Unintelligent Reporting of Intelligence

WKKJ ^ | September 29, 2006 | Tedd Webb

[Valin]

This latest controversy over the National Intelligence Estimate is the latest…and only the latest example of what's wrong with the news business these days.

In short, no perspective, incomplete facts and intentionally or unintentionally biased.

The New York Times, a newspaper with a reputation for being on the left, runs a story quoting an un-named U.S. intelligence official as saying the latest summary by the nation's intelligence agencies concludes that quote "the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse.

Two days later, after a firestorm of I told you from all the war critics, President Bush decides to declassify the intelligence report and release it to the American public so everyone can judge for themselves.

Well, if Americans were to read it…and most of them won't of course…they would learn that nowhere will you find the words quoted in the New York Times that the war in Iraq had made the overall problem of terrorism worse.

Instead the report said…that while Iraq has become the "cause celebre" for the terrorists, U.S efforts have seriously damaged the leadership of Al Queda and have caused them to disperse and scatter.

But that wasn't reported and neither was the Intelligence Estimate recommendation that while terrorists are more determined to get us…the way to win the war against terrorists is to do exactly what President Bush has been saying…stay in Iraq until we win so that the terrorists will lose support among their own and among the Muslim world.

The news stories also didn't tell you the intelligence report was old and was done before the killing of two of the biggest terrorist leaders in recent weeks and months.

It appears that when it comes to covering intelligence, the news media in this case was pretty unintelligent.

[MNJohnnie]

http://www.dni.gov/

Anyone intrested can read the declassifed summary here. Clink on the link over to the right that says Declassified Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate

[cake_crumb]

Isn't unintelligent intelligence reporting by the media redundant? I mean, the Old Media is already a mass brain fart.

[ovrtaxt]

I was just debating some libs over at essembly.com over this issue. The absence of the report itself was a glaring mistake on the part of the right. This thing should be cut and pasted all over the net and read verbatim on the radio.

[cake_crumb]

Hmmmm...maybe the intellectually challenged media types read "dni" as "deny"?

[Valin]

One might almost think that their bias got in the way. Of course we all know that this never happens because they have editors to make sure that no bias gets into the news.

[Dilbert56]

Well let's see. Even if the NIE had concluded that, and if the NIE were correct there are still issues to be addressed:

• The NIE is an estimate. They had no data to back up the supposition that the problem was bigger and more widespread.
• Like all the unearned runs scored after an error with two out, how do we know what would have happened? The terrorists could have made Afghanistan the rallying cry. Or Lebanon. There's no guarantee that if we left Iraq to Saddam, Al Qaida would have had trouble recruiting.
• If you take away the enemies bases, they have to scatter. That's what we did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Would we rather have them venturing out of safe havens or forced to live on the run?
• If they are now scattered all over the world, doesn't that mean nearly all the governments of the world have to get involved with fighting it? Isn't that a good thing?
• You don't give terrorists veto power over our foreign policy. We can't couch every contemplated action with "what if it upsets the terrorists?".

[bt_dooftlook]

I'm glad to see that liberals' faith in the Intelligence community has been so completely restored - after all, they are assuming that this latest NIE is the unvarnished truth, although, according to the libs, the entire community was wrong about WMDs in Iraq...

[Recovering_Democrat]

Tedd Webb, writing for a little radio station, makes more friggin' sense than about 90% of the big time LameStream Media.

Someone syndicate this guy!