David Willman: "The Mirage Man"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-06-20/david-willman-mirage-man
Tyrone Turner
Shortly after September 11, 2001, anonymous letters sprinkled with anthrax were sent through the mail. Five people died. Fear spread across the nation. No one seemed to know if it was a second wave of terrorism or the work of an individual psychopath. Confusion reigned. In a new book, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist unravels the mystery. And he argues that the Bush administration seized on dubious evidence to suggest the anthrax had been "weaponized." The implication was Saddam Hussein was behind it. How the anthrax attacks helped justify a war and how the bio-terror investigation put the nation at risk today.
Guests
David Willman
Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigative journalist who writes for the Los Angeles Times.
Read an Excerpt
From "The Mirage Man" by David Willman. Copyright 2011 by David Willman. Excerpted by permission of Random House. All rights reserved.
Comments
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Unfortunately, David Willman wrote his book BEFORE much of the evidence the FBI had withheld for years was finally released. NOTE: there is much more important information still being withheld.
See a vigorous discussion of many of the points David Willman missed or ignored at ...
http://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/ Search for “Willman” to locate many posts
The conclusion of the CASE CLOSED blog: the FBI has not made the case against Dr. Ivins: no physical evidence, no witnesses, an impossible time line, and science that goes more to innocence than guilt. The bottom line ... IT WASN'T IVINS !!!
the authors info is sketchy,and he comes to fast and easy conclusions. he also seems to be operating under the assumption that powerful agencies don't lie,or at least don't have hidden agendas, that do not necessarilly serve the greater collective good of the public.
Barent: This rubber stamp (book for sale) does serve the interests of the National Security State, an authoritarian and fascist delusion.
Dr. Ivin's funny quirks fail to answer the real questions. The bigger timeline is that Anthrax Letter Terrorism reinforced the panic purposely created following 9/11. Big-shot Democrats were targeted for partisan reasons, and in the end the Coup has succeeded in capturing the entire economy for a tiny Oligarchy and negating many civil and human rights.
Someday the entire truth will come out and we will see how this was a near mis-step for a larger conspiracy culminating in the Meltdown and Perpetual War.
David Willman has a strong track record for thorough, factual and balanced reporting. He spent more than two years researching this book, conducting hundreds of interviews and reviewing volumes of paper. His arguments are not quick and easy; they detail a remarkable set of facts that were checked and double-checked. That's the kind of non-fiction I like to read.
I've followed Dave Willman's reporting for years. He is a distinguished journalist -- smart, conscientious, and savvy. He is known for doing rock solid reporting. Even if you disagree with his conclusions, you'd be hard pressed to find fault with his reporting. If Willman writes it, you can be sure he's got the evidence to back it up.
facts need to be contextualized. just as DNA presence in and of itself, can only say that a person was likely to have been at a place. it can not say what was done,or why it was done. a given ideological overlay,intentional or not,is going tp present "facts",that will favor a certain conclusion. even though we should never stop striving for it,total objectivity is impossible. i'm not saying that the author is completely wrong, i'm saying there are just too many unknown variables to be so sure. "don't let the facts get in the way",is usualy said sarcastically,i think there is something to be said, for not putting "facts" on the sacred alter of "truth",as if facts existed in some pristine isolated rarefied space, of moral rectitude and veracity.
on another point: past honorable and competent journalism,does not, and should not, grant carte blanche competency clearance for life.
This was just another 'false flag' event by the U.S.
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What ideological overlay do you attribute to the author? Is this based on personal familiarity with the author? Or are you projecting your own?
I know the author; "find the facts and let the chips fall where they may" is his only ideology, and he readily acknowledges gaps in the record. While there may not be facutal certainty, he presents more than enough evidence to sustain his burden of TRUTH.
@barent: So now you make a backhanded charge that this pulitzer prize winnning author is incompentent?! Without asserting any basis for the charge? Without pointing to any particular shortcoming of his detailed account of this case? Who's water are you carrying?
One of the most important and frightening revelations of this important book is the vast expansion since 2001 in the number of facilities and individuals handling equally or more potent biohazards, with no concommitent application of reliable security features.
i could take a cheap shot at your so called non-partisan status,but that would be too obvious on my part. you are extrapolating a whole bunch of nonsense. since when is past acheivement a life long endorsement? i did not know that journalists had tenure,thanks for letting me know,thats very informative. there is no particular shortcoming. it is a collection of facts that fit conveniently into an argument. are they retrofit,i don't know. but i can tell you this for sure, i'm not addicted to your certainty.
"no particular shortcoming", hence no basis for your inflamatory charges against the author and his account.
Your sarcastic, caustic tone belies your intent to injure and defame, and not a desire for objective reason.
Mr. Willman paints a convincing picture of Mr. Ivins as dangerously mentally ill and certainly capable, if only from a circumstantial point of view, of being involved in the anthrax attack, if not *the* sole culprit.
Obviously Mr. Willman has undertaken extensive research and possesses an impressively broad command of the facts, history and other particulars of the case. The one thing that bothers me, though, about his comments in the interview today is his statement of respect and admiration for FBI Director Robert Mueller. I was astonished by this, especially given Mr. Mueller's record of questionable actions in a number of FBI investigations and counterintelligence work following 9/11. The FBI's unjustified hounding of Mr. Hatfill and Mr. Mueller's refusal to personally apologize to the man is an example of which I speak. I am not easily persuaded to conspiracies where no evidence has been shown to exist. But from the public record it seems clear that Mr. Mueller played a major role in the dissemination of information he knew or should have known was false, that was used to justify the attack on Iraq in 2003.
I'll be interested to read "The Mirage Man" but my mind is far from made up that we should accept the "lone gunman" theory on the word of one reporter, even one as highly respected as this author is. Especially when he heaps praise on the FBI Director who should have received not a Presidential Medal of Freedom but a sentence of 10-to-20 years for his role in one of the most shameful events in U.S. history. The memory of Judith Miller's disgraceful role in the run-up to the war is still fresh in my mind, and I am not ready to give Mr. Willman a pass on the basis of his resume and diligent research for this book alone.
I'd like to know Senator Leahy's opinion on whether an independent investigation is still warranted. To me at least, the whitewashing of Robert Mueller today does not instill confidence that this case is closed.
Conclusion: David Willman worked diligently with thorough screening of incomplete information and also hesitated to say anything that would offend powerful and influential people involved in pro-war scandal. This is the profile we complain about every weekday in the MSM and sometimes at DRShow.
We are told the maneuverings of "The Big Game" in condescending language. But if you prefer real events and justice to the Oligarchy's favorite sports you're screwed; just can't fit in, just can't be happy. I think I'll change my name to Malcontent X.
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