Plagiarized (and Discredited) Claims

As you've probably heard, the Downing Street document on Iraq's "infrastructure of concealment, deception and intimidation," which was cited by Colin Powell last week as a "fine paper...which describes in exquisite detail Iraqi deception activities," is a sham. Amongst other pieces of old intelligence and academic studies, most dating back to the early 1990s, "Blair's document" heavily plagiarizes this article by Ibrahim al-Marashi, a post-graduate student from California.

Glen Rangwala, a Lecturer in Politics at Cambridge University, was the first to notice the plagiarism. Rangwala has also published a "First Response to Sec. Colin Powell's Presentation Concerning Iraq," as well as a more comprehensive analysis of claims concerning Iraq's supposed weapons capabilities.

Also, Firas Al-Atraqchi breaks down Colin Powell's "telling of a tall tale" at the UN last week.