Sunday, October 23, 2005

NEW YORK TIMES MUST MAKE AMENDS FOR WAR PROMOTION AND COVERUP


The New York Times is reeling from the revelation that reporter Judith Miller (on left in photo above) not only lied about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but was involved in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Not yet fired by the Times, Miller has now acknowledged that she was involved in discussions with Vice President Cheney's chief aid Scotter Libby about Plame even before the Bush team disclosed that Plame was a CIA agent. This fact shows that Miller was not only involved in the selling of the illegal war in Iraq but was also involved in the coverup.

For the New York Times to have a reporter involved in the selling and coverup of a war is a massive betrayal of the public trust by a media outlet. The Times should immediately fire Miller and should do a front-page apology to the American people and the rest of the world for their crucial role (as America's newspaper of record) in creating justification for the war. In addition, the Times must call for an immediate withdrawal from the war and must call for the legal prosecution of all those implicated in the selling and coverup of the war. And that includes Judith Miller and anyone else at the Times that played any role in the scandal. How can anyone ever believe anything the Times ever prints again unless they purge themselves from the outrageous relationship their paper has forged with the war-making machine of the Bush Pentagon?

I urge you to join me in writing a letter to the New York Times calling on them to take these steps to make good to the public.

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