As the current situation between the U.S. and Iran continues to unfold, the people at the New York Times are showing a bewildering amount of good cheer for the dead terrorist.
According to an article posted by Amber Athey, White House correspondent for the Daily Caller website, the Times “has repeatedly peddled Iranian propaganda in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s drone strike on military leader Qasem Soleimani.”
The correspondent noted that the attacks began when the newspaper published an obituary of the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force, where they called Soleimani a "master of Iran's intrigue" in the headline before admitting in the text that he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans.
As if this was a positive remark, the obit added: "The commander helped direct wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and he became the face of Iran’s efforts to build a regional bloc of Shiite power."
The obituary also stated:
[I]n Iran, many saw him as a larger-than-life hero, particularly within security circles.
Anecdotes about his asceticism and quiet charisma joined to create an image of a warrior-philosopher who became the backbone of a nation’s defense against a host of enemies.
As you might expect, the article drew many critical responses online, some of which compared the obituary to the Washington Post notice that called dead ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi an “austere religious scholar.”
The correspondent also noted that the Times “went on in other articles to react with wonder at the crowds of people” at the funeral.
In another item, the liberal outlet claimed:
Throngs of people filled the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral of General Soleimani. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was seen weeping as he offered prayers.
The general’s funeral was attended by a broad swath of Iranians, including reformers who oppose the government of President Hassan Rouhani but who perceived the killing as an attack on all of Iran.
However, Athey added: “The piece did not mention that many Iranians were forced to attend the memorial proceedings” or the fact that 56 people were killed during a stampede at the funeral.
As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, the Times used its “The Daily” podcast to quote an Iranian student who said: “Knowing General Soleimani was out there made me feel safer. … He was like a security umbrella above our country.”
In an article for the Washington Post, Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad chastised western media for falling for such ‘propaganda’” since the regime “provided free transport and ordered shops to shut down.”
Alinejad also stated that the “authorities” were “making little kids write essays praising the fallen commander. First-graders who didn’t know how to write were encouraged to cry for Soleimani.”
