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.
(*which happen to share a single donor list; **also, “Global warming is settled science. Quitsies”) At the website for The Fund for Independence in Journalism, we find this Mission Statement:
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I’m a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
Today, many media corporations are reducing their commitment to journalism. That plus litigation against unwanted scrutiny and historic challenges to openness, freedom of information, and government oversight all stand in the way of bringing the public the “real facts.”
The Fund for Independence in Journalism, a 509 (a)(3) nonprofit, tax exempt organization, was created in 2003 to foster independent, high quality public service journalism in the United States and around the world.
The Fund’s primary purpose is providing legal defense and endowment support for the largest nonprofit, investigative reporting institution in the world, the Center for Public Integrity, and possibly other, similar groups. This core mission and our related activities illuminate the fundamental role of the press, the public’s right to know, and accountability in a democratic society.
With this further, more illuminating illumination in the sidebar:
Iraq - The War Card
The Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism unveil the first comprehensive analysis of pre-war rhetoric that chronologically tracks top Bush administration officials Iraq-related public pronouncements.
To view the report go to the Center for Public Integrity.
The Reporters Without Borders 2006 Worldwide Press Freedom Index ranked the United States 53rd out of 168 countries surveyed, with the U.S. falling another nine places from its 2005 rankings. Botswana, Croatia and Tonga are tied with the U.S. in the 53rd position.31
Tied for 16th is Canada, where journalists are subject to extralegal tribunals. Here are some of the contributing organizations and clusterfuck foundations:
Annenberg Foundation
Around Foundation
Attias Family Foundation
The Brodie Price Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation
Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation
Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Compton Foundation, Inc.
Deer Creek Foundation
Domitila Barrios de Chungara Fund at Peninsula Community Foundation
Dudley Foundation
Educational Foundation of America
Everett Philanthropic Fund at the New York Community Trust
Ford Foundation
David B. Gold Foundation
Daniel J. Goldman Foundation
Gunzenhauser-Chapin Fund
Haas Charitable Trusts
Hafif Family Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Honeybee Foundation
The Inge Foundation
JEHT Foundation
The Lawrence Foundation
Liberty Hill Foundation
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Maloney Family Fund
The Robert & Bethany Millard Charitable Foundation
Stewart R. Mott Charitable Trust
Nell Williams Family Foundation
New York Community Trust
John & Florence Newman Foundation
Park Foundation, Inc.
Karen & Christopher Payne Foundation
Popplestone Foundation
Lynn R. & Karl E. Prickett Fund
Princeton University Class of 1969
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation
Scherman Foundation, Inc.
The Joan Shorenstein Center
Streisand Foundation
John & Donna Sussman Foundation
The Fund for Independence in Journalism
Town Creek Foundation, Inc.
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
The Elmaleh Fund at the New York Community Trust
Wallace Global Fund
A veritable anti-Zionist Conspiracy List. Which of these are Soros fronts, I’m not sure; it’s not really my area of expertise. Appended to the piece is a list of sources, many of them from the MSM, and others from prior papers and articles issued by the Orgs themselves. The fact is, the blawgs have done and will continue to do a better job of policing journalism than journalists do, and adducing the truth or falsity of statements made by pols, in part because some bloggers actually demonstrate greater acuity, integrity and intelligence than their professional counterparts, but also because bloggers are more willing to aggregate their knowledge and have numerous volunteer fact-checkers commenting in their threads.
And, not to put too fine a point on it, some of these funds represent Wall Street entities that are about to come under intense and unwelcome scrutiny.
Snooper has comments, too.
Also, not to brag, but I never buggered goats.
UPDATE: Cappy Ed weighs in (no ton impended).
[…] lemon cheesecake ice cream at Triticale, and the Irish Mist pancakes at Pancake Recipes. Our sweet tart salad recipe was included. Check out the entire carnival […]
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