In 2004 editors of the NY Times apologized for the paper's coverage leading up to the Iraq war, admitting it "was not as rigorous as it should have been."
Though the Times and other news sources conceded, specifically, to improper analysis of claims about Iraq's possession of WMDs, they're apparently already making the same mistakes again - over Iran. Independent reporter Robert Parry says a recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report about Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program is now being framed by major U.S. news sources, including the Times, "as gospel truth," while ignoring evidence of IAEA bias.
The same political/media players in the Iraq affair, says Parry, are now brewing up an alarmist propaganda scenario over Iran, in which the slightest provocation could have "devastating" results.
We need now, more than ever, the "rigorous" reporting the Times admits it should have provided in the past.
Tell the NY Times: Don't repeat mistakes made with Iraq.
We, the undersigned, are very concerned that reporting failures during the lead-up to the War in Iraq are now being repeated by you and other news sources regarding the situation in Iran.
We do not want this trend toward war, now aimed at Iran, to escalate into the kind of mushroom-cloud propaganda that occurred in the media prior to the Iraq War.
Nor do we want our leaders in the press participating in the kind of stifling of dissent described in Dennis Berstein's recently published interview with Phil Donahue (truthout, January 18 "Silencing Donahue and Anti-War Voices").
According to a Global Research article by Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity:
"Exaggerated coverage of a dubious report by the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program has spurred a rush toward a new war in the Middle East."
These veteran CIA officers wrote Obama on January 6, 2012 to urge him to resist pressure to rush toward another war and focus on the facts, and we expect our news media to do the same.
We request that you re-visit your apologies and errors involved in the Iraq prewar coverage and now do the rigorous reporting that you admit you should have done then.
Thank you for your serious attention to this matter.
