POWELL'S IRAQ DOSSIER UN SPEECH PLAGIARIZED, SAID UK
http://www.channel4.com/news/home/z/stories/20030206/dossier.html
Downing St dossier plagiarised
Iraq
Published: 6 February 2003
Reporter: Julian Rush
The government's carefully co-ordinated propaganda offensive took an
embarrassing hit tonight after Downing Street was accused of
plagiarism.
READ SAMPLE OF THE ACCUSED PLAGIARISED TEXT: Sample text
Government dossier: (page 13), published Jan 2003
"Saddam appointed, Sabir 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Duri as head during the 1991
Gulf War. After the Gulf War he was replaced by Wafiq Jasim
al-Samarrai.
After Samarrai, Muhammad Nimah al-Tikriti headed Al-Istikhbarat
al-Askariyya in early 1992 then in late 1992 Fanar Zibin Hassan
al-Tikriti was appointed to this post.
These shifting appointments are part of Saddam's policy of balancing
security positions. By constantly shifting the directors of these
agencies, no one can establish a base in a security organisation for a
substantial period of time. No one becomes powerful enough to
challenge the President."
The target is an intelligence dossier released on Monday and heralded
by none other than Colin Powell at the UN yesterday.
Channel Four News has learnt that the bulk of the nineteen page
document was copied from three different articles - one written by a
graduate student.
On Monday, the day before the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell
addressed the UN, Downing Street published its latest paper on Iraq.
It gives the impression of being an up to the minute
intelligence-based analysis - and Mr Powell was fulsome in his praise.
Published on the Number 10 web site, called "Iraq - Its Infrastructure
of Concealment Deception and Intimidation", it outlines the structure
of Saddam's intelligence organisations.
But it made familiar reading to Cambridge academic Glen Ranwala. It
was copied from an article last September in a small journal: the
Middle East Review of International Affairs.
It's author, Ibrahim al-Marashi, a postgraduate student from Monterey
in California. Large sections do indeed appear, verbatim.
A section, for example, six paragraphs long, on Saddam's Special
Security Organisation, the exact same words are in the Californian
student's paper.
In several places Downing Street edits the originals to make more
sinister reading.
Number 10 says the Mukhabarat - the main intelligence agency - is
"spying on foreign embassies in Iraq".
The original reads: "monitoring foreign embassies in Iraq."
And the provocative role of "supporting terrorist organisations in
hostile regimes" has a weaker, political context in the original:
"aiding opposition groups in hostile regimes."
Even typographic mistakes in the original articles are repeated.
Of military intelligence, al-Marashi writes in his original paper:
"The head of military intelligence generally did not have to be a
relative of Saddam's immediate family, nor a Tikriti. Saddam
appointed, Sabir Abd Al-Aziz Al-Duri as head..." Note the comma after
appointed.
Downing Street paraphrases the first sentence: "Saddam appointed,
Sabir 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Duri as head during the 1991 Gulf War."
This second line is cut and pasted, complete with the same grammatical
error.
plagiarism is regarded as intellectual theft.
al-Marashi document: (section: "MILITARY INTELLIGENCE", published sept
2002 - relevant parts have been underlined
Saddam appointed, Sabir ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Duri(80) as head of Military
Intelligence during the 1991 Gulf War.(81) After the Gulf War he was
replaced by Wafiq Jasim al-Samarrai.(82)
After Samarrai, Muhammad Nimah al-Tikriti(83) headed Military
Intelligence in early 1992(84) then in late 1992 Fanar Zibin Hassan
al-Tikriti was appointed to this post.(85) While Fanar is from Tikrit,
both Sabir al-Duri and Samarrai are non-Tikriti Sunni Muslims, as
their last names suggest.
Another source indicates that Samarrai was replaced by Khalid Salih
al-Juburi,(86) demonstrating how another non-Tikriti, but from the
tribal alliance that traditionally support the regime holds top
security positions in Iraq.(87)
These shifting appointments are part of Saddam’s policy of balancing
security positions between Tikritis and non-Tikritis, in the belief
that the two factions would not unite to overthrow him. Not only that,
but by constantly shifting the directors of these agencies, no one can
establish a base in a security organization for a substantial period
of time, that would challenge the President.(88)
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