Posted by
GROG on Friday, December 01, 2006 12:50:23 PM
In my opinion, it is important to base our arguments on factual statements. If we are in a position where opinion and argument is our job, then we have a responsibility to know what we are talking about.
This morning on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, columnist Mona Charen made the claim, then reiterated it when challenged, that Saddam Hussein had "kick out" weapons inspectors.
What? What? Listen: Mona is PAID to put out her opinions. We read columnists with the belief that they will at the very least use facts to back up their opinions. I'm sitting here getting paid nothing and in thirty seconds, I could prove that she is factually wrong on this point. This is a basic point of the history of the Iraq War: The United States requested that the United Nations withdraw weapons inspectors in the final days before the war began. Don't believe me? Here it is salvaged from the Memory Hole:
<<<Monday, March 17, 2003 Posted: 1:05 PM EST (1805 GMT)
UNITED NATIONS (CNN)
-- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council on Monday that he is withdrawing weapons inspectors and humanitarian workers from Iraq.
The inspectors are making plans to begin leaving on Tuesday ahead of an expected U.S.-led attack, a U.N. spokesman said…
The United States advised the United Nations to remove its weapons inspectors and offered to help ensure their safe passage...>>>
Okay, okay. So technically the United States DID tell the UN to pull out the inspectors. But it was because Saddam wasn't cooperating. Right?
Again, wrong. In fact, just 10 days before Hans Blix had described Iraqi cooperation as "proactive." Don't believe me? Let's reach back into the Memory Hole (Google is useful for that):
<<<Sarah Left
Friday March 7, 2003
Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,909793,00.html
Despite a report from the chief UN weapons inspector describing Iraqi cooperation as "active or even proactive", America and Britain today pushed for a resolution giving Iraq a maximum of 10 days to comply fully with UN demands to disarm.
>>>
Does the truth matter? Should we support columnists who are either irresponsible in not knowing what they are talking about or are rewriting history to present a false past to the American public? I think truth does matter and that columnists who can't stick to facts should lose their jobs.