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07/21/2003 Entry: "Tangled web"
The tangled web that led to the death of Dr David Kelly is occupying much of our media's attention, and a sorry, murky tale it is. To some, the blame lies with the BBC, who are no better than agents of Saddam in seeking to undermine the credibility of our government. Others pin the responsibility on Tony Blair and his government, evil despots who will stop at nothing in order to have their own way. For what it's worth, I don't believe the conspiracy theories. Nor do I see the BBC as anything other than a organisation trying to maintain the very highest standards of journalistic integrity. The war between the government and the BBC is not new. Political opposition to Tony Blair is very weak - his most effective critics are within his own party! In these circumstances, the BBC finds itself acting in the stead of an opposition - almost by default. It isn't the first time this has happened. During Mrs Thatcher's years as Prime Minister there were frequent jibes at the BBC but the storms blew over because, in the last analysis, almost everyone here regards the BBC News as one of the most courageous and trustworthy information sources there is. My guess is that this storm will blow over too.
In the meantime there are some important questions which this row should not be allowed to obscure. Principal among them - did the government deliberately exaggerate intelligence reports of the threat posed by Saddam and his WMD's to persuade MP's to back a war that few really wanted?
Replies:
That is going to be the difficulty isn't it?
There will be so much hyperbole, the important answers may be lost in the noise.
I know a man under profound pressure took his own life, but I think back to ricin and umbrellas in all the pontificating going on, which is the objective ofsome of the pontificaters, isn't it?
Posted by Bene Diction @ 07/21/2003 06:56 PM CST
