A New York Times op-ed this week by J. Malcolm Garcia represents everything that is wrong with the mainstream media. From its title, it purports to explain “Why Syria’s Islamists Are Gaining”, but it offers a less than satisfactory explanation. Part of the trouble, Garcia opines, is that the Syrian conflict wears on “while Americans continue to debate whether to intervene in Syria or just look the other way”. With the Islamists gaining more influence among the rebel forces, “If the West and moderate Arab nations want to prevent a Taliban-style dictatorship from replacing the current Baathist regime, it’s time for them to offer Syrians more hope.” And by “offer Syrians more hope” Garcia clearly means, “intervene in Syria” by supporting the rebel forces.
So why does this op-ed represent everything that is wrong with the mainstream media? The problem is that Garcia completely ignores the facts that (1) the CIA has already been coordinating the flow of arms to the rebels, and (2) most of those arms have indeed ended up in the hands of Islamic extremists.
