So the NYT finally got around to reporting that a key State Department report had wildly underreported global terrorism. The Los Angeles Times broke the story on Wednesday (as I commented in an earlier post).
Now, I understand it has been a big news week, what with laying the Gipper to rest, the G8 summit, the UN resolution on Iraq, and the torture memos, so maybe the media can be forgiven for not dedicating more column inches to this. What is unforgiveable, however, is willfully refusing to do the math on this story, which is effectively what the Times does.
Some credit to the AP, whose unedited version actually nods in the direction of the real story here. Here is what the Times cut from the story:
"One of Bush's major foreign policy claims is that his post-Sept. 11 strategy to counter terror was showing success.
Ken Mehlman, the president's campaign manager, said in April, "Ultimately the most important thing that people want to see on the war on terror is, what is your vision for dealing with it and what is your record."
"Obviously one of the most important issues in this election is the question of how do we continue to fight and win the war on terror so we keep our homeland safe," Mehlman said.
At the same time, Vice President Dick Cheney and Mehlman have questioned whether Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry was qualified to conduct a war against terrorism.
When the annual report was issued April 29, senior administration officials used it as evidence the war was being won under Bush.
J. Cofer Black, who heads the State Department's counterterrorism office, cited the existence of only 190 acts of terrorism in 2003 as "good news" and predicted the trend would continue this year.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said at the time, "Indeed, you will find in these pages clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight."
His office did not respond Thursday to a request for a statement in light of disclosures some of the findings in "Patterns of Global Terrorism" were inaccurate and understated."
OK, so this is where you weigh in.
1) Send a letter to the Times letters@nytimes.com
2) Write an alternate headline for the story (i.e. US Losing War on Terror, Says State Dept. Report)
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