US Newspaper Admits Faults in Iraq War Coverage
VOA News
26 May 2004, 14:14 UTC
A leading U.S. newspaper says its reporting on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction before the war was not as rigorous as it should have been.
In an editor's note Wednesday, The New York Times apologized for the reports, saying it should have been more aggressive in reviewing claims about Iraq's weapons programs.
The newspaper says "a number" of reports were insufficiently qualified by sources or were unchallenged by the newspaper's editors. It says some employees were "too intent on rushing scoops into the paper."
The New York Times says questionable stories included reports on secret terrorist training facilities, weapons-making plants and aluminum tubes allegedly used for nuclear weapons. It says many of these allegations have not been verified and some were not adequately re-examined in later reporting.
The newspaper says writers relied on Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles, who sometimes gave "misinformation" to U.S. officials and news media.
The newspaper named one source, Ahmad Chalabi - currently a member of the Iraqi Governing Council - who it says was paid by U.S. officials to be a "broker" for information from fellow Iraqi exiles.
Earlier this month, the U.S. government eliminated payments to Mr. Chalabi and last week U.S. officials in Iraq accused him of passing secret information to Iran. Mr. Chalabi and Iran's government have denied the claims.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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