July 11, 2003
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The "Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False" Headline That Changed on CBSNews.com
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
In case you were wondering about the change in the CBSNews.com headline from "Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False" to "Bush Knew Iraq Info Was Dubious," none other than the right wing bad boy and charter member of the vast right wing conspiracy, Brent Bozell, takes note of the original CBS headline that ran until this morning.
(For the article in question, go to: LINK)
The following is an excerpt from Bozell's Media Research Center's (a right wing "prove the media is liberal" organization) July 11th news alert:
***Media Research Center CyberAlert***
11am EDT, Friday July 11, 2003 (Vol. Eight; No. 129)
The 1,536th CyberAlert. Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996> "Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False," CBSNews.com Distorts Story
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Distributed to more than 14,000 subscribers by the Media Research Center, bringing political balance to the news media since 1987. The MRC is the leader in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
When posted, this CyberAlert will be readable at:[LINK]
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1) Exaggerating its own story. "Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False," declared the headline over a posting on the CBSNews.com Web site and John Roberts opened Thursday's CBS Evening News by announcing: " President Bush's false claim about Iraqi weapons. He made it despite a CIA warning the intelligence was bad." In fact, in the actual story CBS's David Martin reported something far short of the "Bush knew" summary or that the CIA said "the intelligence was bad.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
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BuzzFlash Note: Actually, CBS news is the best national mainstream broadcast news provider. The change of the headline was probably due to caution. They realized that they could prove that Bush was told that the Niger uranium claim was highly doubtful. But they might not be able to prove that he was told that it was categorically false, at this time, anyway.
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BuzzFlash Extra:
ADDITIONAL FACTS TO CONSIDER
BUSH CLAIM
"President Bush said today his charge Iraq tried to buy nuclear material
from Africa was approved by his 'intelligence services,' and U.S. national
security adviser Condoleeza Rice said the specific wording was approved
by the CIA" [Reuters, 7/11/03, LINK]
FACTS
"CBS News reported Thursday that senior administration officials say the
president's apparently mistaken claim was included in the Jan. 28 speech
over the CIA's initial objections...The CIA reportedly did make its objections
known to Britain as early as September. And Secretary of State Colin
Powell did not repeat the claim in his Feb. 5 testimony to the Security
Council." [CBS News, 7/10/03, LINK].
Additionally, "The CIA tried unsuccessfully in early September 2002
to persuade the British government to drop from an official intelligence
paper a reference to Iraqi attempts to buy uranium in Africa that President
Bush included in his State of the Union address four months later, senior
Bush administration officials said yesterday." [Washington Post,
7/11/03, LINK]
RUMSFELD CLAIM
"QUESTION: Secretary Rumsfeld, when did you know that the reports about
uranium coming out of Africa were bogus? RUMSFELD: Oh, within recent
days, since the information started becoming available. QUESTION: So,
in other words you didn't, right after the speech, you didn't know that?
Or even before the speech, you had no knowledge of that? RUMSFELD: I've
just answered the question." [Congressional Hearing, 7/9/03]
FACTS
"Secretary of State Colin Powell told the BBC today 'By [the time I gave
my speech to the U.N. in February], there was such controversy about
[the Niger document] it did not seem to be the kind of claim that I should
take into the U.N." [ABC News, 7/9/03]
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
