Media Shamelessly Shilling for Kerry and Kerry Brazenly Lying

George C. Landrith

On Monday, The New York Times reported that 380 tons of explosives were missing from an Iraqi weapons facility and blamed President George W. Bush. It was an explosive story timed for maximum political effect. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry welcomed the news and made it the centerpiece of his campaign, citing the incident as an example of Bush’s failure of leadership. There is only one problem – the story may be false. It appears the explosives were removed before American troops arrived.

Of course, Kerry still pounded the dubious story as if it were true. Even three days after questions were raised about the story’s truth and its timing, Kerry continued to repeat the discredited story and continued to blame Bush. Kerry has been blaming Bush for every conceivable problem. I half expect him to blame Bush for milk spoiling when its left on the counter too long and to announce that he has a “better plan.”

Here’s the truth the Times did not bother to report and that Kerry chose to ignore. In the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, American troops raced towards Baghdad through the desert. The 3rd Infantry Division was the first to arrive – almost a week before Baghdad fell – at the Al Qaqaa weapons facility located just 30 miles outside Baghdad. This is where the 380 tons of explosives were supposed to be. But, they did not find the explosives. One week later, the 101st Airborne Division arrived at Al Qaqaa. The NBC News camera crew embedded with the 101st reported that there was no HMX and no RDX – the powerful explosives that were reportedly stored at Al Qaqaa.

Simply stated, the 380 tons of high explosives that the Times alleges went missing after the Americans arrived, appear to have been moved before the the 3rd Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division arrived on April 3rd and 10th, 2003, respectively.

It is interesting that neither Kerry nor the Times mention that U.S. forces have secured more than 400,000 tons of explosives in Iraq – making the alleged missing 380 tons less than 1/10th of 1% of the explosives U.S. forces have found and are destroying.

It seems most likely that Saddam moved the explosives before the war began. Satitllite photos provide supporting evidence. But the best evidence is that the explosives were not there when American troops first rolled into Al Qaqaa before Baghdad was liberated.

John Kerry unwisely jumped on the questionable explosives story even after it was discredited. Truth has been a problem for Kerry. He has lied throughout the campaign – falsely claiming to have met with members of the UN Security Council and consistently reciting wildly false employment numbers and absurdly exaggerated costs for the war in Iraq, to name only three examples. The truth has never been particularly important to Kerry. In 1971, Kerry gave perjurious testimony to Congress when he falsely accused American soldiers of widespread war crimes. During his undistinguished Senate career, truth has often been a casualty of political ambition.

The New York Times revealed its rather obvious bias by jumping to a illogical conclusion that served its political purposes and reinforced its biases. The Times was willing to overlook the lack of factual support for the story. It is reminiscent of Dan Rather’s and CBS News’ recent fraudulent documents scandal.

It is interesting that before being “scooped” by the Times, CBS had planned to run with the “missing explosives” story only two days before Election Day. Apparently, CBS was prepared to launch yet another bogus and politically motivated story – this one on election eve so that no effective response could be made.

The New York Times, CBS News and many others in the “mainstream” media are shameless. They feign impartiality, pretend to be honest, and become angry at the mere suggestion of bias. Yet there can be no doubt. They are shills for John Kerry. They have repeatedly demonstrated their bias. Both the Times and CBS were once respected news organizations. Today, they survive on past accomplishments. They are no longer reputable news sources. They are little more than special interest groups campaigning for Kerry. Little wonder fewer and fewer people watch or subscribe.

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Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He had a successful law practice in business and litigation. In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. He served on the Albemarle County School Board. Mr. Landrith is an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law. He is recognized as an authority on constitutional law and jurisprudence, federalism, global warming, and property rights.

george@ff.org