of statements that led to the war. Muckrakers may fin browsing the site reminiscent of what Richard Nixon used to dsimissively call "wallowing in Watergate."
Online resourses.
Center for Public Intergrity:
*www.publicintergrity.org (http://www.publicintergrity.org/)
Fund for Independence in Journalism:
*www.tfij.org/ (http://www.tfij.org/)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As of Wednesday January 23, 2008 the number of U.S Military Personnel Killed In Combat: 3,929
All were killed in a war based on over 900 seperate and deliberate lies.
Assoicated Press.
Washington, D.C. --
A study of two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officals issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Intergrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administrations position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.
"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgement of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.
The Center for Public Intergrity, a research group that focuses on ethics in government and public policy, designed the new website to allow simple searches for specific phrases such as "mushroom cloud" or "yellow cake uranium," in transcripts and documents totaling some 380,000 words, including remarks by President Bush and most of his top advisors in the two years after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The study counted 935 seperate statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officals stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or hand links to al-Qaida or both.
"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush Administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous enformation that it methodically propogated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."
Named in the study along with Bush were top officals of the administration during the period studied: Vice-President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House Press Secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McCellan.
Bush led with 259 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years begining on September 11, 2001, and information from over 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.
"The cumulative effect of these false statements-amplified by thousands of new stories and broadcasts-was massive and with media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months on the run-up to war," the study concluded.
"Some journalists-indeed, even some entire news organzations-have acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea cuplas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall coverage provided additional, Independent" validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it (the report) said.
There is no startling new information in the archive, because all of the documents have been published previously. But the new computer tool is remarkable for its scope and its replay of the crescendo of statements that led to the war. Muckrakers may fin browsing the site reminiscent of what Richard Nixon used to dsimissively call "wallowing in Watergate."
Online resourses.
Center for Public Intergrity:
*www.publicintergrity.org (http://www.publicintergrity.org/)
Fund for Independence in Journalism:
*www.tfij.org/ (http://www.tfij.org/)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As of Wednesday January 23, 2008 the number of U.S Military Personnel Killed In Combat: 3,929
All were killed in a war based on over 900 seperate and deliberate lies.