David Corn serves up a must-read column on Bill Safire's mendacity today. As I did not just once, but twice, Corn notes the anachronistic logic behind Safire's "Found: A Smoking Gun" column, plus the Douglas Jehl article of February 21st, which shows that the "smoking gun" Safire touts -- a plea for help from Ansar al-Islam to al Qaeda -- was rejected, in "an indication of a significant divide between the groups."
Here's Corn's conclusion:
Columnists are certainly entitled to their views. They are free to speculate and suppose. They can draw--or suggest--connections that go beyond just-the-facts reporting. But Safire's recent work--unburdened by factchecking, unchallenged by editors--shows he is more intent on manipulating than interpreting the available information.Posted by Chris at February 24, 2004 03:08 PM