by
Larry C. Johnson (bio below)
— Best, LJ
Among the many op-eds spawned by Bob Woodward’s duplicity, this one in the Tampa Tribune struck a nerve. Entitled, Woodward Failed His Readers By Holding Back What He Knew, the piece sparked a reaction by Len Colodny. Len’s site, watergate.com, has some fascinating background on Bob Woodward and his ties to military intelligence.
Woodward has been the consummate insider while cultivating the image of the hard charging investigative reporter. He is anything but, and it is time to blow the whistle on his incestuous relationship with certain government officials. The fact that the Washington Post is still covering for this joker says volumes about the decline of the Post.
When he appears on Larry King Live Tonight maybe he will answer a longstanding question, “When did he resign from Naval Intelligence?”
Take a look at Len Colodny’s letter to the editor of the Tampa Trib and his website.
Dear Ms Goudreau,
There is a lot wrong with Journalism, but Woodward goes way beyond that. Ask him why he lies about his Navy career or his lying about briefing Al Haig in 1969? You can read and see for yourself the sources are there and on tape at www.watergate.com there are more pages of material on the real “Woodward” than anywhere else on the net. Including an exclusive 90 minute interview I conducted with him in 1989. You can read and judge for yourself.
I only wish he was a journalist, not a front for the right wing military for the past 35 years. Your editorial lumps him in with a lot of good journalists that actually work at the job, and are very ethical. When Woodward actually tried to work as an editor at the Post, one of his reporters had to admit she made up a false story and return a Pulitzer Prize. Another Woodward edited story caused the Post to be sued by the President of Mobil oil and they lost at trial. Judy Belushi sued him after he wrote the book wired, He settled. Woodward also forced one of his young reporters to write a false story in order to force a sources hand, and release material the source had refused to release on his own. Finally the Post sent him off to a safe place where he could write books (Although everyone knows he does not even know how to write, he needs a caddy for that)
I guess I am shocked that you at the Tribune seem so upset with Woodward, for those of us that know him well, this was something that was consistent with what he has done over the last three decades. Just Woodward being Woodward. Should you find the time to check the site above you will note all my sources are named. That is the right way to conduct investigative reporting.
I have pride in what we do, so I hope you understand my passion for the truth.
Thanks for at least taking Woodward to task, even if we do not see it exactly the same way.
Sincerely,
Len Colodny
……………………………………………………..
Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm that helps corporations and governments manage threats posed by terrorism and money laundering. Mr. Johnson, who worked previously with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (as a Deputy Director), is a recognized expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, crisis and risk management. Mr. Johnson has analyzed terrorist incidents for a variety of media including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio, ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s Today Show, the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, and the BBC. Mr. Johnson has authored several articles for publications, including Security Management Magazine, the New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has lectured on terrorism and aviation security around the world. Further bio details.
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I read Len Colodny’s “Silent Coup” a few months back, and I must say, I find the entire history of this journalistic “legend” quite disturbing. I also imagine that we could count the number of Yale educated, Naval Office of Intelligence trained reporters on one hand.
As Silent Coup points out, Bob sat on the Moorer-Radford story, after serving directly under Admiral Moorer, lied about his own briefings of Al Haig in Nixon’s WH, and withheld that conflict from WaPo readers.
Too bad Mark Feld has dementia. I bet the real story is much better than Woodward’s Watergate fiction.
Hell of a coincidence…(?)
I am struck speechless, (an exceedingly rare occurence), by this info. Now I have to search out more about this before I can arrive at an informed opinion.
I long suspected there might be an “Operation Mockingbird” component to Woodward’s journalistic endeavors, (especially since it was his formerpartner Carl Bernstein who exposed the “Mockingbird scheme to the publicback in the late 70’s.
But this information, if accurate in all it’s assertions, is even more disturbing.
Do we know of other sources for additional direct info on this?
Check it out for yourself. There is also another book I’ve read, Jim Hougan’s Secret Agenda. Bith leave a pretty compelling bread trail leading straight back to the Pentagon.
Yes! I went to the site above already. I’m going to see if I can find the books now, (Silent Coup and Secret Agenda).
I was hoping there might be other writings by other reporters about Woodward in the context of all this.
I’ll do some more searching.
Powells has the first:
Silent Coup
It is everywhere!!!
Bob Woodward. Where’s The Beef? Where Is OUR Beef?
First posted pre-July 4th Massacre on dKos.
One of a thousand.
It is SO easy to find this info on the net.
And here we find Woodward.
Mythologized almost beyond challenge, as far as the masss media audience is concerned..
Redford-ized.
“Why Martha. Anyone THAT even-featured COULDN’T be wrong!!! Why…LOOKIT ALL THAT GOOD HAIR!!!””
Wake the fuck, UP, people!!!
AG
Woodward represents the triumph of the media.