April 10, 2007

Credit for the NY Times in Printing a Key Piece of Info on the al-Sadr Rally in Iraq

Many MSM articles reporting on the rally led by al-Sadr in Iraq appear to have left out a key detail - one printed by the NY Times.

Like the reports on this subject from AP and Reuters, the headline and the article's text state that the purpose of the rally was calling for U.S. withdrawal. However, the NY Times includes a key detail in the first paragraph, one oddly omitted by the AP and Reuters. A purpose of the rally was a call for "Death to America."

Huge Protest in Iraq Demands U.S. Withdraw

BAGHDAD, April 9 - Tens of thousands of protesters loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric, took to the streets of the holy city of Najaf on Monday in an extraordinarily disciplined rally to demand an end to the American military presence in Iraq, burning American flags and chanting "Death to America!"

Residents said that the angry, boisterous demonstration was the largest in Najaf, the heart of Shiite religious power, since the American-led invasion in 2003. It took place on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, and it was an obvious effort by Mr. Sadr to show the extent of his influence here in Iraq, even though he did not appear at the rally. Mr. Sadr went underground after the American military began a new security push in Baghdad on Feb. 14, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Mr. Sadr used the protest to try to reassert his image as a nationalist rebel who appeals to both anti-American Shiites and Sunni Arabs. He established that reputation in 2004, when he publicly supported Sunni insurgents in Falluja who were battling United States marines, and quickly gained popularity among Sunnis across Iraq and the region. But his nationalist credentials have been tarnished in the last year, as Sunni Arabs have accused Mr. Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, of torturing and killing Sunnis.

A stated goal of the rally was "Death to America." But MSM doesn't want to say that, since the response to that on the part of readers would be support for the U.S. to continue efforts to crush al-Sadr - efforts which have already been so successful that al-Sadr couldn't dare to appear at his own rally. MSM doesn't want to say that a stated goal of the rally was "Death to America," since then it would be evident that al-Sadr wants to attack us, his followers want to attack us, and the U.S. is doing the right thing by opposing al-Sadr and working to bring stability to Iraq, rather than leaving it to fall into the hands of al-Sadr and others who seek to do harm to us.

So credit is due to the Times for printing this key piece of information. 

GWB made an important observation on the rally:

"I note today that Sadr called for massive protests. I'm not sure that we've seen that, those numbers materialize and the numbers that he was seeking...

"But Iraq, four years on, is now a place where people can freely gather and express their opinions, and that was something they could not do under Saddam. And while we have much more progress ahead of us -- the United States, the coalition and Iraqis have much more to do -- this is a country that has come a long way from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein," he said.