Saddam Hussein and the Associated Press

Among the hundreds of thousands of documents that were recovered from Iraq comes this one that has the makings of interesting dinner conversation at the offices of the Associated Press:

We were informed from one of our sources (the degree of trust in him is good) who works in the American Associated Press Agency [emphasis added] that the agency broadcasted to through computer to its branches worldwide the following:

1. The new agency for inspecting the Iraqi weapons (UNMOVIC) started on 11/7/2000 a training program for 4 weeks which includes historical, legal, administrative, and political subjects that are related to the weapons inspection in Iraq.

2. The training include lectures about the ballistic missiles and the biological and chemical weapons and the import and export of weapons in addition to a session in security arrangements prepared by the American government.

3. Hans Blix who head the new team mentioned that he will send a smaller team to Iraq in late August 2000 and the inspections operations will focus on choosing the locations that was under the control of the UNSCOM committee

4. The agency adds that Iraq prevented the old committee from returning to Iraq and that high Iraq officials said they will not accept new inspectors from the new committee but some other left the possibility of negotiations open.

5. The agency ends its article by saying that the sanctions against Iraq will not be lifted unless Iraq cooperate with the new inspectors and after it is decided that Iraq is free from weapons of mass destructions.

Please review and benefit with regards

Signature

15

M. SH.

24/7/2000

It is curious phrasing, and it does suggest that the Iraqis penetrated the AP. Who was this source at the AP? Was it a reporter? An editor? The next question is whether the AP reporting on Iraq was altered by this individual to provide a more positive spin on the Iraqi actions, and a corresponding negative spin on the US actions.

UPDATE:
Mark Tapscott also wonders about the identity of the person who was providing this information. He demands an investigation. I'd suggest the independent kind, since AP's customers deserve as much. I'm not just talking about the end-users but the newspapers, media outlets, and other reporters who use AP both as a source and distribution point. Ed Driscoll notes that Saddam was simply hedging his bets and had already made deals with CNN and Reuters has cozy relationship with various terror groups.

Also blogging: The Political Pit Bull.