OK, so I'm in Centre County Pennsylvania right now, and the print edition of the local newspaper - the Centre Daily Times, a conservative local paper, which often features a minor traffic accident or pictures of the largest squash from the 4H grow-off, offers this Major Headline in large, bold type face on front page:
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--CIA: Civil war could erupt in Iraq--
'CIA officers in Iraq say the country may be on a path to civil war, starkly contradicting the upbeat assessment President Bush gave in his State of the Union address.' (Knight Ridder)
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The story details how the CIA made this assessment and presented it to the President just a few days ago. It goes on to quote unamed sources from the White House, the CIA, and Bremmer's underlings in Iraq - all supporting the headline.
Given that Knight-Ridder (the paper is an affiliate) is not always known for it's cutting-edge investigative journalism , I went to the web to see what the NY Times, the Washington Post, and CNN had on the story. Nothing, Nada, zilch.
Was this a headline yesterday and I just missed it? Even if it was in the other papers somewhere, why the poor placement? whyisn't it a headline? What the heck is going on?
I'm wonddering: Is this story and headline are on the front pages of other Knight-Ridder affiliates, or other small town papers?
Cudos to Knight-Ridder.
While this is no shocker to those who knew anything about Iraq prior to this invasion, or those who have done thier homework, this is major news to most of the american public, particularly on the heels of GWB upbeat assessment in SOTU.
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http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/7765415.htm