The Rest Of The Story

I just sent the following email to our local news-talk radio station's "news reader" David Kirton. He's heard that there's a report out from the Iraq Survey Group.

Emphasis on "heard about".

Judging by the hyperbolic "George Bush LIED" he just claimed was contained therein, he's not actually, eh... read anything about it.

Subject: Where's The "Rest Of The Story"?

What was I just listening to? A news report or op-ed????

You know, the "no WMD" reporting has rather been done to death over the past 6 months. It makes you wonder why the "France, Germany and Russia were being bribed through OIL-FOR-FOOD and assisting Saddam to get sanctions lifted so his WMD programs could resume" portion of this latest report is being virtually ignored in North America news media coverage, apparently, including yours.

Though, you must take credit for creativity - tacking on the "George Bush lied" line.

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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1167592004"

"Just as I have had to accept that the evidence now is that there were not stockpiles of actual weapons ready to be deployed, I hope others have the honesty to accept that the report also shows that sanctions weren't working" - Tony Blair

SADDAM HUSSEIN believed he could avoid the Iraq war with a bribery strategy targeting Jacques Chirac, the President of France, according to devastating documents released last night.

Memos from Iraqi intelligence officials, recovered by American and British inspectors, show the dictator was told as early as May 2002 that France - having been granted oil contracts - would veto any American plans for war.

But the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), which returned its full report last night, said Saddam was telling the truth when he denied on the eve of war that he had any weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He had not built any since 1992.

The ISG, who confirmed last autumn that they had found no WMD, last night presented detailed findings from interviews with Iraqi officials and documents laying out his plans to bribe foreign businessmen and politicians.

Although they found no evidence that Saddam had made any WMD since 1992, they found documents which showed the "guiding theme" of his regime was to be able to start making them again with as short a lead time as possible."

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Honesty indeed. This is the singular reason that the news networks are bleeding market share to the internet and cable news. News consumers are sick to death of reporting that has begun to resemble an uncompleted Paul Harvey "rest of the story" schtick.

In a world where schoolchildren are considered legitimate targets by a religious death cult that is sworn to attacking Western civilization by any means possible, yet 95% of coverage is devoted to American "failure" and "lies", one wonders which side some in our media are on.

David Kirton of Rawlco Radio - we deserve better.

update - not surprisingly, Powerline is better and exerpting actual content.

This item is tantalizing: [D]uring the mid-to-late 1990s Saddam issued a presidential decree directing the IIS [Iraqi Intelligence Service] to recruit UNSCOM inspectors, especially American inspectors. To entice their cooperation, the IIS was to offer the inspectors preferential treatment for future business dealings with Iraq, once they completed their duties with the United Nations. Tariq ‘Aziz and an Iraqi-American were specifically tasked by the IIS to focus on a particular American inspector. I can't see that the report ever says whether the Iraqis were successful in bribing the American weapons inspector. The obvious candidate, of course, is Scott Ritter. We do know that Saddam succeeded in penetrating the U.N.'s inspection teams, so that he had advance knowledge of the inspectors' intentions: IIS personnel were directed to contact facilities and personnel in advance of UNMOVIC site inspections, according to foreign government information. Former Regime officials state that the IIS developed penetrations within the UN and basic surveillance in country to learn future inspection plans.

Keep a watch on Powerline, as they are continuing to post updates as they read the report.

Posted by Kate at October 7, 2004 11:27 AM