BY JAMES TARANTO
URL:http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110003872
Monday, August 11, 2003 2:07 p.m. EDT
Inventing a Quagmire
We missed this last week, but it's so stunning that it's worth highlighting even a few days late. The corrections column of Thursday's New York Times carried the following "editor's note":
An article on Sunday about attacks on the American military in Iraq over the previous two days, attributed to military officials, included an erroneous account that quoted Pfc. Jose Belen of the First Armored Division. Private Belen, who is not a spokesman for the division, said that a homemade bomb exploded under a convoy on Saturday morning on the outskirts of Baghdad and killed two American soldiers and their interpreter. The American military's central command, which releases information on all American casualties in Iraq, said before the article was published that it could not confirm Private Belen's account. Later it said that no such attack had taken place and that no American soldiers were killed on Saturday.
Repeated efforts by The Times to reach Private Belen this week have been unsuccessful. The Times should not have attributed the account to "military officials," and should have reported that the command had not verified the attack.
Consider that: The New York Times is acknowledging that it published a fabricated account of American casualties in Iraq. There's no reason to doubt the Times' contention that its source, as opposed to its reporter, was behind the original fabrication, but it seems fair, based on the paper's account, to say that the Times "sexed up" its reporting by promoting a single private to "military officials" (plural) and by failing to note Centcom's doubts, much less wait for confirmation before running with the story. (The original article is no longer available free on the Times Web site, but here's a later version that appeared in the Tri-Valley Herald of Pleasanton, Calif.)
The Times, of course, used its news pages as well as its editorials to crusade against the liberation of Iraq, and it's hard not to interpret this latest foul-up as reflecting an unhealthy eagerness to believe Iraq is a quagmire producing large numbers of casualties. Anyway, remember this the next time some Times editorial or op-ed columnist raises troubling questions about the Bush administration's credibility.
A Truce in Fallujah
Here's a story that hasn't gotten much coverage in the American press: "After months of bitterness, the heads of the seven major tribes of Fallujah have met for the first time with the Iraqi town's mayor and its American forces commander," reports London's Daily Telegraph. Fallujah is one of those "Sunni triangle" cities that are the source of most of the anti-American violence. "At a rowdy session," the local leaders "agreed to work with American troops to stamp out the looting as well as the rocket and grenade attacks, that have made Fallujah a byword for instability and danger."
Can Pumpkin Pie Be Far Behind?
Further evidence of progress: "General Says Turkey Ready to Serve in Iraq," according to an Associated Press headline. These guys are way ahead of schedule; Thanksgiving is still more than three months off.
'Tis the Season
Remember last summer, when the media portrayed the Bush administration as being adrift while Democrats called for a debate over what to do about Iraq? (Apparently they had nothing to say about the matter themselves, because if they had, they could have started a debate rather than merely demand one.) Then after Labor Day, the president returned from his August at the ranch, made a powerful speech to the U.N., and a month later had a bipartisan declaration of war.
If Robert Novak, one of the best-connected reporters in Washington and an opponent of Iraq's liberation, is to be believed, something similar is about to happen. Democrats have spent the summer complaining that BUSH LIED!!!!! and Saddam Hussein didn't have any weapons of mass destruction. "Former international weapons inspector David Kay, now seeking Iraqi weapons of mass destruction for the Pentagon, has privately reported successes that are planned to be revealed to the public in mid-September," Novak reports:
Kay has told his superiors he has found substantial evidence of biological weapons in Iraq, plus considerable missile development. . . . Senior officials in the Bush administration believe Kay's weapons discoveries should have been revealed as they were made. However, a decision, approved by President Bush, was made to wait until more was discovered and then announce it--probably in September.
Bush delivered his U.N. speech last year on Sept. 12, the day after Sept. 11 anniversary ceremonies reminded Americans why we are at war. It would be clever of him to use similar timing to put an end to all the carping from those bitter about Iraq's liberation.
What Would We Do Without Lawyers?
"Investing in Iraq Could Be Tricky, Lawyers Warn"--headline, Dallas Morning News, Aug. 11
Pro-Saddam Snoopy Drew Quite a Crowd Too
"Antiglobalization Woodstock Attracts Thousands in France"--headline, New York Times, Aug. 8
Hunting Evildoers Online
The Washington Times has a fascinating report on "a new breed of cyber-spy--ordinary citizens who want to "do their bit" by putting their computer skills to use fighting terrorism":
Referred to by her spy masters only as "Mrs. Galt," she is by day an unremarkable American housewife and mother. But after her two children go to bed, she plunges into a secret world of Internet chat rooms and Web sites populated by some of the most dangerous people on earth.
Burrowing into the byzantine network of unpublicized Web sites used by al Qaeda and other terror groups for their routine communications, she sweet-talks her interlocutors into revealing their plans, often with fatal consequences for the terrorists.
They have no idea that their supportive new "sister" is a terrorist hunter reporting every word they say to a variety of intelligence agencies.
