HardBoiled and NewsWeak, Chrissy's Take 05/16/05

So what did Chrissy have to say?

Ample time to respond? What B.S.

Go to any organization and say you've got an inflamatory accusation about one of there 1 million employees. Don't worry, we'll give you plenty of time to confirm or deny. Is an hour enough? Or a day? BTW, Mr. Organization Spokesman, if you don't deny it within a day, we're going to run with it.

How do you track down something like that? What complete garbage.

GLAD you asked that...

Mon May 16 18:01:11 2005

> Good evening. The C.I.A. Officer who was called on to kill osama bin laden after 9/11 tells us why the terrorist mastermind got away. Plus, average prince that I have on the pentagon's recommendation to shut down 180 military bases nationwide. But first, "newsweek" magazine late today retracted an investigative report about the U.S. Military's use of the koran during interrogations at guantanamo. "Newsweek" editor mark whittaker explained the situation.

>> We are going to enlighten the wake of this review. All of our practices. Obviously, there's a lot of talk. Not only "newsweek" but elsewhere about the use of unnamed sources. I think we have to push as hard as we can to identify who our sources are and give our readers some sense of who they are.

>> The story in "newsweek" magazine which has an online cooperation agreement with nbc news sparked rioting in afghanistan and pakistan. And led to the deaths of at least 17 people. "Hardball's" david shuster report.

>> In afghanistan, the anti-american protests have been the most violent since the fall of the taliban government three years ago. In jalalabad, four protestors have been killed and more than 60 injured, and across the border in pakistan, the demonstrations have led to the deaths of at least a dozen protestors. The fire storm began two weeks ago. In this "newsweek" magazine, dated may 9, there was a short periscope article about a prisoner abuse in gaunt ghana. Investigators were toward report that american interrogators had flushed a copy of the koran down a toilet. The item was from michael isikoff the veteran reporter. He told the "washington post" this weekend. We relied on sources we had every reason to trust and gave the pentagon ample opportunity to comment. "Newsweek" says before the item was publish, the senior pentagon official was asked, is the story accurate or not? After the story went to print, pentagon officials raised no objections for more than a week. In pakistan, the article was translated and used at an anti-american news conference. Al-jazeera, mentioned the story repeatedly and last tuesday, rioting began. Last thursday, at the pentagon.

>> It is the judgment of our commander in afghanistan, general eikenberry, that in fact the violence that we saw in jalalabad was not necessarily the result of the allegations about disrespect for the koran but more tied in the political process and reconciliation process that president karzai and his cabinet is conducting in afghanistan.

>> By friday, though, pentagon officials were rethinking the riots. They called "newsweek" reporting false and demanded a retraction. Over the week, "newsweek" reviewed theorory, learned its original sourcerer had incomplete information, and apologized.

>> We feel terrible about that. What we've done is to acknowledge the mistake we made. Try to figure out how we did it.

>> Late this afternoon, "newsweek" issued a formal statement. Pentagon officials say the U.S. Military does not have any obligation to review every potential story. And they have the responsibility for getting the story right rests with the reporter. Still, the reputation of american interrogators has been awful for more than a year. Last spring there were the abuses at abu ghraib and since then there have been stories about guantanamo bay.

>> In one instance, fake menstrual blood was wiped on a detainee's face so he would then not be able to gain strength from his relationship with his faith and his relationship with his god.

>> Others who worked at guantanamo bay say interrogators forced detainees to look at pornographic magazines which islam forbids. And british detainees released from the prison say guards routinely cursed allah and mocked the muslim faith. In muslim countries, religious disrespect can be an explosive matter. It is what the bush administration is now trying to put the focus on "newsweek" and moved the focus away from the reputation that military interrogators earned on their own. I'm david shuster for "hardball." In washington.

>> Thank you. Let get latest from the pentagon today from nbc's jim miklaszewski. What's the mood there?

>> Well, as you can well imagine, there's a lot of finger pointing and a lot of i told you so'S. But senior pentagon officials are being a little more circumspect about it. In fact, secretary rumsfeld himself up on capitol hill earlier today was critical but careful in his comments.

>> People lost their lives. People are dead. And that's unfortunate. And people need to be very careful about what they say and just as people need to be careful about what they do.

