Cronkite: Time for U.S. to Leave Iraq

Breitbart.com ^ | 1/15/06 | AP

[wagglebee]

Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, whose 1968 conclusion that the Vietnam War was unwinnable keenly influenced public opinion then, said Sunday he'd say the same thing today about Iraq.

"It's my belief that we should get out now," Cronkite said in a meeting with reporters.

Now 89, the television journalist once known as "the most trusted man in America" has been off the "CBS Evening News" for nearly a quarter- century. He's still a CBS News employee, although he does little for them.

Cronkite said one of his proudest moments came at the end of a 1968 documentary he made following a visit to Vietnam during the Tet offensive. Urged by his boss to briefly set aside his objectivity to give his view of the situation, Cronkite said the war was unwinnable and that the U.S. should exit.

Then-President Lyndon Johnson reportedly told a White House aide after that, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

The best time to have made a similar statement about Iraq came after Hurricane Katrina, he said.

"We had an opportunity to say to the world and Iraqis after the hurricane disaster that Mother Nature has not treated us well and we find ourselves missing the amount of money it takes to help these poor people out of their homeless situation and rebuild some of our most important cities in the United States," he said. "Therefore, we are going to have to bring our troops home."

Iraqis should have been told that "our hearts are with you" and that the United States would do all it could to rebuild their country, he said.

"I think we could have been able to retire with honor," he said. "In fact, I think we can retire with honor anyway."

Cronkite has spoken out against the Iraq war in the past, saying in 2004 that Americans weren't any safer because of the invasion.

Cronkite, who is hard of hearing and walks haltingly, jokingly said that "I'm standing by if they want me" to anchor the "CBS Evening News." CBS is still searching for a permanent successor to Dan Rather, who replaced Cronkite in March 1981.

"Twenty-four hours after I told CBS News that I was stepping down at my 65th birthday I was already regretting it and I've regretted it every day since," he said. "It's too good a job for me to have given it up the way that I did."

[Rastus]

Good post. Ask any schoolkid, and they'll believe Walter Conkedout's version. "We lost the war." No we didn't, you nit. We lost the peace.

"Come on, Walter. I'm *begging* you to put aside your objectivity this once!"

"Ah, shucks. Well, just this once, dagnabbit. But my objectivity comes back right after this, okay?"

[StarCMC]

once known as "the most trusted man in America"

Glad they at least put that in quotation marks -- signifying what BS it is.

[StarCMC]

ROFL!!!!

No wonder my FIL liked that show!

[StarCMC]

You won't like this but I'm sure you'll have something to say about it!

[potlatch]

Be advised, I don't look like that, lol!!

[cookcounty]

This is the same Walter Cronkite that said we would freeze to death in an ice age because of global cooling, and that the world would run out of petroleum by 1985.

That's some powerful hashish in grandpa's pipe. He was an uncritical gossiper then, and he's the same today.

[Lijahsbubbe]

He's a frickin' ANCHORMAN. Nothing more.

Just as bad as the looney hollyweird actors thinking they should decide policy.

[LibertarianInExile]

"'Twenty-four hours after I told CBS News that I was stepping down at my 65th birthday I was already regretting it and I've regretted it every day since,' he said. 'It's too good a job for an old Marxist like me to have given it up the way that I did...without doing a better job of spreading the Gospel according to Marx! Long live the Revolution! Death to the evil capitalist oppressor pigs--except for me and my pal Teddy, of course! Down with the Great Satan in Iraq! We're losing...we're looooooosing!'"

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Great Anti-CRONKITE discussion going on over on tonight's DRUDGE Report Radio Show thread:

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1558708/posts

.

[doug from upland]

DFU SONG: Cathy's Clown (Walter Cronkite is a freaking clown.....change his Depends)
DFU SONGS | 11-2004 | Lyrics, Doug from Upland

Posted on 11/01/2004 3:56:51 PM PST by doug from upland

http://www.hklook.com/english.htm
MIDI - CATHY'S CLOWN - when the pop-up appears, hit cancel

Don't want to hear anything from that old voice
I change the station when he's on...that is pro-choice

Any good will has been flushed down
Walter Cronkite, you are such a freaking clown

That man is a clown...he's drooling food on his gown
He is the far leftists' friend...someone change his Depends
We do not want him around

He was a jerk when we fought in Vietnam
On CBS maybe we should have dropped a bomb

Any good will has been flushed down
Walter Cronkite, you are such a freaking clown

That man is a clown...he's drooling food on his gown
He is the far leftists' friend...someone change his Depends
We do not want him around

The MSM now is our sworn enemy
Those with a brain figure that out quite easily

Any good will has been flushed down
Walter Cronkite, you are such a freaking clown
A freaking clown...a freaking clown

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Thanks again for posting this on http://www.Newsmax.com , Carl/Newsmax.


CRONKITE: U.S. Should Cut-and-Run in Iraq

http://www.Newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/1/15/230704.shtml

.

[Intolerant in NJ]

...a visit to Vietnam during the Tet offensive. Urged by his boss to briefly set aside his objectivity to give his view of the situation, Cronkite said the war was unwinnable and that the U.S. should exit...We now know that the North Vietnamese were so badly beaten during the Tet offensive that their leaders were considering negotiating for peace - until they learned of the reactions of people like Cronkite, which encouraged them to continue fighting...you've got to be really stupid and astoundingly arrogant to fail to learn from a mistake like that......

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[ItsForTheChildren]

Did he say this during a Major Address? I'll only believe he's right if he said it during a Major Address. Al's giving a Major Address soon. Maybe he's say it, too! Ooh. I'll be hard to refute if it's said during a Major Address.

[devolve]

[potlatch]

Ummmm........LONG TALL SALLY??

[be nice potlatch, be nice...]

[devolve]

-

[willyboyishere]

The quote given by LBJ : "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America" is one of those fatuous self-aggrandizing , pieces of incestuous mythologizing that Media people like to chew over and resuscitate at will, because it makes them ALL feel waaaayyyyy more important than they are.

[potlatch]

Hope that ' - ' was a laugh, I'm not into code!