By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jan 23, 6:43 AM ET
WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations
found that President Bush and top administration officials
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 Integrity, 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 administration's
position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam
Hussein, as a threat.
"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective
judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel
said.
The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period.
It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other
venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally
on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida
or both.
"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any
weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful 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 information that it methodically propagated
and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March
19, 2003."
Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the
administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick
Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell,
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press
secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.
Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 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 beginning on Sept.
11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports,
books, articles, speeches and interviews.
"The cumulative effect of these false statements amplified
by thousands of news stories and broadcasts was massive, with
the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for
several critical months in the run-up to war," the study
concluded.
"Some journalists indeed, even some entire news organizations
have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar
months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas
notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided
additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's
false statements about Iraq," it said.
___
On the Net:
Center For Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx
Fund For Independence in Journalism: http://www.tfij.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. BadConcress.com has no affiliation
whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is BadCongress.com
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.
|
