...not the least bit surprised.

Nothing the NYTimes does surprises me anymore.

Tom,

CAMP FALLUJAH, IRAQ—Once widely acknowledged as the most crucial and
compelling news story in the world, the U.S. military occupation of
Iraq was, for the first time in the conflict's five-year history,
deemed too uninteresting to be considered among 2007's most important
news events.

According to polls, the war, which claimed American and Iraqi lives at
a record rate throughout the past year, had simply grown too repetitive
to warrant more than a passing recognition. For 57 consecutive months, viewers across the country were subjected to
monotonous and tedious roadside bombings, predictable charges of
corruption and negligence against private contractors, and a chaotic,
hard-to-understand political situation that never seemed to change.

"Is that still going on?" 46-year-old Dayton, OH resident Jim Svaboda
asked about the war, which many were told would be ending as early as
May 2003. "Absolutely nothing new has happened over there in months.
Even the soldiers are tired of it."

In September, a massive march against the war drew hundreds of
thousands of protesters to the nation's capital, but failed to capture
the attention of most major news outlets. And despite the insistence of
a number of observers and political analysts that the war in Iraq was
actually getting better, viewers continued to turn away by the millions.

"The average consumer can only read so many articles about 18-month
redeployments that keep soldiers away from their families for years, or
the lack of decent body armor, before they just tune out completely,"
said Kris Duncan, professor of media studies at Brandeis University.
"That kind of thing might have seemed fresh two years ago, but people
today want something unexpected. Frankly, if I have to watch one more
clip of amputee footage from Iraq, I'm going to be sick."

Political blogger Janet Friedberg, of HotUpdateNow.com, agreed.

"The Iraq war is so over," Friedberg said. "Even if it goes on for another 10 years."

Some Washington-based supporters of the war said they were confident
they could regain public interest in 2008 by pumping hundreds of
billions of dollars into the conflict.

The question should be- Does the Iraqi War still qualify for page 1 status & since no one is covering it why not give it to unemployed Iraqi soldier to report on it?

Just a thought...

Syrius

"This is not an April Fool's gag."

Surely you jest. Yes it is.

(;~/ gary

Can we be absolutely certain that Jos. Goebbels didn't become a stringer for the NYT?

BTW, even though there wasn't an insurgency in Germany after WW II, the majority of Germans hated our guts, especially after we literally destroyed Berlin and Dresden among other cities. On the other hand, most Iraqi's were glad that we rid Iraq of Saddam Hussein and for the efforts we have made to rebuild their country including areas that were simply neglected by Saddam.

...for the NYT to hire former Nazis since the U. S. Government had first dibs...and hired a BUNCH of them to build rockets, etc.  Talk about blood on their hands...  

I am a typical white person.