It became painfully clear in the war’s aftermath that Iraq had no such weapons and that Mr Bush’s justification for war was wrong. Therefore, it was “no accident”, as the Soviets used to say, that when Joseph Wilson, a former US ambassador, wrote a comment article in the New York Times on July 6 2003 accusing the administration of “twisting” intelligence to justify the war, the White House fumed – and struck back.

[hat tip Patriot Daily.]

As an aside, it was Mr. Kalb who initially sparked my interest in politics and defending the underdog. He taught a special class at my high school in the '60s in political science. He taught us about the "haves and have nots" and about people's often unconscious racial prejudice, using vivid demonstrative exhibits. Our parents were very impressed that "Bernard Kalb's younger brother" was our teacher. He definitely got me hooked. I wrote him a thank-you letter about five years ago to tell him what a big effect he had on me, and I got a letter back from his secretary essentially saying he barely remembered teaching the class. What a let-down that was. I guess sometimes it's better not to let our heroes know they are heroes.