I started to think about Judy Miller's testimony at the Libby trial as few weeks ago. For a Pulitzer Prize winner, she appeared scatterbrain, a bubblehead, and forgetful especially in notetaking. She seemed on the stand that she was protecting someone... This article is from Marcy Wheeler sometime ago:
Judy makes a little slip in her recap article of July 20, 2003. She says,
Interviews with soldiers and government officials over three months with the Pentagon's 75th Exploitation Task Force, known as the XTF
Thing is, she wasn't embedded for three months. She was embedded with XTF from March 19 (or thereabouts) to May 12 (or thereabouts). less than two months, not three. But now that I've reviewed the timeline of Chalabi's early months in Iraq--in addition to that of the XTF, I've been wondering whether Judy just forgot who she was supposed to be embedded with. Because she started working with Chalabi in Feburary, and was working with Chalabi for large periods until May, when she left. Three months. Not just with the XTF, but with Chalabi too.
If her embed was with Chalabi and the XTF, then we can think of the scope of her embed as defined by her objective, not one particularly military unit. Rummy sent Judy to Iraq to make sure events on the ground in Iraq didn't totally discredit the excuse for the war, the WMDs. Embedding Judy with the 75th XTF was an important way to help Judy manage WMD expecations. But she needed Chalabi's help to thoroughly craft expectations.
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2005/08/what_judy_mille_2.html
We know that Miller fabricated her story about the WMD. And we know that Ms. Miller's reputation as great journalist was going down the drain at that time. It makes you wonder why she went to jail for 85 days, became a famous journalist at that time because she was protecting her 1st amendment rights, released from jail from her source, Libby, while she was given a government security clearance card when other reporters weren't given that privilege. Who was she protecting? Hmmm.. The answer may be the story that she was covering and the person who is running this country. What do you think?
3 comments:
It is clear now that the WH used her to inform the public through the press. She ate it up whatever they fed her, now she pays.
And she used them to give back her reputation and have a name. When she was jailed, she was on the lips of a lot of people.
And her testimony on the stand showed the public who really Ms. Miller is.
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