The New York Times is facing withering criticism today over its editorial board’s decision to run an op-ed by a wanted Taliban leader.
Conservatives were not the only ones to express shock and dismay. Mujib Mashal – the paper’s senior correspondent in Afghanistan – compared the article to propaganda fliers dropped from aircraft during wartime.
Fox News’ Brian Flood has more:
The opinion piece, headlined “What We, the Taliban, Want,” was written by Sirajuddin Haqqani as the Trump administration is hoping to reach a peace deal with the Taliban that would end America’s longest war and begin the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
…
Haqqani accused Americans of flip-flopping and moving the goalposts when it comes to negotiations, claiming that the group even kept the door open when President Trump called off talks.
“That we stuck with such turbulent talks with the enemy we have fought bitterly for two decades, even as death rained from the sky, testifies to our commitment to ending the hostilities and bringing peace to our country,” Haqqani wrote.
The lengthy column goes on to detail Haqqani’s claims, including that he doesn’t trust the United States and that an agreement would allow Afghans to “start moving toward lasting peace” and live with dignity.
Having seen firsthand what the Taliban are capable of, NYT journalist Mujib Mashal tweeted a scathing diatribe against his employer.
The piece by Siraj Haqqani in @nytopinion – which’s independent of our news operations & judgment – omits the most fundamental fact: that Siraj is no Taliban peace-maker as he paints himself, that he’s behind some of most ruthless attacks of this war with many civilian lives lost
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) February 20, 2020
And to know what our @nytimes news reporting has on Siraj Haqqqani, and what the Haqqani Network is accused of over the years, just read our years and years of reporting. Some samples:https://t.co/CW0k9I7Il1https://t.co/DcTDVtro8zhttps://t.co/p1MURtNXNF https://t.co/jktbWgmHCG
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) February 20, 2020
I know people have strong views on this. Sorry, I can’t answer. But, as the bottom of the piece says, our Opinion editors appreciate hearing from, and are “committed to publishing a diversity of letters”. So feel free to write to them: [email protected] https://t.co/jktbWgmHCG
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) February 20, 2020
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