Still making excuses

We finally have a NYT mea culpa, albeit buried on page 10,unlike the Jayson Blair affair which was plastered across the front page. Well, it's too late. I think the Judith Miller/Chalabi misinformation caused more damage than their Jayson Blair horror story.

And note: Judith Miller was not cited by name nor is there evidence she was disciplined in any way. I guess she'll be keeping her job. In fact, my read is the NYT is doing its best to justify keeping her, meaning it wasn't her completely her fault:

Some critics of our coverage during that time have focused blame on individual reporters. Our examination, however, indicates that the problem was more complicated. Editors at several levels who should have been challenging reporters and pressing for more skepticism were perhaps too intent on rushing scoops into the paper. Accounts of Iraqi defectors were not always weighed against their strong desire to have Saddam Hussein ousted. Articles based on dire claims about Iraq tended to get prominent display, while follow-up articles that called the original ones into question were sometimes buried. In some cases, there was no follow-up at all.

While the mea culpa makes official a major shift in opinion about Iraq, I doubt we'll see a hearty one from our boys running amuck in the White House.

When pigs fly...