Tuesday, June 15, 2004
I had an excellent blog post on the topic, but blogspot ate it. Instead, you get a copy of of my equally excellent email to NYTimes:
Dear NYTimes,
I am writing to request clarification regarding the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/national/15terror.html
"Somali Is Accused of Planning a Terror Attack at a Shopping Center in Ohio"
By DAVID JOHNSTON
June 15, 2004
Mr. Johnston's article leads off by saying of suspect and detainee Nuradin M. Abdi: "A Somali citizen living in Ohio has been charged in an alleged plot by Al Qaeda to bomb an unidentified shopping mall in Columbus, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday." My question is: has Mr. Abdi in fact been indicted for this alleged plot? Certainly this is the impression left by the sentence.
However, a later paragraph refutes that impression: "The indictment against Mr. Abdi makes no mention of the alleged plot to blow up a shopping mall. That reference was contained in the motion filed by prosecutors to keep Mr. Abdi in custody." Given this, is it still accurate to say he "has been charged in" the plot "according to an indictment"? Apparently not.
The FBI press release mentions only 4 counts: two of "material support", the third of possessing a fraudulent document, and the fourth of using it. I suggest to you that a clarification, if not a correction, is in order. The gap between the government's actual prosecution and the sensational plot (that reportedly Mr. Abdi was incapable of implementing, and never did more than "discuss") continues to interest me.
Thank you for your continued attention to the details of newsmaking.
Dear NYTimes,
I am writing to request clarification regarding the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/national/15terror.html
"Somali Is Accused of Planning a Terror Attack at a Shopping Center in Ohio"
By DAVID JOHNSTON
June 15, 2004
Mr. Johnston's article leads off by saying of suspect and detainee Nuradin M. Abdi: "A Somali citizen living in Ohio has been charged in an alleged plot by Al Qaeda to bomb an unidentified shopping mall in Columbus, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday." My question is: has Mr. Abdi in fact been indicted for this alleged plot? Certainly this is the impression left by the sentence.
However, a later paragraph refutes that impression: "The indictment against Mr. Abdi makes no mention of the alleged plot to blow up a shopping mall. That reference was contained in the motion filed by prosecutors to keep Mr. Abdi in custody." Given this, is it still accurate to say he "has been charged in" the plot "according to an indictment"? Apparently not.
The FBI press release mentions only 4 counts: two of "material support", the third of possessing a fraudulent document, and the fourth of using it. I suggest to you that a clarification, if not a correction, is in order. The gap between the government's actual prosecution and the sensational plot (that reportedly Mr. Abdi was incapable of implementing, and never did more than "discuss") continues to interest me.
Thank you for your continued attention to the details of newsmaking.
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