to NYT: “A serious lapse in editorial command!”

[I sent this as a Letter to the Editor of the NYT. today]
You said, accurately, in your editorial, “The Road to Confrontation in Najaf,” 8/21/04…
“[This] showdown began…because of serious lapses in the American military command structure in Iraq….when a newly arrived Marine Expeditionary Unit in Najaf started skirmishing with Moktada al-Sadr’s Shiite militia without its officers first clearing that decision…”
Refreshing objectivity. But then, today on Page 1…
“The upstart cleric began his latest uprising on Aug. 5, when his men attacked a Najaf police station after the arrest of one of his aides.”
A serious lapse in editorial command!
David Kolodney