Where Did that News Scoop Go? To the MSM's Memory Hole

In a recent National Review column, Jonah Goldberg asked whatever happened to the story on the massive cache of explosives that American forces failed to secure after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Goldberg sniffs that "in the final week of the presidential campaign it was The Most Important Story on Earth."

Goldberg notes that The (New York) Times has not run a single story about the al-Qaqaa story since November 1. Nada, bupkis, zilch. So what happened to the story?

Well, the answer is pretty damn simple. Kerry lost the election and that meant the media could go back to its On Bended Knee mode, i.e. not caring about issues. No longer did the media feel obligated to give a half-hearted effort to look into allegations about the Bush administration. No, it was back to typing up administration press releases.

And since the MSM has an attention span of about 30 seconds, Goldberg knew he could regurgitate this story to feed the GOP's daily "Outrage Machine." Knowing he wouldn't be challenged, Goldberg complains that the Times "first broadside" didn't mention that The weapons might have been removed before the invasion.

No, perhaps it wasn't mentioned in the "first broadside." But what Goldberg CONVENIENTLY neglects to mention is that video taken by KSTP of St Paul, Minnesota in mid-April 2003 SUPPORTED the Times' report that the tons of explosives missing from a munitions installation in Iraq were looted AFTER the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.

As the AP reported, A videotape shot by a Minnesota television crew traveling with United States troops in Iraq when they first opened the bunkers at the Al-Qaqaa munitions base nine days after the fall of Saddam Hussein shows what appeared to be high explosives still in barrels and bearing the markings of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

But look at Goldberg's column. Is there any mention of what KSTP found. Of course not!

And oh, by the way, Goldberg isn't the only one wondering what happened. to the story. But questions posed on this issue to the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz Media Backtalk go unanswered. Why? Perhaps rather than being an indication that the Times got the story wrong, the more likely answer is that the MSM doesn't want to upset the Bush administration.

Afterall, remember how Houston Chronicle reporter Bennett Roth was chastised by the administration for asking a question press secretary Ari Fleischer deemed off limits. As Ari put told Roth, it was "noted in the building that I had asked the question." Vice-president Dick Cheney took the strategy one step further and banned New York Times reporters from travelling with him during the campaign.

Perhaps Goldberg, satisfied the press won't actually look into the story, now gets to bash the MSM and he makes it look like the MSM picks on conservatives rather than the truth, which is that most of the time the MSM is a faithful GOP soldier.