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Rewrite: Yemeni Rebels Say
February 6, 2017
by William P. Meyers

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1984 has nothing on the New York Times

The following paragraph appeared within the article "Yemeni Rebels Say They Targeted Saudi Capital with a Missile," published by the New York Times on February 6, 2017, and attributed to the Associated Press:

"Saudi Arabia has been leading a mostly Gulf Arab coalition against the Houthis since March 2015, seeking to restore Yemen's internationally-recognized government, which the Houthis had forced to flee from the capital, Sanaa. Saudis see the Houthis as a proxy of the Shiite power Iran, the Sunni kingdom's key regional rival."

That paragraph was background material. A person reading it, who has not been following the story, might take it for granted. Were I the editor, this is how I would have edited it to give readers a more factual knowledge of the situation:

The Islamic dictatorship of Saudi Arabia, known for its oppression of women and religious minorities and the funder of armed Sunni groups including Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, has been leading an American-backed coalition against the Houthi-led democratic forces of Yemen since March 2015. Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen, which is a war crime, to seek to restore the corrupt, deposed, American-backed former government of President Hadi, who had taken over the Presidency in a one-man election in 1912 from former President Saleh, whose supporters are fighting alongside the Houthis, who are Shia, not Sunni. The intolerant, war criminal Saudi family has long been a rival of Iran, but until after the invasion Iran does not appear to have been involved with the Houthis, a home-grown group."

Well, I could say more, but I've already gone quite over the word limit for matching the Times version.

Note that the New York Times is generally regarded as a liberal, objective newspaper. It is my main source for news. But you don't have to watch Fox news to be in a Orwellian, 1984 type spin zone. Or to be exposed to Alternative Facts.

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