I was reading Scott Laderman’s column “Deceit infects political discourse” (Nov. 5) and was absolutely baffled by the inclusion of President George W. Bush’s name. The two “lies” that he is accused of telling don’t even concern him or his administration.

The story of the weapons inspectors being expelled from Iraq came out in 1998 under former President Bill Clinton. The conclusions of the International Atomic Energy Agency, whether wrong or right, are not attributable to Bush. As the name implies, this is an international agency run by the United Nations.

Eight of Laderman’s nine paragraphs talk about Israel and Palestine and refer to information provided by someone linked to the Friends of Israel, not to Bush. Yet at the end of the column the reader is led to believe that Bush has committed an ethics violation.

But the column never shows that, nor does it in any way connect Bush to the Friends of Israel’s comments. I think that a fine paper like the Daily should attempt to verify the facts and logic in a piece it prints.