"I think there is a major story to be told," he wrote to Times reporter John Burns, "wrapping around the new bin Laden videotape and the various threats against U.S. facilities in the past months which can paint both a compelling picture of the bin Laden organization today, and responsibly suggest that an al Qaeda attack is in the works. . . . Clearly, al Qaeda was and is planning something."

Reading the piece now is downright eerie. Burns described the "fire-and-brimstone" declarations of bin Laden, who "declares his purpose -- killing Americans and Jews -- more starkly than ever. Proudly, he salutes the suicide bombing of the American destroyer Cole . . . and promises more attacks. . . .

[Michael Berenhaus] says that when the Palestinian violence first erupted, "The Washington Post stated that Ariel Sharon started this." A Sept. 29, 2000, story said that rioting began "after Ariel Sharon . . . led a small delegation of hawkish legislators" to a Jerusalem site holy to both Muslims and Jews, but it devoted the fifth and sixth paragraphs to Sharon's view, quoting him as saying: "The provocation was only on the other side. We came with a message of peace."