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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=484213719-03122010>Shame on the NYT! Lee</SPAN></FONT></DIV><BR>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> FAIR [mailto:fair@fair.org]
<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, December 03, 2010 1:33 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
leeloe@igc.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> UPDATE: NYT's Iran Missiles
Walkback<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
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<P
style="MARGIN-LEFT: 40px; TEXT-ALIGN: left">http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4209</P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 40px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><SPAN
style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><SPAN class=communique_category>Activism
Update</SPAN></SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><SPAN
class=main_headline>NYT's Iran Missiles Walkback</SPAN></SPAN><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><SPAN class=sub_headline>Paper discovers reasons
for skepticism</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=sub_headline><BR></SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=date>12/3/10</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
class=published-content-body>Certain editions of the <B>New York Times</B>
(<A title=""
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=89PerUDULh1LHIowARKfY4p%2Bair57A6O"
target=_blank>12/3/10</A>) published today an update to its reporting on
Iranian weapons with a much more skeptical tone than its original
article.<BR><BR>The first article (11/29/10), headlined "Iran Fortifies
Its Missilies With the Aid of North Korea," presented the case in
definitive terms: Iran now possesses powerful missiles with "the capacity
to strike at capitals in Western Europe." As a FAIR Action Alert noted (<A
title=""
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=BK3LWUJZgxBBFQqGUxYzhop%2Bair57A6O"
target=_blank>12/1/10</A>), the evidence to back this up was thin.
<BR><BR>And the paper decided, "at the request of the Obama
administration," not to publish the <B>WikiLeaks</B> cable that was the
basis of the report. The cable was posted by <B>WikiLeaks</B>, though,
which gave enterprising readers a chance to see the actual ambiguity of
the evidence for themselves. <BR><BR>The <B>Washington Post</B> produced a
December 1 story that cast considerable doubt on the U.S. allegations,
pointing out that the evidence U.S. officials cited in the cable amounted
to a German newspaper article that did not corroborate the U.S. claims.
<BR><BR>So today's <B>Times</B> report, "Wider Window Into Iran's Missile
Capabilities Offers a Murkier View," represents a significant
climbdown--and a disingenuous one at that. The piece calls the Iran
allegations "one of the most provocative assertions to emerge from the
<B>WikiLeaks</B> cache," before acknowledging that "a review of a dozen
other State Department cables made available by <B>WikiLeaks</B> and
interviews with American government officials offer a murkier picture of
Iran's missile capabilities." <BR><BR>The <B>Times</B> today suggests that
the cables "can be glimpses of the American government's views, sometimes
reflecting only part of the story, rather than concrete assertions of
fact." But as FAIR and others have pointed out, the original cable in
question would seem to have provided plenty of reasons to be skeptical.
And it's unclear why the <B>Times</B> would discover only today that U.S.
government claims are just that, and not "concrete assertions of fact."
<BR><BR>Today's report includes perspectives from various government
experts and outside analysts, who offer differing views on the alleged
missiles. Their conclusions vary, but what is abundantly clear is that the
<B>Times</B>' original report was fundamentally flawed, and it led many
other outlets to treat this new Iranian threat as a fact. Charlie Rose on
November 30, for example, stated: "Iran, the cables reveal, has obtained
from North Korea 19 advanced missiles capable of striking cities in
Western Europe." <BR><BR>The <B>New York Times</B> owes its readers, and
the rest of the media, an editor's note or correction acknowledging and
explaining the problems with their November 29 report. Readers who wish to
make this case should contact <B>Times</B> public editor Arthur Brisbane
(<A href="mailto:public@nytimes.com">public@nytimes.com</A>). <BR></SPAN><!-- BEGIN on_screen_only_block --></P>
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