These are basic rules for reporters, they should be basic rules for everyone. You Cannot Be Too Skeptical of Authority.
* Don't assume anything administration officials tell you is true. In fact, you are probably better off assuming anything they tell you is a lie.
* Demand proof for their every assertion. Assume the proof is a lie. Demand that they prove that their proof is accurate.
* Just because they say it, doesn't mean it should be make the headlines. The absence of supporting evidence for their assertion -- or a preponderance of evidence that contradicts the assertion -- may be more newsworthy than the assertion itself.
* Don't print anonymous assertions. Demand that sources make themselves accountable for what they insist is true.
Provocation Alone Does Not Justify War.
* War is so serious that even proving the existence of a casus belli isn't enough. Make officials prove to the public that going to war will make things better.
Be Particularly Skeptical of Secrecy.
* Don't assume that these officials, with their access to secret intelligence, know more than you do.
* Alternately, assume that they do indeed know more than you do, and are trying to keep intelligence that would undermine their arguments secret.
Don't Just Give Voice to the Administration Officials.
* Give voice to the skeptics; don't marginalize and mock them.
* Listen to and quote the people who got it right last time: The intelligence officials, state department officials, war-college instructors and many others who predicted the problem we are now facing, but who were largely ignored.
And, every time you turn on FOX, CNN, CBS, ABC, or open the paper, ASK YOURSELF IF THE REPORTER YOU ARE HEARING OR READING DID HIS JOB.
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