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Jun
19
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Last week I mentioned about how the New York Times buried the JFK Airport terror plot on Page 37. You’d have been more likely to move on to the sports or movie section before ever finding it.
That turns out to almost be the least of the Times efforts on that day to minimize the significance of the threat that terrorism holds for America, its citizens and economy. The reporters didn’t get around to telling readers of the thousands of lives that could have been lost, or the huge economic hit it would have inflicted, until the 28th paragraph.
They certainly made sure to feature, in the fifth paragraph, the statement from Mayor Bloomberg’s office that there “was never any imminent danger because the attack was only in a preliminary phase.” You can imagine that the 9/11 hijackers would have been written about similarly if they had been foiled before the attacks were “imminent.” (I can almost hear the accusatory pleadings of the ACLU and Muslim advocacy groups that these well-bred, aspiring, young men wanted only a piece of the American dream by becoming airline pilots).