Why Knowing Arabic is a must: the case of Anne Barnard

So the New York Times new Beirut bureau chief, who does not know Arabic, yesterday reported on a story fabricated by Saudi propaganda princely mouthpieces regarding a `Alawite initiative to break with the regime, and which was fabricated on a Facebook page (run by the Syrian exile opposition, no less).  Had Ms. Barnard known any Arabic, she would have read the day before in As-Safir that religious leaders of the community denied the whole story.