Getting past the spin

The New York Times today attempts to tell the story of "The Miller Case: A Notebook, a Cause, a Jail Cell and a Deal." It's a fascinating read - and largely ignored in Australia - and warrants a full investigation. Judith Miller - star reporter and pre-war propagandist - gives her side of the story.

This story couldn't be more serious about what it tells us about the Bush administration, its relationship to the media and the role of the New York Times to the government.

Arianna Huffington - a long-time follower of this story - unloads today and accuses the paper and the Bushies of a massive cover-up:

"Now that I have spent a few hours absorbing this latest instalment in the ongoing soap opera 'Desperate Editors,' I can safely say that not since Geraldo cracked open Al Capone’s vault has there been a bigger anticlimax or a bigger sham. After all, the question everybody has been asking is: who was the source who leaked Valerie Plame’s identity to Judy Miller?

"And the answer? She cannot recall."

Stay tuned.