'The Nation' Turns a Lonely Eye To Big Mullah Omar Scoop

Not surprisingly, the country’s oldest continuously published magazine, The Nation, is turning a jaundiced eye toward Brad Thor’s explosive scoop that the notorious Mullah Omar has been captured. Originally an abolitionist broadsheet, The Nation has evolved into the most radical leftist publication in the U.S.; among its more notable moments was the publication in 1966 of the Cloward-Piven strategy for social destabilization.

In that light, consider Jeremy Scahill’s recent screed, “(Not) Much Ado About Mullah Omar.” While Scahill might think it’s good journalism to bury the lead, we don’t. So let’s get right to it, shall we?

In his rush to criticize Brad Thor’s reporting that Mullah Omar has been captured, he waits until the middle of his piece before admitting:

I wouldn’t even be bothering to look into this now if I had not heard some parallel buzz about these rumors from military sources I actually trust.

But before Scahill gets to this nugget, he engages in some traditional liberal nihilism. Unable to attack the message, which he admits he has heard “parallel buzz” on, he attacks the messengers, saying:

It is a bit hard to believe that such a major development would have been leaked to a right-wing novelist with a name out of a Nordic porno, who is a regular contributor to Glenn Beck’s show, for publication on Andrew Breitbart’s web sites.

Scahill also conveys another telling item in support of Thor’s story:

No one is confirming anything at all, but I am told there are some pretty unenthusiastic denials making their way through the special forces world.

Really? Well, if Scahill has special forces sources, and bases his reporting on them, then those SF sources must be good! Right? In fact, it would appear Thor and Scahill have very similar sources:

As for Thor, he has spent time with US special forces in Afghanistan–he claims they were a “black-ops team”– and may very well keep up some relationships with those men.

So are we to believe that Scahill’s military/SF sources are somehow more trustworthy than Thor’s? It would seem that Scahill reluctantly concedes that Thor’s sources are of value when, alluding to them, he says:

This would be the only way Thor has this story remotely right: If, by chance, he happens to know people on the ground who are in a very small, compartmentalized loop on this.

Aw, but let’s not let that get in the way. No one in his right mind should trust a best-selling novelist with a name out of a Nordic porno, who is a regular contributor to Glenn Beck’s show and publishes on Andrew Breitbart’s web sites.