Thread by @andrewquilty

Thread

Regarding the US drone strike in Kabul last week, there is the version of events discernable from the ground in Kabul and then there’s the @EricSchmittNYT version, parroted, almost verbatim, from those responsible for the strike.

nytimes.com/2021/09/05/us/…

Schmitt’s trust & deference to his sources is on display throughout this piece. For eg “…an attack friends & family members of the car’s driver say killed 10 people, seven of them children.” In fact 10 *were* killed. Several journalists saw them in coffins before burial.

Yet, Schmitt is unquestioning of Chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Milley, who says “military analysis acknowledged that at least three civilians were killed… [and] that at least one other person killed was “an ISIS facilitator.””

Lines like, “it dealt a crushing blow to ISIS-K as it sought to deliver one last attack before the U.S. withdrawal” are exactly the kind referred to in this @CJR piece on how (some, but I don’t believe all) journalists failed in Afghanistan.

cjr.org/opinion/journa…

The same misrepresentation of ground realities was reflected in Schmitt’s appearance on The Daily last wk. “former military & intelligence officers,” he said, “are being hunted by the Taliban.” While there *have* been isolated instances, this description is entirely inaccurate.

It seems incredible how willing national security and Pentagon reporters still are to take the word of intelligence sources, especially when they’re the perpetrators.