A great and underappreciated point. I think at the time the important thing to understand was the inaccuracy of the story itself, on its face value and how it steamrolled over objections from the national security state at least at it had existed before the Bush admin.
I think retrospectively however, the important thing to understand is how that example is cynically leveraged in the present environment of misinformation. And how it emerged in the first place, as part of an administration attempting to steamroll over existing institutional guard rails intended to keep us in touch with reality.
I think retrospectively however, the important thing to understand is how that example is cynically leveraged in the present environment of misinformation. And how it emerged in the first place, as part of an administration attempting to steamroll over existing institutional guard rails intended to keep us in touch with reality.