Posted on 02/12/2003 8:37:22 AM PST by Mr. Mulliner
CBS and NBC were satisfied Tuesday night to note how Secretary of State Colin Powell contended Osama bin Laden's audio tape offered proof of his links to Iraq and then to point out how others in the government fear it's a signal of an impending terrorist attack on the U.S. But ABC's Peter Jennings wasn't satisfied with just doing that. He once again offered the most anti-administration spin of the night with a trilogy of three stories addressing subjects not touched by CBS or NBC.Anchoring the February 11 World News Tonight from Phoenix, Jennings argued that "a lot of people say they've made the connection" between Iraq and al Qaeda, "but haven't proved the connection." Reporter Martha Raddatz seemed to imply the administration's tough line toward Iraq may cause more terrorism: "Well, there are some people, Peter, who are saying the administration has created this link, linking up al-Qaeda and Iraq, because of the possible invasion of Iraq. And many believe this may backfire, saying, 'Who stirred up this hornets nest?'"
Jennings charged that taking on al Qaeda and Iraq "might well be stretching the United States quite thin" before highlighting "dissatisfaction" on Capitol Hill from Bush Iraq policy opponents over plans for a post-war Iraq.
Later, ABC went to reporter Jim Sciutto in Mecca who relayed comments from the Hajj which matched anti-American sloganeering of the far-left. A Muslim from Britain alleged that the Bush Iraq policy is "part of a strategy to...control the Muslim world because that, after the fall of Russia and other superpowers, there is nothing else for America to fear except for Islam."
Sciutto passed along how an Iraqi claimed "the U.S. isn't coming to Iraq to change the regime...It's coming for oil." Sciutto even found a Muslim from New York who maintained: "I come here and I connect with people from Iraq....And these are the people that die. It's not the politicians who hide in bunkers. It's innocent people who just want to live their lives."
Yes, that was true on 9-11 thanks to Muslims from Saudi Arabia who struck civilians.
CBS Evening News
How David Martin handled Powell's link of bin Laden and Iraq: "Secretary of State Powell said the bin Laden tape confirms the case made last week at the UN about the links between Iraq and al Qaeda, links the administration is citing as one of the prime justifications for war."Powell, before a Senate committee: "Once again he speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq. This nexus between terrorist and states that are developing weapons of mass destruction can no longer be looked away from and ignore."
Martin: "If so, then bin Laden is also confirming something else that cannot be ignored: An American military attack on Iraq is likely to trigger an al Qaeda terrorist attack on the U.S."
NBC Nightly News
Jim Miklaszewski reported: "The Bush administration claims today's tape is further proof of Iraq's ties to terrorism. But intelligence officials fear it signals something far more ominous and imminent: A possible new wave of terrorist attacks inside the United States."ABC's World News Tonight
Peter Jennings inserted his own opinion into the subject: "And Osama bin Laden, as we said, the United States, or the Bush administration at least, is portraying this statement as evidence of a link between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. ABC's Martha Raddatz is at the State Department. Martha, a lot of people say they've made the connection but haven't proved the connection."Raddatz confirmed Jennings' theory, as taken down by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth: "Well, there are some people, Peter, who are saying the administration has created this link, linking up al-Qaeda and Iraq, because of the possible invasion of Iraq. And many believe this may backfire, saying, 'Who stirred up this hornets nest?' You've got an elevated threat level, you've got Osama bin Laden making threats again. Last week, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said there really was no link between the elevated terror alert and any possible action on Iraq. That would be awfully difficult for him to say today."
Jennings: "Well, certainly one thing this does today is point out that you've got Osama bin Laden on one hand, Saddam Hussein on the other, and this might well be stretching the United States quite thin."
Raddatz: "Yes, remember the war on terrorism. It would certainly stretch the United States military thin, especially Arabic speakers, special forces and intelligence analysts."
Setting up another story, on a hearing not mentioned by CBS or NBC, Jennings asserted: "There was more about Iraq on Capitol Hill today. And the headline is dissatisfaction. At a Senate hearing, Senators from both parties wanted to know what the Bush administration intends to do in Iraq after the military phase. ABC's Linda Douglass reports that if you believe the witnesses today, the administration may not know."
Linda Douglass indeed highlighted questions "from both parties," but didn't note that four of the five Senators she cited are clearly critical of Bush's policy on Iraq. She ran soundbites from Democratic critics, Senators Joe Biden and Paul Sarbanes as well as Republican detractors, Senators Lincoln Chafee and Chuck Hagel. The one pro-Bush Senator: Richard Lugar.
Jennings moved on to the wondrous Hajj and how Muslims gathered there are very critical of the U.S.: "You've heard a couple of references already this evening to the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy places in Saudi Arabia. It is one of the most important events on the Muslim calendar and has deep meaning for ever Muslim who will try to make the pilgrimage, or the Hajj, at least once in his or her lifetime. ABC's Jim Sciutto is in Saudi Arabia for this year's pilgrimage where there is, he tells us, a lot of talk about impending war."
Sciutto began from Saudi Arabia: "Any way they can, they have flooded into Mecca, surging mix of nationalities, races and the sexes, which is one of the few places where Muslim men and women worship together. For Muslims, the Hajj is a journey of a lifetime. Five days of peaceful meditation. But this year, many are distracted by the possibility of war. In the Saudi desert just outside Mecca, where pilgrims climbed the hill where they believe Mohammed delivered his last sermon, Saudi Arabia's top cleric warned that all Muslims, not just Iraqis, are under threat. 'Your enemy has beared its fangs,' he told the crowd. 'But it will not defeat you, even with its vast troops and equipment.' He didn't name the U.S., but most here believe a U.S.-led war against Iraq would be an attack on their faith."
Mounaer Jaafer, British Pilgrim, in English: "It's part of a strategy to divide the Muslim world and to control the Muslim world because that, after the fall of Russia and other superpowers, there is nothing else for America to fear except for Islam."
Sciutto: "In the Iraqi section of the vast tent city built for the Hajj there is fear. 'I'm scared for my family,' says this man from Baghdad. As well as doubts about American intentions. 'The U.S. isn't coming to Iraq to change the regime,' says another Iraqi. 'It's coming for oil.' American Muslims we've met say they've been treated well. For Yousef Khan who came from New York with several friends, the Hajj has given him a new perspective."
Yousef Khan, American Pilgrim: "You know, I come here and I connect with people from Iraq. I come here and I connect with people from Iran, right? And these are the people that die. It's not the politicians who hide in bunkers. It's innocent people who just want to live their lives."
Sciutto concluded: "So far, there have been no anti-American protests, as some feared, but there is dread that the peace these pilgrims are praying for will soon be broken. Jim Sciutto, ABC News, outside Mecca."
That peace was broken by their fellow Saudi Muslims.
I'm surprised Jennings even made it through High School.
Cogito, ergo FReepum
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