Yesterday CBS News heavily promoted a new book by Ron Suskind, featuring allegations by former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill that the Bush administration was planning to go to war against Iraq even before September 11.

Today Power Line reports an email from author Laurie Mylroie, revealing that the document used in support of the O’Neill allegations was seriously misrepresented: Lid Blown Off O’Neill/Suskind Hoax.

“In his appearance this evening on ‘60 Minutes,’ Ron Suskind, author of The Price of Loyalty, based to a large extent on information from former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill, made an astonishing, very serious misstatement.

“Suskind claimed he has documents showing that preparations for the Iraq war were well underway before 9-11. He cited—and even showed—what he said was a Pentagon document, entitled, ‘Foreign Suitors for Iraq Oilfield Contracts.’ He claimed the document was about planning for post-war Iraq oil (CBS’s promotional story also contained that claim).

“But that is not a Pentagon document. It’s from the Vice-President’s Office. It was part of the Energy Project that was the focus of Dick Cheney’s attention before the 9/11 strikes.

“And the document has nothing to do with post-war Iraq. It was part of a study of global oil supplies. Judicial Watch obtained it in a law suit and posted it, along with related documents, on its website. Indeed, when this story first broke yesterday, the Drudge Report had the Judicial Watch document linked (no one at CBS News saw that, so they could correct the error, when the show aired?)”