Caveat emptor

The Pentagon is paying $340,000 a month to Ahmad Chalabi's political organization for "intelligence collection" about Iraq. Nevermind that most of the information they've received to-date has been embellished, fabricated, or simply false.

Of course, it's not Chalabi's fault. The CIA and the Pentagon should be more discerning, according to our man in Baghdad.

"In a television interview broadcast Sunday by CBS on '60 Minutes,' Mr. Chalabi defended the quality of information provided by his group. He also said American agencies should have done a better job filtering out the good from the bad, and did not acknowledge personal responsibility for the incorrect information. He said he hoped to appear before the Senate intelligence committee to clear his name.

"'Intelligence people, who are supposed to do a better job for their country and their government, did not do such a good job,' Mr. Chalabi said."

And speaking of being more discerning, it was interesting reviewing the various reports on Tenet's testimony on Capital Hill. TAPPED and CalPundit both have angles on a story that illustrates more broadly the various ways our papers of record cover the White House.