[Vnbiz] Study: False statements preceded war

[Tai Phan]

Study: False statements preceded war

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer 1/23/08

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.
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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.
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