Paul Krugman is in fine fanatical fettle in his Tuesday column, subtly titled “Denial and Deception.” It’s about, yes, the Bush administration tricking America into war: “There is no longer any serious doubt that Bush administration officials deceived us into war. The key question now is why so many influential people are in denial, unwilling to admit the obvious….So if you admit to yourself that such a thing happened, you have a moral obligation to demand accountability -- and to do so in the face not only of a powerful, ruthless political machine but in the face of a country not yet ready to believe that its leaders have exploited 9/11 for political gain. It's a scary prospect. Yet if we can't find people willing to take the risk -- to face the truth and act on it -- what will happen to our democracy?”

For the rest of Paul Krugman’s column, click here.

• Iraq War | Paul Krugman | Terrorism

Targeting Terrorists Bad for Middle East Peace?

The Times is getting aggressive in portraying Israel as the bad guy in the “peace process.” James Bennet’s Wednesday cover story from Jerusalem, “Taking Action While Action Is an Option,” is accompanied by a large photo of blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinians being escorted by Israeli soldiers for interrogation. Bennet also notes “harsh Israeli reprisals,” but doesn’t discuss the terror attacks Israel is retaliating against.

Bennet’s opening sentence infers that the round-up of suspected terrorists is somehow a blow against peace: “In rounding up at least 130 Palestinians today in what it called a sweep for Hamas terrorists, the Israeli Army once again rattled fragile negotiations among Palestinians over halting violence against Israelis. The Israeli action reflected suspicion of Palestinian promises to eventually protect Israelis, as well as a confidence, built over two years of harsh Israeli reprisals, raids and pre-emptive pinpoint killings, that the Bush administration would not forcefully object.”

For the rest of Bennet’s story on Israel, click here.

• Hamas | Israel | Palestinians | Terrorism

Labeling Bias, at Home and In Israel

Greg Myre’s Wednesday story from Jerusalem, “5 Israeli Arabs Are Charged With Aiding Hamas,” describes Hamas, whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel, as an “Islamic group.” Myre writes: “Five Israeli Arabs were charged today with funneling an estimated $10 million to the Islamic group Hamas, marking a rare instance in which leading Israeli Arabs have been accused of links to militant Palestinian movements….Hamas has carried out more suicide bombings than any other Palestinian faction, and its stated goal is the destruction of Israel.” Just as Times reporter Ian Fisher did June 16, Myre fills us in about the softer side of Hamas: “The group also has an extensive network of schools, health clinics and welfare groups that aid Palestinians.”

For the rest of Myre’s story on Hamas, click here.

• Hamas | Israel | Labeling | Palestinians | Terrorism

 
A Distorted Headline On “Distorted” Intelligence

James Risen and Douglas Jehl’s Wednesday story on military intelligence-gathering is headlined “Expert Said to Tell Legislators He Was Pressed to Distort Some Evidence.” But the actual “evidence” for the allegation as presented by Risen and Jehl is rather vaporous, failing to match the story’s distressing headline, intriguing first sentence, or provocative subhead: “Did the Bush administration try to skew data on arms?”

And, despite the first sentence’s misleading mention of Iraq, the intelligence expert is actually discussing Cuba -- not the current controversy over Iraqi intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction.

This is how Risen and Jehl open their story on the controversial testimony of State Department intelligence expert Christian Westermann: “A top State Department expert on chemical and biological weapons told Congressional committees in closed-door hearings last week that he had been pressed to tailor his analysis on Iraq and other matters to conform with the Bush administration's views, several Congressional officials said today. The officials described what they said was a dramatic moment at a House Intelligence Committee hearing last week when the weapons expert came forward to tell Congress he had felt such pressure.”
Yet the sixth paragraph notes “Mr. Westermann told lawmakers last week that while he felt pressure, he never actually changed the wording of any of his intelligence reports. He did not immediately provide lawmakers with details about his complaints, and it remains uncertain the degree to which his concerns related to Iraq or other regional issues. Administration officials said his most specific complaints concerned issues related to intelligence on Cuba, and he has not yet provided similar specific complaints about the handling of intelligence on Iraq.”

So: Westermann didn’t alter his reports under pressure, and the only specific complaints he made regarded intelligence gathering on Cuba, not Iraq. That contradicts the impression of the story’s first sentence, which asserts Westermann said “he had been pressed to tailor his analysis on Iraq and other matters to conform with the Bush administration's views.”

For the rest of Risen and Jehl’s article on alleged Bush administration pressure, click here.

• Cuba | Headlines | Iraq War | WMD

E-mail TimesWatch Director, Clay Waters, with TimesWatch feedback at cwaters@mediaresearch.org