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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. 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 Concealement 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: the second is cut and pasted, complete with the same grammatical error.plagiarism is intellectual theft.
Originally posted by SirMystiq More reasons why the evidence that was presented is no good. Has Powell said anything about this?
Originally posted by GigaShadow Some of you are really grasping at reasons to find fault in going to war with Iraq... as the above person stated, even if it is copied from somewhere else, does not me it isn\'t true. sheesh...
Originally posted by Ace We\'re going to war if Saddam does not disarm. Ace