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The “Dodgy Dossier:” The Academic Implications of the British Government's Plagiarism Incident

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2016

Ibrahim Al-Marashi
Ibrahim Al-Marashi*
Affiliation:
Sabançi University
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Extract

In September 2002, an article I had authored, “Iraq's Security and Intelligence Network: A Guide and Analysis,” was published in the September 2002 issue of the journal, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA). On February 6, 2003 a UK news report revealed that entire sections of a British government dossier entitled “Iraq-Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation” were copied from three published sources, with the bulk of the plagiarized material coming from the article I had written. I was a twenty-nine year old doctoral student when the media frenzy that surrounded this incident erupted, six weeks prior to the 2003 Iraq War. I, as an Iraqi-American, had to watch as both sides opposite my hyphen waged a war against each other that I had an indirect role in justifying.

Type
Essays
Information
Review of Middle East Studies , Volume 40 , Issue 1: Celebrating 40 Years! , June 2006 , pp. 33 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © Middle East Studies Association of North America 2006

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References

1 al-Marashi, Ibrahim, “Iraq’s Security and Intelligence Network: A Guide and Analysis,” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 6, no. 3 (2002): pp. 1–13 (http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue3/jv6n3al.html).Google Scholar

2 Both sets of documents can be viewed on the IRDP website (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/-irdp). The current work of the IRDP is being carried out by the Iraq Memory Foundation, established by Kanan Makiya.

3 Brown, Colin and Coman, Julian, “How Not To “Win A Propaganda War,” Sunday Telegraph, February 9, 2003, p. 20.Google ScholarPubMed

4 Michael, White, Macaskill, Ewen and Norton-Taylor, Richard, “Threat Of War: Downing St. Admits Blunder On Iraq Dossier,” Guardian, February 7, 2003, p. 6.Google Scholar

5 Oborne, Peter and Walters, Simon, Alistair Campbell (London, 2004), p. 324.Google Scholar

6 Ibid.

7 HC Debate, 3 Feb 2003, Col. 25, in House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, The Decision to Go to War in Iraq: Ninth Report of Session 2002–3 (London, 2003), p. 41.

8 The dossier was originally available on the following site: http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page7111.asp.

9 Rangwala, Glen, “The British Dossier on Iraq’s Intelligence Infrastructure,” February 5, 2003 (http://traprockpeace.org/britishdossier.html).Google Scholar

10 Gup, Ted, “Useful Secrets,” Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 2003.Google Scholar

11 Gause, Ken “Can the Iraqi Security Apparatus save Saddam,” Jane’s Intelligence Review (November 2002)Google Scholar and Boyne, Sean, “Inside Iraq’s Security Network, Part Ont,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, Vol. 9, No. 7 (July 1997),Google Scholar and No. 8 (August 1997).

12 Cockburn, Alexander, “The Great ‘Intelligence’ Fraud,” The Nation, March 3, 2003 (http://www.thenation.com/issue/20030303).Google Scholar

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19 The text of the testimony can be found in House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, The Decision to Go to War in Iraq: Ninth Report of Session 2002–3 (London: The Stationary Office, 2003).

20 House Of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, “Minutes of Evidence,” June 25, 2003, (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmfaff/813/30625 01.htm).

21 Ibid.

22 Ed Johnson, , “Veteran Labor Lawmaker Walks Out of Commons After Accusing Government of Misleading Public With Iraq Dossier,” The Associated Press, February 10, 2003.Google Scholar

23 Noise, Broadband, “Chain Of Cause And Effect,” Indymedia, http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/07/72 877.php.Google Scholar

24 Laurie, Victoria, “Unoriginal Sins” The Weekend Australian Magazine July 19–20, 2003 July, pp. 14–19.Google Scholar

25 Price, Stephen, “A Tale of Two Wizards,” Sunday Business Post, August 10, 2003.Google Scholar

26 Harris, Martin, “The Art of Borrowing and the Piracy of Plagiarism; Unfortunately, Students See Many Examples in Society,” Charlotte Observer, May 4, 2004, p. 11A.Google Scholar

27 Kampfner, John, Blair’s Wars, (London, 2003), pp. 265–66.Google Scholar

28 Hiro, Dilip, Secrets and Lies: Operation “Iraqi Freedom” and After (New York, 2003), p. 132.Google Scholar

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31 Ince, Martin, “A Unique Arsenal of Intellectual Firepower,” The Times Higher Education Supplement, March 28, 2003, p. 21.Google Scholar