Since when does the media withhold information? (both)

According Timothy Noah’s article in Slate, The New York Times is not releasing a study evaluating the war in Iraq. In comparison to the Pentagon Papers, which pertained to the Vietnam War, both studies have been conducted by RAND Corporation, yet the 1971 report was released and the current one is not.

Noah states, “The main difference is that while the Pentagon Papers reprinted many secret government documents about the Vietnam war, and therefore were classified top secret, the Iraq war study, which was based on interviews with ‘more than 50 civilian and military officials,’ is unclassified."

He also writes that while The New York Times published this story, they did not published important sections of the report even though they have obtained a copy of the document.

According to the article in the New York Times, “A review of the lengthy report -- a draft of which was obtained by The New York Times -- shows that it identified problems with nearly every organization that had a role in planning the war.”

So, why hasn’t the New York Times published direct evidence of the “identified problems” even though the report is considered unclassified? Something, or someone, may be holding the venerable paper from republishing the report. With the issue of prior restraint, that problem has all ready been dealt with when the Pentagon Papers arose and The New York Times won legal rights to publish their stories. The New York Times had to go through the Supreme Court to publish the Pentagon Papers, and now they're willing to withhold vital information from the public. And, as with the Pentagon Papers, doesn’t the public deserve the right to be better informed?

It seems to me this is exactly how Walter Lippmann would prefer the media to behave — give some information to the general public and only allow the top-dogs to fully understand the situation. With media providing as the “gatekeepers” of information, it appears the press is withholding information that Americans would deem necessary and important to make a better informed decision on the war in Iraq. This information still involves the sons and daughters of our nation.