Before The Nation next mounts its high horse . . .

People who got it wrong about the Iraq War have not been held accountable. That's not our unique observation. FAIR and its radio program CounterSpin, Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive), Bob Somerby (The Daily Howler), Norman Solomon and countless others have made that point repeatedly over the years. The point being that for the pundits, there is no accountability. Those who cheerleaded an illegal war are responsible for one of the worst global crimes of the century. Instead of being ridiculed and laughed out of the public sphere, these same gasbags are still allowed to pontificate with no consquences and treated as respected voices.


"Countless others" includes The Nation magazine. So imagine our surprise when, this morning, we visited the website and discovered the contents below.



Did you catch the problem?

You may not have.

The Nation is giving platform to British writer Johann Hari -- granting Hari 'expert status.'

That would be the same Johann Hari who wrote the following for The Independent:

In his latest column for the New Statesman, Mehdi Hassan argues that we can't only blame Tony Blair for the Iraq war, which has led to the death of a million people, and four million more being forced from their homes. We also have to pin responsibility on the much wider circle of people who supported the war -- including those in the media, like me, who he mentions by name. I think he's right, and it's an important article to link to and reflect on.

And if you're reading the above and thinking, "Well okay, she's a War Cheerleader and maybe a War Hawk, but look, she took accountability."

Yes, she did. January 26, 2011. Long after the British were officially out of Iraq. Long after it no longer mattered.

Two months shy of the eighth year of the illegal war, Hari finally acknowledges her mistake and The Nation's now turning in her into a trusted voice?

It's too damn little, too damn late. The Nation should be embarrassed to be printing 'advice' and 'expertise' from a writer who was so wrong on Iraq and whose columns were used to advance the war. And if you're new to this topic, a good starting point is Eric Alterman's "Think Again: The Sunday Scene: Same as It Ever Was" (American Progressive).