Yeah, the anti-war, far-Left billionaire George Soros. Via Bryan, here’s the AP’s story:

A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

Perhaps the AP should do some background on these studies before they report them as hard facts. Bryan points out that the Clinton Administration spent years warning the public about the threat of the Hussein Regime, with S.O.S. Madeleine Albright saying in 1998:

“No one has done what Saddam Hussein has done, or is thinking of doing. He is producing weapons of mass destruction, and he is qualitatively and quantitatively different from other dictators.”

Defense Secretary William Cohen added:

“We’ve spent seven years containing him at no loss to U.S. lives,” Cohen said, adding that an attack would reduce the threat of “chemical and biological weapons that will pose a threat to your children and grandchildren for the future.”

So if Bush misled America about Iraq, the misleading began with the Clinton Administration, who carried out military strikes against the dictator.

But back to the study. The Center for Public Integrity, responsible for the so-called study, is funded by a man who has made it the “central focus of (his) life” to bring down the Bush Administration — anti-war billionaire George Soros.

The AP isn’t the only one reporting this as hard fact. Here’s the NYT’s piece.

These reporters either didn’t know (irresponsible) or didn’t care (biased).