>> Being careful ourselves, here's what we think we know about what happened. One of the defenses that "newsweek" has made about going to press with the story in the first place is that the pentagon did not deny the allegations when they were asked about them, about throwing the koran into a toilet at guantanamo bay. But we're told that senior pentagon officials did in fact tell "newsweek" that one, that specific allegation was apparently not included in any F.B.I. Emails. And was not included as part of an ongoing investigation into tainee abuses at ghana ghana as outlined in those F.B.I. Memos. One official told us this teternoon that nobody here at the pentagon could categorically deny that it didn't occur because as you know, this is a huge complex. It is a huge military. And it is impossible to account for every minute and every action of U.S. Soldiers or pentagon employee. So they could not categorically deny it. Once the story was printed, they in fact launched a separate investigation into those specific allegations. And they eventually found that there were "no credible allegations" ghoet regard to that specific charge that somebody, some M.P. At guantanamo bay in fact desecrated the koran.

>> Thank you. Jim miklaszewski, the pentagon correspondent. Michael 56ers is a former -- vickers is a special correspondent. He ishe is at the center for strategic and budgetary assessments. Roger cressey served in the national security council for the clinton and bush administrations. He is now a terrorism analyst for nbc news. And robin wright is the diplomatic correspondent for the "washington post." The "washington post" owns "newsweek" magazine. Let me go right to michael vickers. The question is, the long term consequences. We have to is gone regait two issues here. "Newsweek" is wrong. They admit. That they didn't have their facts straight in saying that desecrating the koran was a way of getting to these prisoners. But there were other methods of religious intimidation by interrogators.

>> This really underzors volatile nature of the we're terrorism. Detainees have charmed for a while, going back a couple years about abuses. When an organization like "newsweek" lends credibility to it, then you get violence that you see. Things like this can happen repeatedly. Interrogators have guidelines. Not to specifically do anything to desecrate the koran because the U.S. Wants to keep this as it should be, as an intramuslim struggle. Our adversaries are trying to turn it muslims against U.S.

>> You know about whether the united states uses religious interrogation to get information out of prisoners.

>> It shouldn't be the policy to do so. The objective at guantanamo bay and some of the other detention facilities are two-fold. One, to get current threat information. And two, to develop a better understanding of the network within which they operate. So there are tools and techniques they use to try to extract that information. When they crossed the line, like it appears they've done here, there are serious negative consequences down the road. That's what's playing out on a global basis.

>> Robin wright, the "washington post." It was howard curtis' piece. A lot of choices were made by detainees about the use of religious intimidation. Especially when it gets to the islamic faith, to get information. What is your understanding of our tactics?

>> Well, the charges go back more than two years. The "newsweek" magazine is not the first one to report allegations. The difference is in the past, these have been claim by detainees. The difference was that "newsweek" cited american officials which gave it a bit more credibility. The interesting thing is the pentagon in january 2003 developed a very detailed three-page policy on how to deal with the koran. That included the fact that no one but a muslim chaplain or a muslim interpreter could touch it when it is good it to detainees. That they had to put on clean gloves in the presence of detainees before they handed them the koran. There are specific instructions. If they're trying to look at the koran, whether it is being used for other than religious purposes, such as holding something secret, passing messages, whatever. How it should be opened. Page by page. At what angle. And it is it says the koran must be handled always with the right hand rather than the left in respect for the koran and practices in the islamic world. So if these practices, or if there were violations, they would be quite serious violations because there's an explicit policy that even says the koran must never be placed anywhere near a sink, a toilet, a floor, a wet place, or near the feet.

>> And it is also a pro description against any use against for religious purposes. It can't be for any intimidation tactics.

>> That's right. It is very specific, detailed. It is interesting that this policy was developed fairly early in the process of guantanamo bay. And I think what is different today, in term of these accusations, is it comes in the post abu ghraib world. And there aremuch graver suspicions because of mistreatment of, which was well proven, by U.S. Soldiers of muslim detainees and that one of the rees there's been such a reaction today, when there hasn't been in response to earlier articles, is because there is just a much deeper and broader suspicion of the united states and its attitude toward the islamic world today.

>> Let me go back to roger cressey. In term of the world situation, we know that we're at war with zealotry. People are willing to give their lives to suicides because they feel that their religion is under threat. Fairly or not. Is this going to help the war on their side?

>> Absolutely. At one level, this is still a war. This is still a great example for them to say i told you so. See, the americans say this is not a war against islam. Look at them desecrating the most holy symbol.

>> Will they believe the corrections, the pages from the "newsweek" magazine?

>> We can only wish. The first image is the one they keep. Perception is reality and that one image from the "newsweek" article is what will be used by our opponents, and we'll have a difficult time.

>> This is a really tragic snafu by "newsweek."

