The New York Times reported last week that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, was waterboarded 183 times in one month by CIA interrogators. The "183 times" was widely circulated by news outlets throughout the world.

It was shocking. And it was highly misleading. The number is a vast inflation, according to information from a U.S. official and the testimony of the terrorists themselves.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the interrogation program told FOX News that the much-cited figure represents the number of times water was poured onto Mohammed's face — not the number of times the CIA applied the simulated-drowning technique on the terror suspect. According to a 2007 Red Cross report, he was subjected a total of "five sessions of ill-treatment."

"The water was poured 183 times — there were 183 pours," the official explained, adding that "each pour was a matter of seconds."

Threatened Federal Sanctions Against NYPD, Secret Service, FBI & Mayor's Office If Secret Ever Got Out
Furious Obama Apologizes: "It Will Never Happen Again"

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman (D-TX) John Coryn blasts away at Specter:

“Senator Specter’s decision today represents the height of political self-preservation. While this presents a short-term disappointment, voters next year will have a clear choice to cast their ballots for a potentially unbridled Democrat super-majority versus the system of checks-and-balances that Americans deserve.”

The usually quite wise Jon Henke writes, "Yes, the New York City flyover was a very bad idea. But it's hard to believe Obama had anything to do with that. Not everything is political."

No, but a key test of Obama is whether he holds the person who authorized it accountable, which at this point appears to be White House Military Office director Louis Caldera. Such an astonishingly stupid idea — having a government airliner mimicking the 9/11 flight path, followed by a fighter jet, without warning the public, all in order to update a stock photo — warrants a lot more in response than "I'm sorry." The egregious judgment deserves a period of unpaid administrative leave at minimum; and outright dismissal is probably warranted.

The only types who are calling for Caldera to be fired are right-wing maniacs like . . . uh, Keith Olbermann. Okay, so Olbermann's a maniac, but even broken clocks can be right twice a day.