New York Times Opens Op-Ed Page to Suspected Terrorist

My latest is up at Newsbusters. Here’s an excerpt:

Today’s [New York Times] editorial page features an op-ed from Mourad Benchellali, a French national awaiting trial in France on terror charges. Benchellali’s op-ed, entitled “Detainees in Despair,” claims that he was unjustly plucked from an outdoor cafe by Pakistani police, and held under brutal conditions at the Guantanamo Bay facility without reason or probable cause. Benchellali writes:

“I was seized by the Pakistani Army while having tea at a mosque shortly after I managed to cross the border. A few days later I was delivered to the United States Army: although I didn’t know it at the time, I was now labeled an “enemy combatant.” It did not matter that I was no one’s enemy and had never been on a battlefield, let alone fought or aimed a weapon at anyone.”

Unfortunately for Benchellali, a major US newspaper had already extensively covered the very specific charges that he was facing in France. That paper -amazingly enough- was the New York Times.