Addressing the death of Chechen terror leader Shamil Basayev (pictured), we were struck at the use of the “t-word” in both the NY and LA Times. Killed in a mysterious explosion, Basayev is directly linked to a decade of terror, including Beslan.
The NY Times’ news coverage and a staff-ed didn’t shy away from identifying terror for what it is. And Sonni Efron, an editor at the LA Times, wrote the following:
It’s been said that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. I disagree. I believe the day Basayev stopped attacking the Russian army and attacked that hospital, he committed an unequivocally evil act and forfeited any claim to legitimate leadership of the Chechen people.
What will it take for either paper to make such clear statement about Palestinian terror?