Judy Miller a "charter member of the White House Iraq Group"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

WASHINGTON - It was called the White House Iraq Group and its job was to make the case that Saddam Hussein had nuclear and biochemical weapons.

So determined was the ring of top officials to win its argument that it morphed into a virtual hit squad that took aim at critics who questioned its claims, sources told the Daily News.

"There were a number of occasions when White House officials or Vice President staffers, or others, wanted to push the envelope on things," an ex-intelligence official said. "The agency would say, 'We just don't have the intelligence to substantiate that.'" When Wilson was sent by his wife to Africa to research the claims, he showed the documents claiming Saddam tried to buy the uranium were forgeries. "People in the Iraq group then got very frustrated. It was a side show," said a source familiar with WHIG.

Besides Rove and Libby, the group included senior White House aides Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, James Wilkinson, Nicholas Calio, Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley. WHIG also was doing more than just public relations, said a second former intel officer. "They were funneling information to (New York Times reporter) Judy Miller. Judy was a charter member," the source said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/357082p-304302c.html

[Botany]

1. Go Daily news.

Judy was just a high class Jeff Ganon. The Daily news has been
right on this story for a while ..... the floodgates are broken and
it is all coming out now.

[calimary]

2. They mentioned that on Olbermann's show - it's the New York Daily News

described as a blue-collar somewhat-liberal-leaning paper, in contrast with some blatant wrong-wing tabloid like the NY Post. And the credibility-challenged Times, of course.

The nice thing is that this DID come out in a "mainstream" paper, which was picked up by other media outlets like those of some of our friends at MSNBC. Even Chris Matthews devoted most (if not all) of his show yesterday to it. I didn't see it all - had to get up and go drive my kid to an appointment. It's critical that this stuff starts getting out to people beyond the "Beltway." Helps to wake up the masses, especially those whom bloviating bill o'reilly claim aren't into this story. I saw in another thread that he was on the "Today" show this morning talking about how the Plamegate story is meaningless to John Q. Public outside the Beltway.

Here's the thread...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2169391

If we have more papers picking up on this, it's a VERY good thing. BTW - it was also pointed out somewhere in there (I think it was Leslie Stahl last night on Steven Colbert's new show) that the public wasn't really that tuned in about the developing Watergate scandal until it reached the Senate.

[Botany]

5. Bill and a lot of the "paid off media" get their talking points from ....

Creative Response Concepts. (google 'em)

They manufacture stories and talking points for the right and are paid
big bucks for that.

Watch:

Everybody knew Plame was CIA
Wilson was a hack and had to be exposed
The criminalization of the political process by dems
nobody cares about Plame
Iraq shows bush is fighting the big war on terror

ALL ARE NOT TRUE BUT they will be repeated many fold now.

Judy Miller is our window into the manipulation of the message
and the media by bush & company.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Exactly. So much for "preserving her journalistic integrity."

Like the late, great Muddy Waters once sang, "You can't spend what you ain't got, can't lose what you never had."

:patriot:

[niceypoo]

4. Propaganda

Move over Armstrong....

[MaineDem]

6. I really want to scream!

I can't take much more of this.

They are all complicit in a conspiracy and deserve to be held accountable. Something the Bushies don't do very well.

[PurityOfEssence]

7. Little Kewpie needs to retire to Hag Harbor, to live in disgrace

Too bad Pulitzers can't be taken away.

[npincus]

8. when will the NYT cut that fucking bitch loose? I mean FIRE HER ASS