Damn the Mea Culpas; Full Speed Ahead!

So there was this New York Times story last week that began:

February 28, 2007
NEWS ANALYSIS
Afghan Bombing Sends a Danger Signal to U.S.
By DAVID E. SANGER
Correction Appended
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 – The audacity of a suicide-bomb attack on Tuesday at the gates of the main American base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney underscores why President Bush sent him there—a deepening American concern that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are resurgent...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/washington/28security.html

The interesting thing was how unchanged the NYT's tone in this article is, despite the Mea Culpas about the Iraq War. Witness the second paragraph:

"American officials insisted that the importance of the attack, by a single suicide bomber who blew himself up a mile away from where the vice president was staying, was primarily symbolic. It was more successful at grabbing headlines and filling television screens with a scene of carnage than at getting anywhere near Mr. Cheney."

An American official says so, so that must be it; never mind that symbolism, and, well, terrorizing folks by, in this case, "grabbing headlines and filling television screens with a scene of carnage" is, by definition, the very aim of terrorism...and therefore, if I may dare to keep things real, and to borrow a phrase from Tavis Smiley at this year's State of the Black Union, this attack, achieved its objective...

The intention of the (Deputy) Leader of the Free World (to use a Cold War phrase) in putting out a statement like that can be understood; we don't have to like it, but as folks engaged in "Da Clash", it is understandable. But the cluelessness—one is tempted to say Orwellian nature—real or intentional (I am not sure which is more scary) of the "Newspaper of Record" of this here "Free World" is downright scary.

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Media - Terrorism - New York Times - Afghanistan