Continuing the secrecy theme, today's WaPo has an article itemizing some of the more egregious examples of the White House "scrubbing" history from its website and that of other agencies. To wit:
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, administration Web sites have been scrubbed for anything vaguely sensitive, and passwords are now required to access even much unclassified information. Though it is not clear whether the White House is directing the changes, several agencies have been following a similar pattern. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USAID have removed or revised fact sheets on condoms, excising information about their effectiveness in disease prevention, and promoting abstinence instead. The National Cancer Institute, meanwhile, scrapped claims on its Web site that there was no association between abortion and breast cancer. And the Justice Department recently redacted criticism of the department in a consultant's report that had been posted on its Web site.
The most obnoxious example cited is probably the headliner: the initial forecast (on Nightline) that the reconstruction of Iraq would only cost US taxpayers $1.7B. It was made by Andrew Natsios, USAID Director, and it has been deleted from the White House website. Remember all those complaints about "revisionist history" emanating from Condi Rice and President Bush? This makes those claims seem a little, um, hypocritical, doncha think?
Posted by Linkmeister at December 18, 2003 03:14 PM