TURNING ON JUDITH MILLER (not in that way!)

So here it is in a nutshell (assuming I have it right, that is):

1) Judith Miller writes articles for the NYT talking about how there are WMD in Iraq.

2) There is no evidence that Iraq has WMD.

3) The NYT reports point #2, but buries the stories in their paper.

4) Flash-forward a bit--Bob Novak exposes the name of an undercover CIA agent who just happens to be the wife of a diplomat who publicly embarassed the Bush 43 Admin by writing an op-ed about how Bush was using evidence Wilson, himself, had proven as fake to help justify the Iraq Attack.

5) A number of reporters were asked to admit who their sources were for their stories about this undercover CIA agent. Novak bends over and lets the USG give it to him hard. Meanwhile Matt Cooper fights it but then gives in when his source, Karl Rove, says it's cool for him to admit it. Meanwhile, Judith Miller, who never even wrote about the undercover agent is somehow IDed as a reporter who had knowledge of Wilson's wife from someone inside the USG. She refuses to give up that someone's name and goes to Jail.

6) While in jail, her source says "go for it, I don't mind." She comes out and names "big" Dick Cheney's aide "Scooter" Libby as the source for her never-written story on Wilson's wife, the CIA agent.

7) NYT which never took issue with Miller's reporting now bags on her publically--even for her blatantly inaccurate reporting on the Iraqi WMD--despite the fact that they never said anything about it when she was writing it and when they were printing her stories on it. Other journalists, too, it seems are jumping on the "Maul Miller" bandwagon, as well.

[http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2005-10-23-judith-miller_x.htm|Feel free to read an article] at USAToday.com to check my facts, but that's basically what's going on. Also of note is that Federal Prosecutor, [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/index.html|Patrick J. Fitzgerald], is set to announce just who he's indicting this week. I'll be watching [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/index.html|his website] for any news and will blog back here if I see anything good. :)

Oh and one other thing about [http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2005-10-23-judith-miller_x.htm|that article] USAToday.com. In the third-to-last paragraph they say this as an explanation of how Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame, are involved in all of this:

Plame was unmasked by columnist Robert Novak in July 2003, who cited "two senior administration officials" as his sources. Plame is the wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who was a vocal critic of Bush's Iraq policy. For nearly two years, special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and a grand jury have been investigating the leak.

Note the part where it says that Wilson "was a vocal critic of Bush's Iraq policy."

This is not the case. He was asked by the USG to go to Africa to see if he could find evidence that would confirm the UK intel report that Sadam was looking to buy uranium in Africa. Wilson had experience there, so he looked into it. He discovered that not only was there absolutely nothing to corroborate the intel, but that the intel was probably faked in the first place as Wilson's contacts in Niger, Africa, called the evidence in the UK intel clear forgeries.

Wilson comes back to the US, reports to Bush and Co and in the next State of the Empire speech, Bush goes and talks about how there is UK intel that says Sadam was trying to get uranium in Africa. Wilson, gets pissed off that his report is being ignored, does an op-ed, end of story. He only became a vocal critic of Bush after his wife was outed.

More quality reporting from the mainstream media.