From Another Day in the Empire
Iran Attack: Once Again, the New York Times Serves as Propaganda Tool
Saturday February 10th 2007, 10:32 am
Recall, back in May of 2004, a superficially contrite New York Times editorial staff admitting it published “questionable” information about claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, information that ultimately paved the way for the slaughter of 650,000 Iraqis.
In an rather unconvincing and apparently obligatory mea culpa, the editors shifted blame for publishing this blatantly false and obvious propaganda, more accurately described as neocon spawned fairy tales, to convicted embezzler Ahmad Chalabi and “a circle of Iraqi informants,” refusing to admit they were used as a propaganda tool by the neocons, described merely as “hard-liners within the Bush administration,” not psychopathic warmongers. “We consider the story of Iraq’s weapons, and of the pattern of misinformation, to be unfinished business. And we fully intend to continue aggressive reporting aimed at setting the record straight,” the newspaper concluded.
Of course, the New York Times didn’t really mean it, as “unfinished business” would necessitate sweeping out the rogues and neocon agents ensconced deeply within its editorial offices. One such rogue is Michael R. Gordon, “the same Times reporter who, on his own, or with Judith Miller, wrote some of the key, and badly misleading or downright inaccurate, articles about Iraqi WMDs in the run-up to the 2003 invasion,” notes Greg Mitchell, writing for Editor and Publisher.
Recall Gordon’s absurd claim, following Colin Powell’s theatrical dog and pony show held before the gathered at the United Nations in the orchestrated lead-up mass murder in Iraq, “it will be difficult for skeptics to argue that Washington’s case against Iraq is based on groundless suspicions and not intelligence information.” As we now know, and some of us knew at the time, Powell’s evidence was little more than a donkey cart of steaming dung, rolled out into the public arena, offered as gospel truth, thus straining credulity, at least for those of us who recognized the stench immediately.
Gordon is at it again. “The Bush administration is expected to make public this weekend some of what intelligence agencies regard as an increasing body of evidence pointing to an Iranian link, including information gleaned from Iranians and Iraqis captured in recent American raids on an Iranian office in Erbil and another site in Baghdad,” the seasoned propagandist is allowed to write.
As expected, the race is on to sell us another murderous pretext, thus demonstrating we are indeed a nation of chumps, although this designation would require we are fully awake, paying attention, and give a whit about the prospect of World War Four and what it means for our families, children, and neighbors. As it stands, we are fast asleep, or half-awake, tuned in to the circus sideshow that is the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith.
Read the rest here.
