It’s been up for a long time, that report about the missing explosives in Iraq. Almost as if, to quote Roger Simon, ‘the New York Times’… progandistic drivel timed to encourage the defeat of a sitting president in favor of a candidate’ appealed so much to the BBC it had to be a fixture at BBConline for as long as it entertained the anti-Bush brigade.
Once again, as with the Bush documents story, a meme damaging the incumbent has found a semi-permanent place of repose on the BBC’s frontpage. I wonder when, or if, and if, then in what manner, the other side of the story that is being uncovered by the likes of NBC and our own Wretchard, will find its way into the BBC’s cosy little narrative of Bush incompetence?
No, not just BBC Online: it was also the lead on the Ten o’Clock News last night, w/ H Edwards Esq at his prissiest. The BBC lifted the story from the New York Times.
The background is now really rancid, having evolved since Wretchard’s post: CBS was also working on the “story” and intended to broadcast an election “surprise” on Thursday (vide. the Bush drink-driving story in 2000). Some detail here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-cbs26oct26,1,5215565.story?coll=la-news-a_section
…as one blogger, lcom, says, “The NY Times scoops the fake scoopers with a fake scoop. Has the rot gone deep enough for you?”
Not for the BBC — evidently just business as usual to them. Not a word about the mess, much less a retraction.
Maybe H Edwards, fearsome tribune of us plebs that he is, will be on it tonight? Right, absolutely, yes, I am confident…
Since when did the truth ever get in the way of BBC reporting?
notice how everything that is “stolen” in Iraq is now reported by the BBC as “material for making nuclear bombs?” Christ if Saddam did have stuff for making nukes its a good job we went in? Er except he didn’t and the BBC are trying to have it both ways.
does anyone know of any BBC report on anything that is accurate?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3955007.stm
Mentions the NBC story
and here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3955151.stm
“While Mr Bush has not commented on the missing materiel, his aides seized on another news report that the explosives were missing when US forces arrived at the Iraqi base the day after the fall of Baghdad. However, it remains unclear if the stockpile had already been stolen or just not found at that time”
No. The BBC had plenty of time to correct/retract its lead story. A couple of references on hard-to-find web pages doesn’t do it. ‘Asymmetry’ would be the polite word, but there are others.
More details on CBS’s squalid — and busted — plans here.
Meanwhile, H Edwards Esq is looking even more ovine than usual.
Shifting your standards there Wally -“Not a word about the mess”. Er, yes there is.
Uh-uh. Look at the substance: Too little too late too buried — très Guardian.