Hitchens, you’re a journalist, one of the best of our time. And still you can write, with a straight face, this:
As to the accusation that Chalabi has endangered American national security by slipping secrets to Tehran, I can only say that three days ago, I broke my usual rule and had a “deep background” meeting with a very “senior administration official.” This person, given every opportunity to signal even slightly that I ought to treat the charges seriously, pointedly declined to do so. I thought I should put this on record.
Do you really expect, at a moment like this, that a man like Dick Cheney would tell you the truth?