Compare and contrast time...
The New York Times ran this article on November 7th, detailing what their authors believed to be doubtful claims by the Republic of Georgia on how the Russo-Georgian War of this August came to be.
The New York Times than followed that up with this article which both detailed continued Russian claims and made reference to Georgian challenges to the sourcing of the original material quoted in the November 7th piece. (Note: this article was written by one of the two co-authors of the first piece)
Russian Foreign Minister S. Lavrov was, to say the least, pleased with the direction of the coverage, and said as much. I believe the quote was (*paraphrased*) "...the media has finally gotten it right".
Then along comes this article on Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty on November 15th...
Open Ground: So is the NYT being played? Do they have the "real" story? Do they effectively refute the Georgian claims? How do you see this, and if you care to say so, have you an explanation for either the NYT or RFE/RL being "mistaken"?
Addenda: this has been a hotly contested issue for a while. Danger Room readers have seen D. Axe make his argument against the Georgian claims, and M. Totten has made an argument based on his interviews that strongly argues the Russians intended and/or caused the conflict.
This is just the latest round of trying to determine the historical record.
Good luck, readers, and enjoy the challenge!
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The quotation about "getting it right" did appear in a Letter to the NYT, but by Russian U.N. Ambassador V. Churkin.
Lots more on this topic, with surprising even-handedness, in the Moscow Times.
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