His latest column concerns the 9/11 commission’s report and it does what only right-wing blogs seem able to do - highlight the insane spin put on the report by certain media outlets hellbent on blaming the Bush administration with inactivity and incompetence before and after the attacks.
On Friday, on a visit to Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin said something that seemed to me quite remarkable, but (it appears) to no-one else. He told reporters that Russian intelligence had believed that Iraq intended to launch terrorist attacks on the USA. ‘After the events of 11 September 2001,’ said Putin, ‘and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services several times received such information and passed it on to their American colleagues.’ Such attacks might happen inside the United States or outside it.
The Times and the Independent didn’t carry the story at all, preferring Big Brother. The BBC bulletins and Channel 4 News limited coverage to 15 second news-reads, suggesting that the story was of little importance. Yet imagine, given the furore over failures leading up to 11 September, how such a combination of possibilities would have looked in 2002: Iraq, WMD, al-Qaeda, the Russian warnings.
Then add to this the illusions being fostered by Jehl and the administration itself, the illusion of certainty and the illusion of omnipotence.
Some people would rather blame the Bush Administration for the 9/11 attacks than Al Qaeda, it’s good to see there are still some left-wing writers with common sense.
David Aaronovitch remains my political soulmate. Thank god for the Guardian Online - I’m not paying for a newspaper with only 2 astute columnists.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at June 20, 2004 10:09 PM | TrackBack