On hearing of the nomination of Air Force General Michael Hayden (qt video via) as the director of the CIA, Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the general would be "the wrong person, the wrong place at the wrong time"”.

Republicans voiced concern about the Pentagon's growing control of US intelligence operations yesterday. General Hayden would be "the wrong person, the wrong place at the wrong time", Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said.

...The Times Online

That is how it was reported by everyone on Sunday night, but lo and behold Monday:

"The CIA is the nation's premier, all-source civilian intelligence agency and that is what it should remain. There is no question that General Hayden is an outstanding military officer and a strong leader with a proven history in the Intelligence Community leading to his current position in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence." _ Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee

...The Washington Post

As a matter of fact, try to news.google Hoekstra and the phrase "wrong person". The phrase pops several articles, but click through and see that the words have been scrubbed from the text. Run a find on the word "wrong" to see for yourself.

CBS page 1

CBS page 2

Neat trick...I wonder how they did it.

This is not a unique phenomena. As of this writing the San Jose Mercury News is the only major US media outlet to retain the original text of Hoekstra's quote. You can also still find the quote correctly reported by our friends abroad.

All journalists - including online journalists - have a duty to search for and report the truth.

Oppose this nomination.

Labels: cia, General Michael Hayden, media, Peter Hoekstra