From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media.

I'm Brooke Gladstone.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

This week, the Bush administration asserted on the record that Iran was behind a new, especially lethal explosive device that's been killing American soldiers in Iraq.

And this week, the media responded in a variety of ways.

Here's NBC's David Gregory at the president's Tuesday press conference.

Critics say that you are using the same quality of intelligence about Iran that you use to make the case for war in Iraq,

specifically about WMD that turned out to be wrong, and that you are doing that to make a case for war in Iraq, specifically about WMD, that turned out to be wrong,

and that you are doing that to make a case for war against Iran. Is that the case?

I can say with certainty that the Quds Force, a part of the Iranian government,

has provided these sophisticated IEDs that have harmed our troops.

Many media critics were experiencing an eerie sense of deja vu, especially regarding the first

story on the alleged Iranian devices published in last Saturdays New York Times.

That story by Michael Gordon made heavy use of unnamed government sources asserting the Iranian connection.

In fact, it seemed to resemble a story written by Gordon and Judith Miller in 2002,

which helped make the government's case for war in Iraq.

That story quoted unnamed officials, claiming that Saddam was acquiring aluminum tubes for use

in nuclear weapons production.

That story was wrong.

Michael Massing has been a strong critic of the media's pre-war coverage, and he was stunned

by the February 10th story in The Times.

Yeah, I would put it that I was floored by seeing this.

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