I don't quite buy Thompson's claim that no MSM reported anything of divisions within gov't, claims that intel was being skewed, etc before CHB. He toots his own horn of course, but certainly some (I'm not saying all) of his reporting, if I recall correctly, appeared to me to build on stories already out there, although he tended to go farther in his assertions and details. (He presumably has no editors and can write as he wishes.) But was he always first on these matters?
I don't have the time at the moment to find all the stuff I've read before but here's a few interesting articles by an MSM outlet (Knight Ridder, noted for its prewar reporting that diverged from the herd) that predate CHB's articles noted above. Full articles are at the links I provided.
Posted on Wed, Feb. 13, 2002
Bush has decided to overthrow Hussein
By Warren P. Strobel and John Walcott
WASHINGTON - President Bush has decided to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power and ordered the CIA, the Pentagon and other agencies to devise a combination of military, diplomatic and covert steps to achieve that goal, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/11809605.htm----------------------------
Posted on Fri, Oct. 04, 2002
CIA report reveals analysts' split over extent of Iraqi nuclear threat
By Jonathan S. Landay
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - The CIA released a new report Friday on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction that added little to earlier appraisals but exposed a sharp dispute among U.S. intelligence experts over Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program.
...Several senior administration and intelligence officials, all of whom spoke only on the condition of anonymity, charged that the decision to publicize one analysis of the aluminum tubes and ignore the contrary one is typical of the way the administration has been handling intelligence about Iraq.
The White House and the Pentagon, these officials said, are pressuring intelligence analysts to highlight information that supports Bush's Iraq policy and suppress information and analysis that might undercut congressional, public or international support for war.
Some U.S. intelligence and military experts dispute the administration's suggestion that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction pose an imminent threat to the United States. One senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat has not increased appreciably beyond what it was when Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/11922671.htm----------------------------------
Posted on Tue, Oct. 08, 2002
Some in Bush administration have misgivings about Iraq policy
By Warren P. Strobel, Jonathan S. Landay and John Walcott
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - While President Bush marshals congressional and international support for invading Iraq, a growing number of military officers, intelligence professionals and diplomats in his own government privately have deep misgivings about the administration's double-time march toward war.
These officials charge that administration hawks have exaggerated evidence of the threat that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein poses - including distorting his links to the al-Qaida terrorist network - have overstated the amount of international support for attacking Iraq and have downplayed the potential repercussions of a new war in the Middle East.
They charge that the administration squelches dissenting views and that intelligence analysts are under intense pressure to produce reports supporting the White House's argument that Saddam poses such an immediate threat to the United States that pre-emptive military action is necessary.
"Analysts at the working level in the intelligence community are feeling very strong pressure from the Pentagon to cook the intelligence books," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/11922658.htm--------------------------
Posted on Sun, Oct. 27, 2002
Some in Bush administration have misgivings about Iraq policy (Note: title should be "Infighting among U.S. intelligence agencies fuels dispute over Iraq." Seems the web page with the article has the wrong title.)
By Warren P. Strobel, Jonathan S. Landay and John Walcott
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon and the CIA are waging a bitter feud over secret intelligence that is being used to shape U.S. policy toward Iraq, according to current and former U.S. officials.
The dispute has been fueled by the creation within the Pentagon of a special unit that provides senior policymakers with alternate assessments of Iraq intelligence.
Administration hawks who have been leading proponents of invading Iraq oversee the Pentagon unit, which is producing its own analyses of raw intelligence reports obtained from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and other agencies, the officials said.
The dispute pits hardliners long distrustful of the U.S. intelligence community against professional military and intelligence officers who fear the hawks are shaping intelligence analyses to support their case for invading Iraq.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/11922636.htm