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Comment by throwaway78568 | Hacker News Reader

Based on the source, I went in to this article assuming it would somehow paint North Korea in a more forgiving light, and attack the Trump administration. I was not wrong.

The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe Otto was physically beaten, maybe he wasn't. Maybe his incarceration conditions were "good" or maybe they weren't. Maybe he did try and commit suicide, maybe he didn't. The author certainly didn't have any more hard, objective facts than anyone before them. He just had an axe to grind.

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> The author certainly didn't have any more hard, objective facts than anyone before them.

Are there other articles that talk about e.g. the coroner's conclusions? I had not heard those before

He did get some digs in against Trump, but I think he also praised his actions compared to the Obama administration and how personally he took the issue:

>> When Trump learned of Otto's condition, he doubled down on the order for Yun to rush to Pyongyang and bring Otto home. The North Koreans were unilaterally informed that an American plane would soon land in Pyongyang and that United States diplomats and doctors would get off. “The president was very invested in bringing Otto home,” said a State Department official who was involved in the case and who was not authorized to speak on the record. “Listening to him deliberate on this, he sounded to me a lot more like a dad.

As a non-American, I did not feel it was highly critical of the Trump administration

> Now, that's not to fault the Trump administration for applying maximum pressure on North Korea for an American citizen ending up brain-damaged in its custody: Such behavior warrants punishment. Nor is it to imply that the senior government official lied to The New York Times about the intelligence reports, as some analysts suggested to me; that person seems to have correctly described them. But if the maverick boldness that the administration displayed in rescuing Otto represents the best of Trumpism, what followed once it was clear the reports were flawed encapsulates its troubling disregard for facts when a dubious narrative supports its interests.

You could say that the last sentence is critical but, Trump or no Trump, any government is using sometimes dubious arguments for its own interest. Never let go a crisis go to waste.

The author implies that the Otto story was simply a lever for Trump to start a war with NK. And that when moods change, the Otto story is no longer "useful" to Trump and so is forgotten. This is more an indictment of the 24 hours news cycle I think.

He also spends a great deal of time defending the NK hospital procedures and "likely" incarceration facilities.

I mean, personally I'm repulsed by NK. I'm repulsed that Trump treated their leader with dignity. I'm repulsed that this story implies that the north koreans didn't get a fair shake in the press.

There is also the history of previous American hostages that said they were not tortured.

And the statement from the coroner saying no evidence of head trauma.

Of course if all of this were lies it would be even worse for an American president to smile and shake hands with those responsible.

The article also sort of glosses over the way NK made up the charge against Otto and other foreigners - the regime abuses world citizens for personal gain.

The story doesn't imply that DPRK didn't "get a fair shake"; it simply says that the story spread in the press was false. We don't believe falsehoods simply because we think they should be true.

> We don't believe falsehoods simply because we think they should be true.

That sounds like something you believe because you think it should be true :-)

To me, it doesn't read like that at all. In fact, much of the article is flattering to Trump. One of the pull quotes reads:

“Listening to [Trump] deliberate on this,” said a State Department official, “he sounded to me a lot more like a dad.”

This story is a classic "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story" moment.

We (the United States) used Otto Warmbier as a propaganda tool, the media (as in many things to do with Trump) was complicit in this use. While in general, I don't like propaganda, I don't object however, to propaganda in this case - if some good comes of it. It's not the first time we've (as a country) invented a story from near whole cloth to sell something, and it probably wont be the last.

> I was not wrong.

When I saw the word "hostage" misused in the title, I had the exact same feeling.

The author interviewed several experts who claimed he wasn't beaten including people who examined him in person. Sorry this article is critical of your dear leader.

He never explains the misaligned teeth. They seem to agree that the teeth are "healthy" but also that they were previously straight, and are no longer straight. A little odd, don't you think?

The only person claiming that is the family.

"Natural and in good repair" from the American doctor.

The family also refused an autopsy. Weird right?

The article cites an American doctor that inspected those teeth and said they were in fine repair.

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