Michael Weisberg, a leading young philosopher of biology at the University of Pennsylvania, writes:

One thing I have been wondering about this whole episode is why ID [Intelligent Design] proponents decided to target Synthese at this time. These issues have long been discussed in the academic literature (e.g. in Pennock's MIT Press volume http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8606), and I don't think any shocking new revelations were contained in that issue.

So I wonder if this is related to Barbara Forrest's testimony in the Dover case. It was her testimony more than anything else that sealed the fate of ID, and this is pretty clearly reflected in Judge Jones' decision. Forrest discovered that the ID textbook OF PANDAS AND PEOPLE was originally a "creation science" textbook, where the words "creation science" were simply changed to "intelligent design." The maneuvering to have her excluded as a witness was epic. Could this be payback? An attempt to discredit her in advance of future legal cases?

Initially, I wasn't sure what to think of this hypothesis, but a few days after Professor Weisberg wrote to me, William Dembski's blog, the leading blog shilling for Intelligent Design creationism in the U.S., ran (as if on cue!) this remarkable piece attacking Professor Forrest, with reference to the Synthese scandal, and repeating the now standard whitewash of Francis Beckwith's long involvement with the ID lobby, including the Discovery [sic] Institute.  (Ironically, the Dembski blog even confirms that Beckwith contacted them for help with Synthese!)   That Beckwith and several other leading ID proponents and Christian philosophers lobbied Synthese about Professor Forrest's critique (two of them were named in the New York Times article, but there are others) and that the two European editors then directed their main fire at Forrest's article certainly all fit Professor Weisberg's hypothesis.  The New APPS blog has had good coverage of the damage the editorial misconduct has done to Professor Forrest in particular and also of her important work defending science education in the public schools.   Perhaps some ambitious journalist will dig a bit deeper into what really happened here.