The burden of proof

The journalist Thomas Powers writes frequently and with insight on intelligence issues. He is, for example, the author of a good book on former CIA director Richard Helms, The Man Who Kept the Secrets. In other words, although he is a liberal, he is the kind of liberal from whom it is possible to learn something. Yesterday the Boston Globe carried his article on the WMD controversy. The article is best one I have seen from the perspective of a presumed critic of the administration: “Burdened by proof.” Unfortunately, the article is silent on the conundrums raised by the thesis that the failure to locate the WMD to date is the result of their nonexistence.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses