Judith Miller: Reporting WMD
The controversy over Judith Miller's reporting didn't begin with the Plame leak investigation. Miller had been roundly criticised by several sources for her central role in the New York Times coverage of weapon's of mass destruction leading up to the Iraq war.
Questions for investigation and reflection.
- How central was Miller's role in the NYT WMD coverage?
- What of her assertion that a reporter is only as good as their sources?
- How did Miller's coverage of the Iraq war influence the coverage of her decisions during the Plame leak investigation?
- Where does an individual reporter's responsability end and where does the responsability of the news organisation begin? Should the NYT have been more sceptical of Miller's work?
Resources and Links
Pulitzer Prize winner Judith Miller’s series of exclusives about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq—courtesy of the now-notorious Ahmad Chalabi—helped the New York Times keep up with the competition and the Bush administration bolster the case for war. How the very same talents that caused her to get the story also caused her to get it wrong. Feature by Franklin Foer from New York Magazine, June 7, 2004
A long detailed critique of the media's role in promoting the Bush's administration line on WMD. Concentrates on Miller's Central role. This is a link to PDF from UTS library's electronic reserve available with your student id number.
The Times Scoops That Melted
Cataloging the wretched reporting of Judith Miller.
A 2003 critique by Slate media critic Jack Shafer
U.S. intelligence on Iraq's WMD deserves a second look. So does the reporting of the New York Times' Judith Miller. Another Jack Shafer critique.
Salon's Juan Cole argues that arrogance, poor editing, and getting too close to her sources -- not ideology -- led to her fall. Charts her closeness to neo-con sources.
WMD: Weapons of Miller’s descriptions
A detailed analysis of Miller's reports from Iraq as an embedded reporter by Herbert L. Abrams in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
Brief but important report of a Miller talk at Berkeley in March 2005 where she justifies her reporting of WMD
Miller 'sorry' for WMD inaccuracies
BBC Interview: Despite apologising Ms Miller insisted she was right to publish Judith Miller, the US journalist at the heart of the CIA leak probe, has apologised to her readers because her stories about WMD and Iraq turned out to be wrong.
The Times and Iraq: A Sample of the Coverage
The following is a sampling of articles published by The Times about the decisions that led the United States into the war in Iraq, and especially the issue of Iraq's weapons.
From the Editors: The Times and Iraq
Over the last year this newspaper has shone the bright light of hindsight on decisions that led the United States into Iraq. We have examined the failings of American and allied intelligence, especially on the issue of Iraq's weapons and possible Iraqi connections to international terrorists. We have studied the allegations of official gullibility and hype. It is past time we turned the same light on ourselves.
