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FROM: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_
go_pr_wh/misinformation_study
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.
FROM: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_
go_pr_wh/misinformation_study
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