>> Tragic. A two paragraph article that has lasting damage to U.S. Policy, to preventing the clash of civilization that everyone has feared.

>> Worse than abu ghraib?

>> No. But it could have a wider damage than just the arab world.

>> We'll come back. Tomorrow on "hardball," winning the war on terror.

It's the Pentagon's fault!

After viewing Britt Hume's show, I enjoy hearing the LIARS in the MSM put THEIR spin on the 'news'...

I love to do the same thing and thought I was "different" and was keeping this to myself.

I guess I've outed myself.

Hissy Chrissy is NOW TRYING TO JUSTIFY the Newsweak story being 'wrong'...but looky here about what other people are saying is going on in Gitmo... See Picture below...

I just watched it. It was like an SNL skit. The four fools were talking about it as if it really happened. I felt like throwing my remote into the tv screen, then realized that no lib is worth a tv.

So what did Chrissy have to say?

Don't tell me let me guess:

"Michael Isakook (spit) is a fine, (spit)fine reporter who like myself, reports (spit)everything right down the middle with no real bias' whatsoever(spit). I am sure he did not (spit)expect this to happen and would never report a (spit)story w/o unimpeachable (spit)sources. That is just the way we all do it....

Pray for W and Our Troops

Exact same story that Rather used with the fake documents.

They said they gave the White House a chance to comment on the documents and since they didn't then Rather felt free to broadcast the story.

LOL..You're not 'different' just smart!

Here's the LAST BIT from Hissy Chrissy...

We're back with former special operations officer michael vickers, roger cressey and robin wright. In today's "washington post," howard writes about the media saying.

>> Gross topics. Does this admission by "newsweek" that they got their story wrong exonerate the military?

>> Well, clearly we're dealing with a conflict now between journalistic practices and military practices. And the administration is trying to point the finger at the media. We're kind of in the purgatory of not knowing how true the allegations are. Tragically, it plays out in the west and the united states, particularly. And it will not resonate. The nuances don't get to people in downtown jalalabad where they barely have electricity, much less access to the western media.

>> So are we back to the two storage rule of the woodward and bernstein team?

>> Most of the people at the "washington post" rely on a three source rule.

>> Yeah.

>> "Newsweek" will have to catch up to the post.

>> Thank you very much. And the reporter is quite a reporter. What a great reporter he is. He's been on the tail of a lot of people in this town. Thank you all. The pentagon plans to shut down about 180 military bases nationwide.

--------------------------------------------------------------- NB: Chrissy doesn't mention ANY ATTEMPS to get a hold of Issikoff...and lauds him. They will NOT criticize their own ilk... ALSO---The PENTAGON DOESN'T DECIDE which bases to close down. Isn't their an INDEPENDANT commission that determines which bases should get closed...and the PENTAGON just agrees or disagrees???

So what did Chrissy have to say?

Let me give you the jist, since I was not at the computer attempting to capture the tidbits while reaching for the barf bag. The basic take from Chrissy's group is that our guys have been doing lots of bad stuff anyway even if this report was off, and Isikoff is a great reporter and this is something that is just "happening" to him. In a nutshell, the report was FAKE BUT ACCURATE! I can't tell you how disgusted I was... am.

I just sent matthews two enraged emails...I tuned in to see his take on NEWSWEEK instead got 15 minutes about detainee treatment, most of the reports anecdotal by Muslims with a grudge...will these people ever get it? ever???

#3 The inflammatory comment is enough. Then the Pentagon has to prove a negative. In the meantime, the irrational, emotionally volatile, illiterate and bloody-minded hordes get to demonstrate. The result was 17 dead and over 100 injured.
Sound like Newsweak was shouting fire in a crowded room?

We feel terrible about that. What we've done is to acknowledge the mistake we made. Try to figure out how we did it.

You don't suppose they feel terrible about all the other lies they publish in their magazine do ya? If they truly feel terrible, perhaps they will quit publishing their tabloid magazine.

Thanks for the info....another reminder on why I don't watch Chrissy...

Yup...it's laughable.

Rather killed the "Nightly news", and Newsweak...has just killed the weekly newsmag....the papers have been dead for years.

THe only thing I can trust is my own eye and Rush, Seah, Laura and Savage.

Gergan thinks it may be a tipping point and the public may just have had enough. He brings up Dan Rather as an example.

Any talk on what the consequences Newsweek/Isikoff should face....I bet I already know that answer..LOL

Was Gergen a guest on The Chris Matthews Show? Can you expand on what he said for the cubicle bound?
Thanks!