Newsweek Reporter Quits After Editors Block Coverage Of OPCW Syria Scandal

Pushback with Aaron Mate

Pushback with Aaron Maté

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4.7 • 594 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2019

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

Journalist Tareq Haddad explains his decision to resign from Newsweek over its refusal to cover the OPCW's unfolding Syria scandal. According to whistleblower testimony and leaked documents, OPCW officials raised alarm about the suppression of critical findings that undermine the allegation that the Syrian government committed a chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma in April 2018. Haddad's editors at Newsweek rejected his attempts to cover the story. "If I don’t find another position in journalism because of this, I’m perfectly happy to accept that consequence," Haddad says. "It’s not desirable. But there is no way I could have continued in that job knowing that I couldn’t report something like this." Guest: Tareq Haddad, journalist who recently resigned from Newsweek over its refusal to cover the OPCW's Syria scandal. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to pushback. I'm Aaron Mate. New leaks continue to expose a cover-up by the
0:09.1	OPCW, the world's top chemical weapons watchdog, over a critical event in Syria. Documents,
0:16.8	emails, and testimony from OPCW officials have raised major doubts about the allegation
0:23.1	that the Syrian government committed a chemical weapons attack in the city of Duma in April
0:29.1	2018. The leaked OPCW information has been released in pieces by WikiLeaks. The latest
0:36.8	documents contain a number of significant
0:39.8	revelations, including that about 20 OPCW officials voiced concerns to their superiors
0:47.2	that their scientific findings and on-the-ground evidence was suppressed and excluded.
0:53.4	This is, without a doubt, a major global scandal,
0:57.0	the OPCW, under reported U.S. pressure, suppressing vital evidence about allegations of chemical
1:03.7	weapons in Syria. But that very fact exposes another global scandal. With the exception of
1:10.1	small outlets like the gray zone,
1:12.2	the mass media has widely ignored or whitewashed this story.
1:18.0	And this widespread censorship of the OPCW scandal has just led one journalist to resign.
1:24.9	Up until recently, Tarak Hadad was a reporter at Newsweek, but in early December,
1:30.7	Tarak announced that he had quit his position after Newsweek refused to publish his story
1:36.0	about the OPCW cover-up. In a lengthy piece explaining his decision, Tarak writes, quote,
1:47.3	On one hand, I could continue to be employed by the company, stay in their chic London offices, and earn a steady salary, only if I adhered to
1:55.0	what could or could not be reported and suppressed vital facts. Alternatively, I could leave the company and tell the truth.
2:03.6	Well, Tarq Hadad, he joins me now.
2:06.6	Tarq Hadad, welcome to pushback.
2:09.6	Talk to us about what prompted your decision to resign
	...

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