This is a fascinating editorial apology from the New York Times, an attempt by the paper to deal with its own complicity in the Iraq WMD hoax. It names specific stories that the editors later discovered to be one-sided or just downright wrong, and regrets that these stories were used by the administration as evidence to bolster its claims concerning the need for war. It admits to having believed lies and not having checked out claims made by special interests. Just imagine what the Times would write if it offered an account and apology for 50 years of statist economic reporting. “We reported that fiscal and monetary fiscal could stabilize the economy; in fact these policies only lead to destabilization. We regret that we believed the self-interested statements of economists who work for the government, and we admit that we failed to seek independent verification of these claims.”
We Were Duped by the State and Its Friends
