Dan Rather's Phony Scoop, Sept 4, 2001 (Yes, 2001!)

Media Monitor ^ | Sept 4, 2001 | By Reed Irvine and Cliff Kincaid

[Robert A Cook PE]

"Espionage then and today is very real and active measures, manipulation of public opinion, was very real at that time." On the CBS Evening News on July 30th, Dan Rather acted as if he had a big scoop.

He said, "Newly released FBI documents obtained by CBS News reveal a widespread domestic spying and intelligence operation. Thousands of ordinary American citizens were under surveillance throughout the 1980s." Rather said these individuals appeared in FBI files because the bureau was monitoring Soviet "active measures" or influence activities directed at Americans. Rather said they included disinformation, the use of front groups and forgeries. He even cited one Soviet forgery, a racist flyer supposedly from the Ku Klux Klan, designed to disrupt the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Rather didn't provide the context for understanding the FBI program, except for a brief interview with a retired FBI official, David Major, who said Cold War tensions and hostility between the U.S. and the Soviet Union justified the surveillance. ... Massive demonstrations had been held here and in Europe to stop the deployment of those missiles.

The documents Rather cited were actually obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting, a left-wing group which got them under the Freedom of Information Act.

Rather presented the story as another embarrassment for the FBI. To make matters worse, he said some of the FBI documents had the initials of FBI official Robert Hanssen on them. Hanssen has now admitted to being a spy for the Russians during that time. This is an embarrassment but a relatively minor one.

There was a Soviet agent inside the FBI, but there were many more in the streets of America. Dan Rather didn't want to go into that.

[Robert A Cook PE]

And here Rather was viciously and incorrectly attacking our espionage networks one week BEFORE 9/11/2001

by the way, a Google search for Dan Rather CBS forgeries "only" return 850 articles......

[nopardons]

That's all? ;^)

[teletech]

And here Rather was viciously and incorrectly attacking our espionage networks one week BEFORE 9/11/2001

by the way, a Google search for Dan Rather CBS forgeries "only" return 850 articles......

WHY Rather is still employed is beyond me.

[orangelobster]

Dan Rather's Phony Poop is more like it.

[Bonaparte]

He's still employed because he does exactly what CBS wants him to do. Always has. He's their favorite liar and communist stooge.

[AmericaUnited]

Dan (aka "Kenneth") got too many bangs on the head when his handlers wanted to know the "frequency".

[Joe Boucher]

And c.b.s news viewership has sunk to what percentage?
c.b.s. lies, distorts and generally sucks.
Danny boy go home and crow at the moon you p.o.s.

[Just mythoughts]

"Dan (aka "Kenneth") got too many bangs on the head when his handlers wanted to know the "frequency"."

Actually he did get hit in the head by "rock" throwers while covering Nixon in England back in the 70's. Halderman wrote about it in his book.

[teletech]

He's still employed because he does exactly what CBS wants him to do. Always has. He's their favorite liar and communist stooge.

It's time for CBS to go away! NO network is to big to bring down!

[Bonaparte]

With enough motivation, there is nothing you can't accomplished. Bringing down a network would require an aggressive, massive, expensive and well-organized effort but it could be done. IMO, it would have incorporate a "scorched earth" approach to the sponsors until they realized that CBS was simply radioactive and stopped advertising with them. Couple this with massive adverse publicity campaign against CBS, attacking its veracity and I believe the network could be in huge trouble within a couple years. IMO, this would be a full-time job for lots of people.