New York Times defends not running McCain's Iraq op-ed

WASHINGTON — The New York Times defended its decision not to publish an op-ed article as submitted by Republican John McCain about the Iraq war on grounds that it customarily reviews such pieces with the author. McCain's presidential campaign submitted the op-ed on July 18. In it, the Arizona senator describes how the buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq has helped curb violence. He also chides Democratic rival Barack Obama for outlining his plan for Iraq before his current meetings there with commanders and Iraqi leaders. In an e-mail to the campaign on July 18, David Shipley, an op-ed editor at the newspaper, said he could not accept the piece in its current form, but would look at another version. In the e-mail, released by McCain's campaign, Shipley wrote that McCain's article would "have to lay out a clear plan for achieving... [read full story]