NYT: 'Airplanes Took Aim' on 9/11

Never forget. That’s what we’re always told about 9/11. But the New York Times has obviously forgotten. The most deadly terrorist attack on American soil happened in their city 18 years ago today, and the NYT still needs to be reminded of the truth.

Here’s what went out on the official NYT Twitter account this morning:

Two problems here. First, the death toll was closer to 3,000 than 2,000. Rounding down is a very strange choice. And more importantly, the airplanes didn’t take aim at anything. Islamic terrorists hijacked those airplanes and flew them into those buildings. If you don’t need to be reminded of that inescapable fact, if you would’ve caught that glaring mistake before the Newspaper of Record tweeted it out, you’re not qualified to work at the NYT.

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I thought it was bad when Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) gave her description of 9/11: “Some people did something.” But at least she didn’t pretend it just happened all by itself, with no human agency.

Although it makes sense that these people assume an inanimate object just goes around killing people on its own. After all, that’s their stance on guns.

And lest you think this passive wording was the fault of some clueless intern, it wasn’t. It’s a direct quote from the linked article:

They deleted the tweet, but the article still reads "airplanes took aim…"

Garbage. pic.twitter.com/zPcHX7wIii

— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) September 11, 2019

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Apparently realizing their mistake, they tried again. It’s still wrong.

No, those people weren’t lost. They were murdered. It was an act of terrorism. At least the NYT got the number right this time.

Finally, after being shamed into it, the NYT edited the article to somewhat resemble the full truth:

Yes, terrorists did it. Islamic terrorists. That’s what happened. Saying so doesn’t make you a racist, and avoiding it won’t keep Islamic terrorists from striking again.

I’ll never understand the mindset. They know Islamic terrorists did it. Yet their first impulse was to say that the “airplanes took aim.” As if nobody would notice. They had to be publicly shamed into grudgingly admitting even a partial truth about what really happened.

And they still think they’re better than us.