Remember that press conference on Monday when Bush lambasted the press for exposing his secret surveillance by comparing it to an instance when the press allegedly tipped Osama off that the US could track his satellite phone? Pretty dramatic, except that case is most likely false. Surprise surprise. But lies make baby Jesus cry.
Interestingly, the paper the Bush admin referred to was the staunchly conservative Washington Times, which caused the WT to run a long article yesterday rebutting the claim. Then, the Washington POST comes to the Times' defense and calls it an urban legend
What does it take to be a White House factchecker these days? A junior high education?
Interestingly, the paper the Bush admin referred to was the staunchly conservative Washington Times, which caused the WT to run a long article yesterday rebutting the claim. Then, the Washington POST comes to the Times' defense and calls it an urban legend
President Bush asserted this week that the news media published a U.S. government leak in 1998 about Osama bin Laden's use of a satellite phone, alerting the al Qaeda leader to government monitoring and prompting him to abandon the device.
The story of the vicious leak that destroyed a valuable intelligence operation was first reported by a best-selling book, validated by the Sept. 11 commission and then repeated by the president.
But it appears to be an urban myth.
The al Qaeda leader's communication to aides via satellite phone had already been reported in 1996 -- and the source of the information was another government, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time.
The second time a news organization reported on the satellite phone, the source was bin Laden himself.
What does it take to be a White House factchecker these days? A junior high education?