The New York Times Rewrites Middle East History

A page one story in the New York Times today, discussing how Tony Blair may become a special Middle East envoy, contains the following passage:

While Mr. Olmert cautioned against moving too fast on “final status” issues, he said he planned to look for ways to empower Mr. Abbas, administration officials said, including releasing tax revenues that Israel had been keeping from the Palestinians.

But the lack of a link between the tracks — final status versus Palestinian institution-building — is the crux of why previous attempts at peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have been unsuccessful.

Excuse me? Are you saying that the relentless Palestinian suicide bombing campaign hasn't had anything to do with it?

Or the double-dealing and refusal to accept Israel's existence?

Or Yasser Arafat refusing to ink a deal with Clinton and Barak?

Or any of the thousand and one other reasons lying solely and exclusively in the Palestinian victim mindset?

It is this subtle propaganada, tossed in to Times stories without even a second thought (or intervention from editors) that lies at the very heart of the Times's systematic bias against Israel.

You saw even more of that yesterday, when the Times allowed its op-ed page to become a forum for the lies of a Hamas terrorist.

Don't expect the Times's new Empty Suit "public editor" to give a damn about any of this, any more than his useless predecessor Barney Calame.