*Ø* Blogmanac | NY Times corrects Powell's deception

But America's ABC ignores Powell's WMD lie
"Hundreds of FAIR activists wrote to the Times after a recent report (9/29/03) repeated as fact a charge by Secretary of State Colin Powell that weapons inspectors were thrown out of the country in 1998. According to the Times, 'Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in a television appearance today, noted that the Iraqi leader threw weapons inspectors out in 1998, making it more difficult for intelligence agencies to get hard information.' In fact, as FAIR's action alert pointed out, the inspectors were not kicked out, but were removed by team leader Richard Butler right before an American bombing campaign. The Times had corrected the same error three years earlier (2/2/00).

"The TV program on which Powell made the false statement, ABC's This Week (9/28/03), has yet to correct the error.

"FAIR thanks the many activists who took the time to write to the Times about this matter. For the record, the error was in Monday's edition of the paper, not in Wednesday's, as the Times indicated in its correction."
Source: FAIR e-letter

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*Ø* Blogmanac | Blair 'knew Iraq threat limited'
"The prime minister knew Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction ready for use within 45 minutes, former foreign secretary Robin Cook has claimed.
He said that before the war started Mr Blair privately admitted that Saddam Hussein had no weapons posing a 'real and present danger'.

"Mr Cook – who resigned as Leader of the Commons in protest at the conflict – makes his claims in a book based on his diaries, being serialised in the Sunday Times.

"Downing Street has dismissed the allegations as 'absurd'.

Cabinet 'mutiny'
But the Liberal Democrats and a former Labour minister have both predicted the publication of Mr Cook's diaries will spell another tough period for the prime minister.
Source