New York Times: Iraq coverage flawed

By The Washington post and The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — The New York Times acknowledged today that its coverage of whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction "was not as rigorous as it should have been" and that "we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged — or failed to emerge."

More than a year after Judith Miller and some colleagues reported on evidence suggesting Iraq was hiding such weapons, the paper said in an editors' note: "Editors at several levels who should have been challenging reporters and pressing for more skepticism were perhaps too intent on rushing scoops into the paper. Accounts of Iraqi defectors were not always weighed against their strong desire to have Saddam Hussein ousted."

The lengthy note "From the Editors" appears inside the front section of today's editions and was posted on its Web site.

One of Miller's prime sources was Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi exile whose organization was subsidized by the Pentagon. U.S.-backed forces raided Chalabi's home last week amid allegations that members of his Iraqi National Congress may have been providing sensitive information to Iran.

Dan Okrent, the paper's ombudsman, said last night, "I'm looking into the coverage of WMD" and planned to publish his findings Sunday.

While many news organizations reported on WMD claims before the war, few did so as aggressively as The New York Times. The failure to find such weapons has produced growing calls by critics, led by Slate columnist Jack Shafer, for paper to own up to errors.

The Seattle Times sometimes publishes New York Times stories in Sunday editions.

Nearly all the stories were published during the tenure of New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines. Raines left after an internal investigation found fabrications or plagiarism in dozens of Jayson Blair's stories.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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