London, July 22: The New York Times has rejected an opinion piece on Iraq by Republican presidential candidate John McCain, less than a week after publishing a similar article by his Democratic rival Barack Obama.

David Shipley, the op-ed page editor of America’s most prestigious paper asked McCain to rewrite his piece, a move likely to revive allegations of bias in the media towards Obama, The Telegraph reported.

A recent study found that the news television networks had run more than double the number of stories about Obama than McCain since early June.

Shipley told the McCain campaign that he was “very eager” to publish the Senator’s write up but suggested a new “approach”.

“The article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq. It would also have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory - with troops (sic) levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate,” he wrote.

The McCain campaign was stunned by the email, which seemed to be trying to dictate its policy. Not setting a timetable is at the core of the Arizona senator’s views on Iraq.

Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for the campaign, said: “John McCain believes that victory in Iraq must be based on conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables. Unlike Barack Obama, that position will not change based on politics or the demands of the New York Times.”

The campaign noted that Shipley was a former speechwriter for former Democrat President Bill Clinton.

The New York Times issued a statement, which pointed out that it had published at least seven op-ed pieces by McCain since 1996. (ANI)