Sedan or Sudan . . . . ah, it was a mistake

I'm revisiting a note from my friend Dan Dominy who noticed this little piece last March . . . . transcribing is always a problem if no one is checking. If you're like me, you're pretty skeptical of the media . . .

from CNN writer Mike Ahlers

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- There's an old saying that a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth puts its boots on. Let it be known that mistakes can travel just as fast -- and just as far. Take the case of Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-California, who at a hearing on Capitol Hill last week spoke about a 1962 nuclear test in the Nevada desert. The test was code named "Project Sedan." Tauscher's remarks were little noticed, until they were transcribed -- incorrectly -- in an unofficial transcript of the hearing. One letter was changed. The "Sedan" nuclear test became the "Sudan" nuclear test.

And the government of Sudan took notice. Less than a day after Tauscher uttered her words, and after they were incorrectly transcribed, Sudanese officials evidently were alerted to the transcript. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires in Khartoum and demanded an explanation about the supposedly secret nuclear tests in the east African country . . . . "

you can read the rest of the story at here