You won’t find the above headline anywhere else. Believe me, I've tried. Still, it's true.In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 10, 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the following jaw-dropping statement:

“We were attacked from Afghanistan in 2001, and we are at war in Afghanistan today, in no small measure because of mistakes this government made--mistakes I among others made in the end game of the anti-Soviet war there some 20 years ago.”

That’s an astonishing confession, even if mine was the only jaw that dropped. Gates is the first high official in the Bush administration to acknowledge what war critics have been lambasted for even suggesting. OK, he didn’t use the word “blowback,” but by definition, that’s what he’s talking about. A certain radio commentator once all but called me a traitor for suggesting what Gates openly admits. Many others, including the Rev. Jeremiah Wright most recently, have been denounced all over this country for suggesting 9/11 was caused by failed U.S. policy. Yes, Wright said much else as well. Nevertheless he took a hit for stating the same notion.

So why is Big Media silent about Gates? You tell me. Eventually, this story might show up on Page 5 in your local daily, especially if this column gets around, but it will never be top of Page One, where it counts, just as you never saw the following headlines there when they might’ve made a difference:

US Looks the Other Way as Pakistan Perfects Nuclear Bombs and Delivery System.

Counting Florida Over-votes Would Put Gore in Whitehouse.

Saudi Oil Profits Linked to Spread of Wahabism.

War Will Cost 100 Times More Than Bush Team Predicts (Oil Will Not Pay For It).

Bush Suppresses Evidence of Global Warming.

No Weapons of Mass Destruction Found in Iraq.

No Aerial Drones. No New Anthrax. No Yellowcake. No New Centrifuges.

No Significant Links Found Between Al-Qaeda and Saddam.

Case for Invading Iraq Included Ravings from a Tortured Man and Lies from a Criminal with Ties to Iran.

Secret Memos Reveal US Told England We’d 'Fix the Evidence' to Support Joint Iraq Attack.

Bush Building Permanent Military Bases in Iraq.

Bush Hands Control of Iraq to Natural Allies of Iran.

Prominent Bush Supporters Believe He’s Preparing Way for the Rapture.