Well, a redacted version anyway. The New York Times is informing us this morning that there were Americans and Arab-Americans profiting from the UN Oil-for-Food program. Never mind that these ill-gotten gains are nowhere near those garnered by the Russians and the French (somehow not mentioned in the article). These individuals and companies have been known to anyone with the slightest interest for the better part of a year. The Times deigned to cover this scandal once in my recollection during that time. Why now?
Here’s my conjecture. This was the paper’s opportunity to spin this embarrassment to the antiwar faction against the USA and therefore against Bush in the run-up to the election. The presence of Judith Miller in the by-line is sad but, alas, explainable. She is in trouble with the government over the Plame Affair and needs the support of her bosses at the Times more than ever. It’s ugly all around and in some ways pathetic. Sometimes I think that the MSM’s overweening need to elect Kerry is no more than habit. But habits, especially unexamined, die hard.
(hat tip: Hovig Heghinian)
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