Journalists are supposed to have subjects in their reports. You aren’t supposed to write, “It was said.” Instead: tell us who said it.
New York Times senior reporter David Sanger forgot that principle last week in his biased and inadequate account of the Biden administration’s Iran policy. Sanger suggests that Biden wants a broader “comprehensive” nuclear agreement, (although the Times article is vague about whether the U.S. wants to replace the 2015 deal or follow it with an additional pact).
Here’s how Sanger’s report failed Journalism 101:
“It is increasingly clear that any comprehensive agreement . . . must also cover a broad range of new weaponry that Iran’s forces were only tinkering with six years ago.”
And: “There is a growing recognition that [an updated agreement] will have to include many of those [new] weapons.”
His editors should have asked: Clear to whom? Who recognizes?
A big part of the answer, of course, is Israel and the pro-Israel lobby, who are once again trying to shape U.S. Mideast policy by promoting American conflict with Iran. Sanger’s report waits until paragraph 18 to even mention Israel in any detail, and says nothing about former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vigorous decade-long campaign to provoke the U.S. into attacking Tehran.
Times columnist Thomas Friedman was less circumspect. In a June 15 column, he faithfully relayed the Israeli view of Iran: “its darkest impulses, to dominate its Sunni Arab neighbors and destroy the Jewish state, are too dangerous to ignore. . .” And: “. . .I support Israel’s covert efforts to sabotage Iran’s ability to ever build a nuclear weapon. . .”
(Why the euphemism? What Friedman really meant is: “I support Israel’s campaign of political assassination and sabotage inside Iran, which is a violation of international law.” )
Meanwhile, the Israeli daily Haaretz actually talked to Israeli officials about the U.S.-Iran negotiations instead of ignoring or hiding the Israel connection. It turns out that David Sanger and Thomas Friedman are still shilling for Israel without realizing that Tel Aviv has probably lost influence on the outcome of the talks in Vienna. Reporter Jonathan Lis states flatly that
Israel has no ability to influence the clauses of the nuclear agreement being discussed in Vienna, according to a senior [Israeli] official involved in the contact Israel is maintaining with the United States, Russia and the other partners to the deal.
Sanger’s suggestion that a more “comprehensive” deal is on the agenda right now is mistaken. Lis’s official Israeli source told him,
“Essentially, during the nuclear talks there are only two options. . . Either returning to the original nuclear agreement, or not returning to it. There is no other option.”
Lis reports that Israel continues to try instigate the U.S. into threatening Iran:
Israeli officials are trying to persuade the United States to float the option of a military attack on Iran if it continues with its nuclear initiatives, in the hope that the belligerent declarations will deter it.
But Lis predicts that the Biden administration will ignore Israel’s attempt to provoke.
Once again, the New York Times failed its readers on a vital issue of war and peace. Maybe the paper’s reporters and columnists should start cultivating the same kind of Israeli sources that Haaretz already seems to have.
Interesting to note Iran’s position has been that if Israel reaches an agreement with the Palestinians, there would be no further issue. The original Palestinian position, equality under the law in one state, was deemed the “destruction of the Jewish State. Seems its still viewed in that way. Israel insisting an absence of Jewish supremacy equals destruction.
It is amusing to hear apologist journalists suddenly show concern for the “Sunni” neighbors. Keep in mind when the Sunni nation of Iraq was the subject of the next country being bombed, war mongers in the US and Israel, did not care that millions of “Sunnis” were going to be killed, injured, and made refugees, and sold the war to the American people by demonizing those Sunnis.
Remember the wonderful “journalism” by one of NYT’s own:
“Judith Miller (born January 2, 1948)[1] is an American journalist and commentator known for her coverage of Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction(WMD) program both before and after the 2003 invasion, which was later discovered to have been based on inaccurate information from the intelligence community.[2][3][4] She worked in The New York Times‘ Washington bureau before joining Fox News in 2008.
Miller co-wrote a book Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War, which became a top New York Times best seller shortly after she became a victim of a hoax anthrax letter at the time of the 2001 anthrax attacks.[5]
The New York Times determined that several stories she wrote about Iraq were inaccurate, and she was forced to resign from the paper in 2005.[2]According to commentator Ken Silverstein, Miller’s Iraq reporting “effectively ended her career as a respectable journalist”.
Looks like The NYT is willing to have egg on their face again, to help Israel push their anti Iran propaganda. It is very unfortunate.
It’s always a good reminder to remember that there is no law (federal or international) banning nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons programs. If there was the US, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Israel (to name just a few) would be in violation of that law. The media repeatedly omits this in its so-called journalism and reporting in regards to Iran.
Iran is a terrible and very dangerous actor in the region (although no worse than Saudi Arabia or Israel) and has arguably violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treat to which it is a signatory. However, that itself is not a crime, and they could easily revoke their membership to the NPT and choose to pursue nuclear weapons as a non-signatory just like Israel and Pakistan did, even though neither of those countries ever face sanctions for their nuclear activities and weapons. In fact, the media also fails to point this out too.
The media also repeatedly glosses over the basic premise that the JCPOA is multilateral agreement to suspend and curb enrichment of weapons grade uranium to dissuade Iran from building a nuclear weapon in return for relief from sanctions and a path to normalizing relations. Not because nuclear weapons development or research is illegal, but because the US (actually Israel) wants to pick and choose who can and who cannot have the same weapons as they do.
It is also outright journalistic malpractice to mention Israel and its concerns, official, statements, redlines, and demands in ANY article regarding Iran’s nuclear program or negotiations, without reporting on Israel’s own nuclear weapons program and weapons stockpile. It’s the worst kept secret on the planet and yet the media somehow feels the need to maintain this secret at every opportunity, because reporting on it means that there would be public pressure on the US administration to clear up the ridiculous farce of Israel’s “ambiguity” and they would then be subsequently forced to implement our own regulations, penalties, and laws regarding military support and funding to a nuclear armed Israel.
Iran’s New President Endorses Nuclear Talks, Won’t Meet Biden | Defend Democracy Press
“Iran’s New President Endorses Nuclear Talks, Won’t Meet Biden” Defend Democracy Press, June 22/21
“Raisi sees focus on improving ties with Gulf Arabs”
“Iran’s new President-elect Ebrahim Raisi has held his first news conference since last week’s election, and is setting out a goal for his foreign policy. A conservative, termed a hardliner by some, Raisi’s goals are not wildly dissimilar from those of outgoing reformist President Rouhani.
“Raisi said his goal is to ease international sanctions, and he endorsed the JCPOA nuclear deal. He said his assessment is that the US should immediately return and fulfill its obligations to the deal.
“This is important, as the JCPOA negotiations have advanced ahead of the vote. Iran’s outgoing government has suggested a deal be made before Raisi takes power, but if his position so resembles theirs, it likely is not so dire a need to finalize right away.
“Beyond the nuclear deal, Raisi also suggested that a major focus of his administration will be improving ties with the Gulf Arab states. That is a tall order, as those nations have heavily built their policy on acrimony toward Iran.
“Raisi added that he doesn’t intend to meet with Biden. This is likely just as well, as the White House said they don’t view the Iranian president as worth meeting, and rather believe the Supreme Leader is the real decision maker.”
Monday July 12th….Will miracles never cease. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell just mentioned on her afternoon program that the Israeli government had not made the Pfizer vaccine available to Palestinians when it was immediately available to Israeli’s. Andrea has been willing to report more honestly about the I/P conflict during the last few years. Not the case for her over decades of her reporting.