Rewriting History - The Media Shove the Past Down the Memory Hole.

The theme under girding much of the MSM’s story on the war in Iraq is that George Bush created a false public fear of Iraq’s WMD program; a program that did not exist.

The fact that this is not true does not appear to hamper their efforts to rewrite history.

The reality is found in a story by Robert Kagan in Today’s Washington Post (page A21)..

Excerpt:

There is a big problem with this simple narrative. It is that the Times, along with The Post and other news organizations, ran many alarming stories about Iraq's weapons programs before the election of George W. Bush. A quick search through the Times archives before 2001 produces such headlines as "Iraq Has Network of Outside Help on Arms, Experts Say"(November 1998), "U.S. Says Iraq Aided Production of Chemical Weapons in Sudan"(August 1998), "Iraq Suspected of Secret Germ War Effort" (February 2000), "Signs of Iraqi Arms Buildup Bedevil U.S. Administration" (February 2000), "Flight Tests Show Iraq Has Resumed a Missile Program" (July 2000). (A somewhat shorter list can be compiled from The Post's archives, including a September 1998 headline: "Iraqi Work Toward A-Bomb Reported.") The Times stories were written by Barbara Crossette, Tim Weiner and Steven Lee Myers; Miller shared a byline on one. ...

From 1998 through 2000, the Times editorial page warned that "without further outside intervention, Iraq should be able to rebuild weapons and missile plants within a year" and that "future military attacks may be required to diminish the arsenal again." Otherwise, Iraq could "restore its ability to deliver biological and chemical weapons against potential targets in the Middle East." "The world," it said, "cannot leave Mr. Hussein free to manufacture horrific germs and nerve gases and use them to terrorize neighboring countries." ...

Another Times editorial warned that containment of Hussein was eroding. "The Security Council is wobbly, with Russia and France eager to ease inspections and sanctions." Any approach "that depends on Security Council unity is destined to be weak."

In times past the MSM could have gotten away with fooling people in this way. Who had the time and resources to go through old issues of yellowed newspapers? Thanks to the magic of computer science and the vast data bases available to the average citizen, it’s getting harder and harder to shove the past down the memory hole.

That doesn’t mean they won’t keep trying.

Hat tip to Captain’s Quarters.