Insulating Bush

Here’s an eye-opening National Journal article by Murray Waas (thanks to a heads-up from Waldo Jaquith) that's worth a look. In “Insulating Bush” Waas shines a new light on the spy-outing aspects of the Bush administration’s pre-invasion propaganda to sell WMDs-in-Iraq as reality, come hell or high water.

“...The New York Times later reported that White House aides ‘had choreographed every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush's right shoulder and the Mission Accomplished banner placed to perfectly capture the president and the celebratory two words in a single shot.’

“On May 6, in a column in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof quoted an unnamed former ambassador as saying that allegations that Saddam had attempted to procure uranium from Africa were ‘unequivocally wrong’ and that ‘documents had been forged.’ But the column drew little notice.”