Enablers of death

Following up on a previous post regarding the Judy Miller and the NYT, it is very clear that they both have blood on their hands regarding their roles in reporting the WMD fiasco without verification, in hyping war hysteria, and in shilling for the Bush administration.

An increasing number of reports and reporters are expressing damning evidence of shoddy investigations and total abdication of journalistic responsibilities. The Times admits it didn't properly oversee Miller – nor did it verify her reports. Miller's co-workers state she should be fired, has sullied their institution, and has harmed journalistic integrity. Miller's claim that “all of us were wrong on WMD's” is not just laughable, it is a lie, and an insult to America – especially the families of the innocents killed in this travesty.

Unlike Cheney, Rumsfeld, and other amoral neo-cons who may view themselves fine in their mirrors each morning, one would think that Miller and the NYT have some type of conscience. Consider this strange statement by Miller - “"Those who need anonymity are not only the poor and the powerless, those whose lives or jobs might be in jeopardy if they speak up publicly, but even the powerful. All are entitled to anonymity if they are telling the truth ...." Huh? Seems like the powerful – if speaking the truth, would need no such protection. In Miller's world, powerful liars who send our young overseas as cannon fodder are accorded protection as anonymous sources. The real question is, was Miller complicit with the lies she shilled for – or was she so stupid that she gullibly scribed the lies without verification?

While saying they regret some of their actions, neither Miller nor the NYT has acknowledged how they helped enable the killings now occurring in Iraq. Here's hoping the cajones to do so exist within their psyches.