She is so trusted by her unsuspecting targets that they often send her pictures of themselves displaying heavy machine guns and other weapons. She has even been sent pictures of men proudly displaying severed human heads.
Much of Mrs. Galt's work is online at www.pakistan-army-isi.com. "I would have loved to have seen [the terrorists'] faces when they saw the messages on the Web," she tells the Times.
Dang, Why Didn't We Think of That?
"Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri called Friday for a global coalition to fight terrorism."--United Press International, Aug. 8
Just What Are They Teaching in Those Future History Classes?
"Future historians will regard our groveling at the feet of Saudi bigots and whoremongers as the equivalent of down-market strippers dancing for drunkards' tips."--Ralph Peters, New York Post, Aug. 11
The Energizer Bunny Escaped Injury
"IAF Hits Hizbullah AA Battery After Shelling Kills Israeli Teenager"--headline, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 10
What Would We Do Without China?
"China Sees Gaps Between N. Korea and U.S."--headline, Reuters, Aug. 11
Kick Him When He's Down
"Ugandan Despot Amin Gets Death Threats at Hospital"--headline, Reuters, Aug. 10
AuH2Oward Dean?
A favorite pastime of political commentators in this pre-presidential-election season is to come up with historical analogies to explain the Howard Dean phenomenon. In the end, of course, we will all conclude that Dean was sui generis--or, if he loses the nomination, that he wasn't important anyway. Still, analogizing is a fun intellectual exercise, so let's indulge a bit.
The most obvious analogy is to George McGovern, the antiwar 1972 Democratic nominee. Al Hunt suggests Jimmy Carter ("outsider" governor, who by the way won the election). Other possibilities that spring to mind are William Jennings Bryan (for sheer pissed-offedness) and Alf Landon (hapless candidate of a party disoriented by its recent ejection from power).
Then there's Barry Goldwater, the conservative Republican LBJ crushed in 1964. A Wall Street Journal editorial in June alluded to Goldwater when it noted that Democrats may "next year decide they want a choice, and not an echo." In today's New York Times, Sam Tanenhaus, a chronicler of the conservative movement, picks up the theme:
The party rank and file, tired of me-too politics and demanding "a choice, not an echo," ardently backed the conservative Barry Goldwater. Party moderates, sounding just like today's worried Democrats, warned that Goldwater was an extremist whose nomination might marginalize the party for decades to come. They mounted a last-minute offensive to stop him, but Goldwater squeaked through, shocking his adversaries (and thrilling his followers) when he declared in his acceptance speech: "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. . . . Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." After that, most agreed, he was finished. And indeed he was trounced by Johnson.
But for Republicans this was not the devastating setback it appeared. On the contrary, it was the crucial first step toward a historic victory. . . . Over time the party shed its "me too" approach and developed a more sophisticated ideological style, which culminated in Ronald Reagan's 1980 victory. Today it is Lyndon Johnson's big-government heirs whom centrist Democrats say are on the fringes, while the Goldwater-influenced conservatives plausibly claim to occupy the mainstream.
Let us suggest one problem with this analogy, as well as one additional reason why it may be pertinent. The problem is that unlike Goldwater, it's hard to say that Dean has any coherent philosophy of government. There's no "Conscience of a Liberal" by Howard Dean; indeed, Dean insists he's actually a "centrist"--an epithet it's hard to imagine Goldwater applying to himself.
But here's the similarity: Dean, like Goldwater, has no answer for the greatest issue of the day. In Goldwater's case it was civil rights; and although he was no segregationist himself, his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made him the de facto segregationist candidate. Along with his home state of Arizona, he won five other states, all in the Deep South--"the wrong ones for the wrong reason," as The Wall Street Journal's Vermont Royster observed in a postelection column.
Similarly, Dean (and to a lesser extent all of his Democratic opponents, with the possible exception of Joe Lieberman) has no strategy for dealing with the great issue of our day, the battle against Islamist terrorism. Dean's foreign policy seems to consist entirely of denouncing the president for liberating Iraq. Though he grudgingly concedes that the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power, what really seems to spark his passion is the various procedural objections to a "unilateral" or "pre-emptive" war.
Goldwater was in many ways a man ahead of his time; certainly he helped lay the groundwork for the GOP's revitalization as a conservative party. On the other hand, it seems fair to say he had an ideological blind spot in that he failed to grasp that the enormity of segregation was such that it justified an exercise of federal power that would otherwise have been an anathema. Similarly for Dean, who views the liberation of 24 million Iraqis as a trivial matter in comparison to the lack of an 18th U.N. resolution.
The Clinton Legacy
"Democrat Leaders to Woo Single Women"--headline, (London) Guardian, Aug. 9
Negative Campaigning--I
A CNN story about speculation over a Hillary Clinton or Al Gore presidential bid contains this odd quote from Sen. John Kerry, the haughty, French-looking Massachusetts Democrat, who by the way served in Vietnam: "I've never not seen a presidential race during which people are not speculating about people who are not in the field."
