{"id":359197,"date":"2018-05-01T09:46:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T08:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/nyt-examines-how-history-impacts-korean-talks-but-its-own-memory-is-fuzzy-2\/"},"modified":"2018-05-01T09:46:05","modified_gmt":"2018-05-01T08:46:05","slug":"nyt-examines-how-history-impacts-korean-talks-but-its-own-memory-is-fuzzy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/nyt-examines-how-history-impacts-korean-talks-but-its-own-memory-is-fuzzy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"NYT Examines How History Impacts Korean Talks\u2013but Its Own Memory Is Fuzzy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NYT:<\/p>\n

It’s not surprising that the US and North Korea view the history of Libyan disarmament differently, when the New York Times<\/strong> (4\/29\/18<\/a>) can’t even agree with the New York Times<\/strong> about it.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In a New York Times<\/strong> news analysis (4\/29\/18<\/a>) examining how the overthrow of Libya\u2019s Moammar Gadhafi after he agreed to halt his nuclear program might influence North Korean thinking about disarmament, the Times<\/strong>\u2019 Peter Baker<\/a> writes that \u201cPresident Barack Obama<\/a> and European allies launched military action against Libya in 2011 to prevent a threatened massacre of civilians.\u201d Later, Baker recounts that Gadhafi \u201cvowed to crush his opponents, including civilians, prompting Mr. Obama and European allies to intervene to stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n

But did Gadhafi actually threaten to massacre civilians? A radio broadcast by the Libyan leader in which he declared he would show \u201cno mercy\u201d in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi was offered as justification for the UN Security Council vote that authorized \u201call necessary measures\u201d to protect Libyan civilians. \u201cGadhafi Vows \u2018No Mercy\u2019 as UN Eyes Action,\u201d was how AP<\/strong>\u00a0 (3\/17\/11<\/a>) reported on the Security Council deliberations.<\/p>\n

But when the New York Times<\/strong> (3\/17\/11<\/a>) itself reported on the speech, it described it as a threat against rebel combatants, not against civilians: Gadhafi \u201cpromised amnesty for those \u2018who throw their weapons away\u2019 but \u2018no mercy or compassion\u2019 for those who fight,\u201d the Times<\/strong>\u2019 David Kirkpatrick and Kareem Fahim reported.<\/p>\n

The myth that Gadhafi had openly threatened civilians and thus necessitated international military intervention sprang up quickly as the US and its NATO allies launched an attack on Libya\u2019s government. \u201cWhat obviously changed [Obama\u2019s] mind\u201d about using force, reported the Chicago Tribune<\/strong>\u2019s Steve Chapman (4\/3\/11<\/a>), \u201cwas the fear that Moammar Gadhafi was bent on mass slaughter \u2014 which stemmed from Gadhafi\u2019s March 17 speech vowing \u2018no mercy\u2019 for his enemies.\u201d But the claims that Gadhafi was intending to slaughter tens or hundreds of thousands were, wrote Chapman,<\/p>\n

outlandish scenarios that go beyond any reasonable interpretation of Gadhafi’s words. He said, \u201cWe will have no mercy on them\u201d\u2014but by \u201cthem,\u201d he plainly was referring to armed rebels (\u201ctraitors\u201d) who stand and fight, not all the city\u2019s inhabitants.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New York Times<\/strong> (2\/24\/12<\/a>). For a more skeptical reading of the IAEA report referenced, see Extra!<\/strong> (1\/12<\/a>). <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Elsewhere in his Times<\/strong> article, Baker refers to the nuclear deal Iran made with the United States:<\/p>\n

\n

Iran was not known to have weapons but did have a nuclear program that seemed intended to develop them when it signed an agreement with Mr. Obama\u2019s administration in 2015 to give up its program.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This too contradicts earlier New York Times<\/strong> reporting: \u201cAmerican intelligence analysts continue to believe that there is no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb,\u201d wrote James Risen and Mark Mazzetti (2\/24\/12<\/a>), under the headline \u201cUS Agencies See No Move by Iran to Build a Bomb.\u201d They reported that US intelligence agencies were standing by their 2007 assessment that \u201cIran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program years earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker’s piece ends with the observation that \u201ceach side sees its own very different lessons\u201d from the Libyan history. It’s easier to draw correct lessons from history when the paper of record reports history as it happened.<\/p>\n

\n

You can send a message to the New York Times<\/strong> at letters@nytimes.com<\/a>\u00a0 (or via Twitter<\/strong>:@NYTimes<\/a>). Please remember that respectful communication is the most\u00a0effective.<\/em><\/p>\n

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