Policy

Analysis: Coverage of Possible Strike on Syria Far from Neutral

Press seems to be buying into the myth that the president can declare military strikes without Congressional approval

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Syria coverage in America's newspapers is the latest example of purportedly neutral, "objective" press coverage that's bursting with contestable assumptions, often without the reporters and editors involved quite realizing their biases. The core news: President Obama asked Congress to vote on intervening in Syria. The way it's being framed in accounts billed as straight news? 

The New York Times casts it as a roll of the dice:

In one of the riskiest gambles of his presidency, Mr. Obama effectively dared lawmakers to either stand by him or, as he put it, allow President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to get away with murdering children with unconventional weapons.