This is a triple negative, with another "not" ("not in the field") thrown in to confuse us even more. But "never not" is the logical equivalent of "always," so what Kerry is saying is: I've always seen a presidential race during which people are not speculating about people who are not in the field. If that's the case, then this speculation is really something new.
Negative Campaigning--II
California's Gov. Gray Davis, facing almost certain defeat in an Oct. 7 recall election, is hoping to whine his way to victory, the Associated Press reports:
He also called [the recall effort] "an insult to the 8 million people who went to the polls last November and decided I should be governor."
Of nearly 8 million people voting in California's election, Davis received around 3.5 million votes, [GOP nominee Bill] Simon got nearly 3.2 million, and the rest of the voters chose other candidates or left the gubernatorial part of the ballot blank.
Davis's vote total last year was less than the 50% he'll need to beat the recall effort. In any case, we're not sure the recall really is an insult to those who elected Davis, and it seems to us they richly deserve to be insulted. So here's our effort: Hey, you jerks! Have you been out in the sun too long? Why'd you vote for this pathetic loser?
Ah, that feels better.
The Los Angeles Times reports a Davis motorcade "was clocked going 94 mph" on a highway where the speed limit is 55. It seems Davis realizes his time is running out.
Meanwhile, Mark Steyn has more on Arnold Schwarzenegger's National Socialist connections: "His wife's grandfather, Joe Kennedy, was one of America's most prominent Nazi sympathisers." And it turns out that fringe candidate Arianna Huffington's hair isn't the only thing about her that's red. From a 2000 column by Robert Scheer:
Elli Stassinopoulos, the super-fantastic mother of Arianna Huffington and her sister Agapi, is out of the hospital, and the many around here who love this grand but unpretentious lady are breathing a sigh of relief. Her condition had looked a bit grim, but this is one tough survivor. She spent her teenage years in the mountains of Greece fighting in the resistance against the Nazis. A communist-led resistance, I might add, although I wouldn't mention that to some of Arianna's remaining rightist friends, who are still looking for a commie under every bed.
In case you're having trouble keeping all the candidates straight, Arianna is the one with the funny accent.
Metrics Flummox Beeb
In a report on a disputed part of the Golan Heights, the BBC states: "The Shebaa Farms region--an area that amounts to little more than 10 square kilometres (six square miles)--has been relatively quiet in recent months." A reader who is an expert on the metric system tipped us off that the Beeb got the conversion wrong; and indeed, according to this site, 10 square kilometers is the equivalent of less than 3.9 square miles.
If even the geniuses at the BBC can't figure out the metric system, isn't it past time to rid the world of this scourge?
Wow, That's Tough!
"City May Begin Firing Workers Who Commit Fraud"--headline, Los Angeles Daily News, Aug. 8
You Don't Say
"Stakes High in Toddlers' Separation: Surgery risky for boys joined at head"--headline and subheadline, Houston Chronicle, Aug. 11
Is There Rubber Underneath It or Something?
"Freedom Is Facing Tough Road to Hoe"--headline, Washington Post, Aug. 9
At Least the Stuck Market Is Rising
"Short Rated Bunds Fall as Euro Weakens"--headline, Financial Times, Aug. 11
Who Knew?
"Public Finds Government Inefficient, Study Shows"--headline, Government Executive magazine, Aug. 8
What Would We Do Without Archaeologists?
"Archeologists: Caligula Was 'Maniac' "--headline, MSNBC.com, Aug. 11
Not Too Brite--CIV
"A British circus acrobat died after falling from a rope suspended nearly 30 feet high while performing in front of hundreds of spectators," Reuters reports from London.
Oddly Enough!
Ecce 'Homo'
"Jeremy Shockey created a furor yesterday, but it did not distract Giants Coach Jim Fassel from addressing the team's subpar showing in Thursday night's 26-6 loss to the New England Patriots," reports the New York Times in a Saturday story titled "Fassel Says Offensive Line Must Improve."
Another Saturday article explains that it was by uttering an offensive line that Shockey, who plays tight end for the Giants, created said furor. In an interview with New York magazine, it seems, Shockey "delivers a brief diatribe directed at Bill Parcells, now the new coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and at one point describes Parcells with a derogatory word used against homosexuals." The Times, however, neglects to tell us what Shockey said.
A Sunday article repeats the statement that Shockey used "a derogatory word used against homosexuals." This morning's Times delivers the news that Generalissimo Francisco is still dead: "Jeremy Shockey issued no proclamations today, unveiled no personal revelations and kept his vow of silence for one full day." Still no clue what the "derogatory word used against homosexuals" was. But if the Times won't print it, it must be really dirty, right?
Well, judge for yourself; here's the quote from the New York article: "Let's see how much Parcells wins this year. I'll make him pay when we play them. The homo."
The New York Times won't print the word homo? What if it turns out Shockey meant to call Parcells a genius and through a slip of the tongue ended up referring to his genus?
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