CAN SADDAM SUE FOR SLANDER?

Forged Iraq documents mostly ignored (John J. Lumpkin, AP, 7/17/03)

The State Department obtained the fraudulent documents alleging Iraq sought uranium in Africa months before President Bush made the claim, but U.S. intelligence analysts did not examine them closely enough to determine they were forgeries until after the president's disputed speech, U.S. officials say.

The account provided by the officials Thursday suggests a disconnect between the CIA and the State Department over the handling of what turned out to be a crucial but faulty piece of intelligence used to make the Bush administration's case for war.

Had the documents been analyzed sooner, they might have been determined to be forgeries before the information was used as fodder for Bush administration statements vilifying Iraq, the officials acknowledged.

VILIFY, \Vil"i*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vilified; p. pr. & vb. n. Vilifying.] [L. vilis vile + -fly; cf. L. vilificare to esteem of little value.]

1. To make vile; to debase; to degrade; to disgrace. [R.]

When themselves they vilified To serve ungoverned appetite. --Milton.

2. To degrade or debase by report; to defame; to traduce; to calumniate. --I. Taylor.

Many passions dispose us to depress and vilify the merit of one rising in the esteem of mankind. --Addison.

3. To treat as vile; to despise. [Obs.]

I do vilify your censure. --Beau. & Fl.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Is it possible to vilify the Ba'athists? Posted by David Cohen at July 17, 2003 9:28 PM