Rocky blasts News' Iraq war reporting

Deseret Morning News Editor John Hughes has repeatedly asserted that journalists must strive for ethical, balanced and truthful reporting. "(I)f news organizations are to be trusted," Hughes recently wrote, "they must prove themselves scrupulous in their insistence upon accuracy and their dedication to fairness" ("Media Must Insist on Being Accurate," Oct. 4, 2006).

Ironically, under Hughes' leadership, much of the News' reporting has been incredibly biased and deceptive. (For several examples, see ww.slcgov.com/mayor/speeches/2005%20Publications/ STdeseretnews110405.pdf.) In light of the News' coverage (or lack of coverage) of events leading to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, as well as its coverage of city government, Hughes' appeals for journalistic integrity and honesty are grossly hypocritical. The News blindly accepted Secretary of State Powell's since-discredited 2003 presentation to the U.N. on Iraq's alleged weapons programs, publishing a front-page article and editorial referring to the evidence of WMDs as "irrefutable" and "undeniable." We know now that the evidence was not only refutable and deniable; it was false and misleading.

One of Powell's central claims was that Iraq had attempted to acquire aluminum tubes to enrich uranium. However, the News' story and editorial failed to mention that experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had previously concluded the aluminum tubes in question were unsuitable for uranium enrichment. That information was easily discernible for any journalist interested in the truth.

Also easily discoverable to any journalist who cared about conveying the truth to the reading public was the fact, completely ignored by the News, that Colin Powell had represented on Feb. 24, 2001, that Saddam Hussein "has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors," said Powell. Also ignored by the News was the fact that in July 2001, two months before 9/11, Condoleezza Rice said, "We are able to keep his (Hussein's) arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt."

In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush, relying on certain documents, represented that Iraq had sought uranium from an African nation. On March 7, 2003, ten days before the invasion of Iraq commenced, IAEA Director Mohammed El Baradei announced that the documents were crude forgeries. Despite the fact that The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on the forgeries, no news article about the astounding revelation appeared in the News until four months later -- after the war began and even after President Bush absurdly announced, "Mission Accomplished." The forgery revelation was downplayed in the News article, which failed to mention that, prior to the State of the Union address, the CIA had warned the administration that the uranium claim was unreliable. The News' readers have been left in the dark about the truth.

Notwithstanding Hughes' exhortations about the media's responsibilities, the News has never sought to explain why it had been so derelict in reporting on the baselessness of President Bush's claim about Hussein seeking to buy nuclear materials. That false claim served as one of the administration's major justifications for commencing our tragic occupation of Iraq, yet when it was debunked, the News did not report about the debunking. Perhaps if the people of this country had been provided the truth in a timely manner by our news media, we would not be involved in this tragic war.

In the face of the abysmal reporting and editorials slavishly parroting the lies of the Bush administration, John Hughes shamelessly contended, in a piece written about the BBC, that "In the midst of a war on terrorism, the quality of intelligence, both past and future, is too important to be sullied by partisan politics or sloppy journalism" ("BBC Scandal Offers Lesson for Americans," Feb. 5, 2004). Where has the News' own editor been when sloppy journalism is so often reflected in the pages of the News?

In pontificating about the Jayson Blair scandal, John Hughes wrote, "When such disservice to readers, or listeners, or viewers is discovered, (journalists) must go public, correct the error, apologize, and take disciplinary action. ("BBC Scandal Offers Lesson for Americans," Feb. 5, 2004). Of course, John Hughes never saw fit to apologize or correct the record, nor has he disciplined himself or others who have so misled News readers.

We have reason to admire editors who publicly affirm robust standards of truth and fairness for our news media -- but only if, unlike John Hughes, they are willing to abide by those same standards.

Rocky Anderson is mayor of Salt Lake City.

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