If you haven’t already, first read NYT Public Editor Daniel Okrent’s own assessment from Friday on that paper’s dealings with Chalabi before and during the war. When are the NYP, WaPo and WSJ ombudsmen weighing in?

Then, read Christopher Hitchens embarrassing and apparently embarrassed defence of Chalabi. His best effort:

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.

Such investigative prowess! “Hey Dr. Kissinger, on deep background, is there anything to this Watergate scandal?” “Mr. Weinberger, Sir, Iran-Contra, yay or nay?”

Chase that sad excuse for journalism with Jane Mayer’s stunning New Yorker profile of Chalabi. It reads like the addictive middle 10,000 words of a great spy thriller, just around the part where the audacity of the conspirators’ machinations is revealed.