Anatomy of a Journalist's Attempt at Character Assassination in the Washington Post

It's no secret that the Washington Post is considered a liberal newspaper that never lets the facts stand in the way of a good story. Still, their article on Sept. 17, 2006 was startling in its inaccuracies.

Written by their former Baghdad bureau chief, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, it excerpted his new book. His thesis is that senior advisors appointed to the Coalition Provisional Authority were chosen for their Republican loyalty, not their expertise. It just goes downhill from there.

Their hatchet work on my service in Iraq went on for about 1300 words. I submitted a response of less than 1200 words, but they rejected it. They suggested a 150-word letter to the editor. I submitted that, too, but they haven't seen fit to publish it.

So, here's the rest of the story.

I'm proud of my work in Iraq, and I'm not about to let a revisionist rewrite the history of the reconstruction.

Jim Haveman
September 26, 2006


What the Post Said

My Response

Their Rejection

My Letter to the Editor

Eric M. Johnson's Article on Rajiv Chandrasekaran

My Qualifications

The CPA - Ministry of Health Accomplishments in Iraq