On Iran Allegations, Consider the Source

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

On February 10, the New York Times ran a story about "an increasing body of evidence" suggesting "an Iranian role" in supplying the "deadliest weapon aimed at American troops in Iraq." Editor & Publisher's Greg Mitchell wants readers to consider the source. The sources cited are "civilian and military officials from a broad range of government agencies," almost all anonymous. And the author of the piece is Michael R. Gordon, who "on his own, or with Judith Miller, wrote some of the key, and badly misleading or downright inaccurate, articles about Iraqi WMDs in the run-up to the 2003 invasion," including the infamous "aluminum tubes" story. In other Iran news, the Washington Post reports that Vice-President Cheney's national security adviser, John Hannah, called 2007 "the year of Iran." President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have said the U.S. has "no intention of attacking Iran."

Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, February 10, 2007
Topics: 
Journalism
International
U.S. Government
War / Peace

Comments

Diane Farsetta replied on

Editor & Publisher's Greg Mitchell [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003546497 follows up] on the Gordon / Iraq / unnamed sources story:

If you wrote an extremely high-profile article for the most influential newspaper in the land that subsequently was widely criticized for its utter reliance on anonymous sources, would you produce a followup five days later, also based on unnamed sources?

... Gordon opened [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/world/middleeast/15timing.html his story today] with this: “One of the questions posed by skeptics about the Bush administration assertions about Iran’s meddling in Iraq is why the charges are coming to light only now, when American officials say the shipment of lethal weapons from Iran to Shiite militias was first detected several years ago.”

Gordon then aimed to quiet the skeptics, citing only the following sources: “American officials”…. “one military official”…”military officials” …”American officials”…”American military officials.”