The problematic articles varied in authorship and subject matter, but many shared a common feature. They depended at least in part on information from a circle of Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles bent on "regime change" in Iraq, people whose credibility has come under increasing public debate in recent weeks. (The most prominent of the anti-Saddam campaigners, Ahmad Chalabi, has been named as an occasional source in Times articles since at least 1991, and has introduced reporters to other exiles. He became a favorite of hard-liners within the Bush administration and a paid broker of information from Iraqi exiles, until his payments were cut off last week.) Complicating matters for journalists, the accounts of these exiles were often eagerly confirmed by United States officials convinced of the need to intervene in Iraq. Administration officials now acknowledge that they sometimes fell for misinformation from these exile sources. So did many news organizations -- in particular, this one.
Judith Miller now appears regularly as a Fox News contributor, including frequent appearances to offer media criticism on Fox's Fox News Watch.
John Bolton
Bolton: "The existence of Iraq's [biological weapons] program is beyond dispute." According to a November 20, 2001, Washington Post article (accessed via Nexis), Bolton -- then the Bush administration's undersecretary for arms control and international security -- said at a biological weapons conference: "The United States strongly suspects that Iraq has taken advantage of three years of no U.N. inspections to improve all phases of its offensive biological weapons program. ... The existence of Iraq's program is beyond dispute." From the Post:
John Bolton, undersecretary for arms control and international security, speaking at a biological weapons conference in Geneva on Monday, said the existence of a germ-warfare program in Iraq is "beyond dispute" and added that the United States strongly suspects North Korea, Libya, Syria, Iran and Sudan of pursuing such weapons.
"The United States strongly suspects that Iraq has taken advantage of three years of no U.N. inspections to improve all phases of its offensive biological weapons program," Bolton said. "The existence of Iraq's program is beyond dispute."
Bolton's comments come in the context of stepped-up U.S. anxiety about biological weapons and the willingness of America's foes to use them. Many members of the Bush administration favor making Iraq the next target in the U.S. war on terrorism, alleging that one of the key hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks met with Iraqi intelligence agents and that Saddam has the means and willingness to launch an attack on the United States.
"Beyond al-Qaeda, the most serious concern is Iraq," Bolton said. "Iraq's biological-weapons program remains a serious threat to international security."
Bolton: "We have very convincing evidence that Iraq maintains an extensive program for the production ... of weapons of mass destruction." The Chicago Tribune reported on January 25, 2003, (accessed via Nexis) that Bolton said "that the United States has evidence of Iraq's maintenance of weapons of mass destruction that will be disclosed at an 'appropriate time.' " The Tribune further reported that Bolton said, "We have very convincing evidence that Iraq maintains an extensive program for the production ... of weapons of mass destruction."
Bolton is currently a Fox News contributor, as well as a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
Newt Gingrich
Gingrich in 2001: "We know today that Saddam Hussein is willing to accept any level of sanctions to keep his program for weapons of mass destruction running." In November 2001, Gingrich asserted that Iraq had a WMDs program, writing, "We know today that Saddam Hussein is willing to accept any level of sanctions to keep his program for weapons of mass destruction running." He further wrote:
We are a serious nation, and the message should be simple if this is to be a serious war: Saddam will stop his efforts and close down all programs to create weapons of mass destruction. He will expel all terrorists from Iraqi soil, or we will substitute a new government in Iraq. We must insist on change, because we now have vivid proof in New York and Washington of the future if we do not.
Gingrich: "[W]e have a real obligation to take Iraq head on, because in the end, that's one of the centers of really big danger in terms of nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare." On the December 5, 2001, edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes (accessed via Nexis), Gingrich stated: "I do believe in the next 60 days we have a real obligation to take Iraq head on, because in the end, that's one of the centers of really big danger in terms of nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare." From Hannity & Colmes:
GINGRICH: No, it's not a cowboy-type attitude. It's a direct attitude of a powerful country saying that in the first place, I believe that in the end the regime of Saddam Hussein cannot survive, that these are people who -- Saddam Hussein is trying to get nuclear weapons, he's trying to get biological weapons, he's trying to get chemical weapons. The president himself has said this man is very evil and very dangerous. President Clinton said he was evil and dangerous. Former secretary of state Albright described him as being like Hitler.
Now, there's a point here when I think you ought to take these things seriously. I think it ought to be the policy of the American government to help the Iraqi people replace the current dictatorship with a government that is more interested in economic trade than in weapons of mass destruction.
So whether Iraq wants to start the fight or whether we go and deliver an ultimatum, I do believe in the next 60 days we have a real obligation to take Iraq head on, because in the end, that's one of the centers of really big danger in terms of nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare.
Gingrich: "I think history will record that a remarkably strong president happened to be in office at a juncture where weapons of mass destruction and terrorism rewrote all the rules of engagement in international relations." A March 9, 2003, Washington Post article (accessed via Nexis) reported:
