A footnote contained in a White House-released map on the supposed attack locations read: "Reports of chemical attacks originating from some locations may reflect the movement of patients exposed in one neighborhood to field hospitals and medical facilities in the surrounding area. They may also reflect confusion and panic triggered by the ongoing artillery and rocket barrage, and reports of chemical use in other neighborhoods."
Though the Obama administration's "Government Assessment" pointed the finger of blame for the Sarin attack at the Syrian government, the four-page white paper provided not a single piece of evidence that could be independently evaluated -- which has made the Times' "vectoring" analysis even more important, as the only significant piece of "hard evidence" cited by the Assad-did-it crowd. So, the actual "softness" of that evidence alters the public debate.
Journalism Standards
Of course, it may turn out that some element of the Syrian military was responsible for the Sarin attack in the Zamalka area. Or perhaps some extremist wing of the Syrian rebels either botched a chemical attack aimed at government targets or engaged in a provocation on a pro-rebel neighborhood to draw the U.S. military into the war against the Assad regime. Or it conceivably was a tragic mistake, the mishandling of a very dangerous payload.
But whatever the eventual answer to the mystery, the New York Times should at least reflect the doubts among many analysts, including some inside the U.S. intelligence community. Instead of stonewalling in defense of its front-page "vectoring" article -- much like it did for crucial months in 2002-03 as its "aluminum tube" story contributed to the bloodbath in Iraq -- the Times also should acknowledge legitimate questions being raised about the feasibility of its Syria analysis.
There are obvious similarities between the Times' coverage of Iraq and Syria. In both cases, the country was governed by a "designated" Arab villain, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Both were opposed by the U.S. and Israeli governments and were the targets of neoconservative calls for "regime change."
Thus, despite the problems with the "vectoring" story, there was very little pushback from authoritative circles that would get the attention of the Times editors. From a career perspective, it was fairly safe to go with the flow of U.S.-Israeli vitriol against the despised leaders. Indeed, some Times editors may see themselves as part of the propaganda apparatus engaged in the worthy goal of getting rid of people like Hussein and Assad.
But that is not how journalism is supposed to work. The job of reporters and editors should be to present the American people and the world public with full and fair coverage of important events -- and surely the issue of war or peace in the Middle East qualifies.
The readers of the New York Times should not have to turn to Internet sites to get a balanced treatment of such a crucial story.
[Here is some of our earlier reporting on the Syrian crisis: "A Dodgy Dossier on Syrian War"; "Murky Clues From UN's Syria Report"; "Obama Still Withholds Syria Evidence"; "How US Pressure Bends UN Agencies"; " Fixing Intel Around the Syria Policy."](Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).