Graphic source: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images, for The New York Times
In one of those annoying major news media stories that is misleading, factually incorrect, and unduly biased, a productive counter-insurgency move is missed by The New York Times.
The question is, why does The New York Times insist on missing the story and providing incomplete coverage? For example, in the misleading article written by Alissa J. Rubin, she does not explain how, even in her published news article, that you can see a road on the right hand side of the damaged vehicles. What she does not explain but you can see in the picture is that the hospital is on the left hand side of the road.
From the blast pattern, it is obvious that the GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) hit across the road to the right and avoided the hospital.
Graphic source: Global Security.org
U.S. Army commanders and troops have come to view the missiles as their 70-kilometer sniper rifle, but the insurgents understand the weapon in a far more ominous light. The insurgents are calling it the 'Hand of Allah.' For the insurgents, the rockets seemingly come from nowhere. With their vertical trajectory, ability to cover 70 kilometers (43 miles) in 82 seconds and close-combat precision, the rockets are decisive.
Finally, how come Ms. Rubin does not publish a picture of the target and show the Mahdi compound and the criminal activities taking place? The U.S. military targeted and destroyed a Special Groups command and control center. The Special Groups are a unit of the Mahdi Army that receives backing from Iran's Qods Force, the foreign clandestine operations wing that has supported Shia terror groups in Iraq. The Mahdi Army used hospitals as staging areas for sectarian attacks and weapons storage depots. The target was selected for elimination precisely because it was an insurgent headquarters and located in a difficult to hit area because of its sensitive location.
And last but not least, who is Tareq Mahir, listed at the bottom of the article, who is he affiliated with, and if Rubin gets major credit in writing the article, what does Mahir have to do with the article? I think that The New York Times is performing a major disservice in not being upfront with its readers.
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