An L.A. Times brief proudly announces (1/8/09) that the paper’s former managing editor, Douglas Frantz, “has been chosen to be chief investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as it reorganizes under its new chairman, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.).” Douglas Frantz…. Does that ring any bells? You won’t find any hint of it in the Times, but Frantz also happened to be the managing editor who cited a seasoned reporter’s “conflict of interest” when spiking his article on the Armenian genocide. The substance of that “conflict”? Co-signing a letter with other journalists who dared point out that the Times‘ own style guide says “the Armenian genocide is a historical fact and we should use the word ‘genocide’ without qualification in referring to it.” The controversy this ignited was credited with ending Frantz’s career at the Times, but the paper’s staff found this of no relevance to Frantz’ qualifications in the realm of foreign relations.
Listen to FAIR’s radio program CounterSpin: “Harut Sassounian on LAT and Armenian Genocide” (5/4/07)
Genocide in West Papua has been providing good profits for Bonesmen for a number of years, thanks to the efforts of Robert A. Lovett and McGeorge Bundy to have the territory sold in the New York Agreement to Indonesian military control.
If John Kerry or Douglas Frantz want to show their independence from Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., or from the Freeport McMoRan mining company; they could acknowledge West Papua.
So Kerry picks someone who Swiftboated a journalist (i.e., lied about the reporter’s actions to discredit him) to fill a key post under him.
Does the irony drip … or gush?
Here’s a hint: He’s a Democrat.