This is why one always notes the major difference between the US and the European press. I did some press interviews recently in Berlin, and one is always struck how better informed European reporters are: and it is not genetics. It has to do with the political and press cultures, and the emphasis on training. Read this obituary of George Habash (which has some criticisms) by David Hirst, and compare it to that lousy obituary (titled "terrorism tactician") in the New York Times today.