Ted Koppel Tells Shocking Truth About Iraq and War on Terror (Updated w-videos)

NewsBusters.org ^ | Noel Sheppard

[SandRat]

Former “Nightline” anchor Ted Koppel was one of Tim Russert’s guests on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” As amazing as it might seem, he made some truly shocking and compelling statements about the Iraq war and the war on terror that virtually no Democrat or media member is willing to accept or report:

• First, Koppel made it clear that America’s premature departure from Iraq would turn the entire Persian Gulf region into a battlefield between Sunnis and Shia, “something the United States cannot allow to happen”
• Second, he said the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are part of the war on terror that “has been going on for the past 24 years” starting when “the precursors of Hezbollah blew up the U.S. marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon” in 1983 
• Finally, he stated that America’s departure from Iraq and Afghanistan, regardless of when it occurs, will not represent the end of this battle, but, instead, that it is just “going to be a different war” after that point. 

Here are the shocking excerpts (MSN video available here with segment 1 at minute 14:10, segment 2 at minute 19:00, and segment 3 here):

Koppel: I made a little note here of something that Ambassador Khalilzad said to you a moment ago. He said, “The region will not be stable until Iraq is stabilized.” It’s the one thing nobody talks about. Everyone is concerned about the United States being in the middle of a civil war inside Iraq. But they forget about the fact that if U.S. troops were to pull out of Iraq, that civil war could become a regional war between Sunnis and Shia. And the region, just in case anyone has forgotten, is the Persian Gulf, where we get most of our oil, and, I’ve talked about this before, natural gas. So, the idea of pulling out of there and letting the region, letting the national civil war expand into a regional civil war, something the United States cannot allow to happen.   

Amazing. For those interested, I wrote an article about this very subject in November. I must say I find it extraordinary that any major media figure is coming out so strongly and making such a declaration, especially on such a popular Sunday talk show.

Yet, the best was still to come, as a little later on in the discussion, Russert asked Koppel a very telling question:

Ted Koppel, you are tonight airing on the Discover Channel a special called “Our Children’s Children’s War,” the “long war” as you call it repeatedly, that this war on terror is much more than just Iraq, and it’s going to go on for a long time.

Amazing. Did Tim Russert just accidentally admit that the war in Iraq is indeed a part of the war on terror? Shocking. Yet, not close to as shocking as Koppel’s answer:

It could go on, I mean, Gen. Abizaid with whom I spoke talked into terms of generations. And, if you think about two things, that’s not so hard to imagine. Number one, the Cold War after all, lasted 50 years. Uh, we didn’t know it when we began it. We didn’t know it, we didn’t know how long it was going to be when we were in the middle of it. But, it lasted half a century.

If you look back at the elements of the war against terrorism, that war was going on, and has been going on for the past 24 years. We just didn’t connect the dots. 24 years ago, the precursors of Hezbollah blew up the U.S. marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. That was 1983, 241 Americans killed. In the interim between then and now you had two attacks on the World Trade Center, you had the blowing up of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, you had the attempt to blow up the U.S.S. Cole, you had the bombing of the two U.S. embassies in East Africa. This war’s already been going on for 24 years; we were just a little bit slow to recognize it.   

Amazing. How many members of the Democrat Party or their media minions are willing to make such a claim? While you ponder that question, here was the third extraordinary statement by Koppel:

I see a lot of wishful thinking going on here in Washington right now. I mean when Congress talks about, first of all, setting these these milestones. And, the irony is if the Iraqis successfully meet the milestones, the implication is we stay. If they fail to meet the milestones we leave. That doesn’t make any sense at all. It ought to be the other way around. If they fail, we stay because they need us. If they succeed, we can start to pull out again.

So, I, I have this feeling that on the one hand, the Democrats are making a great deal of hay out of saying we have to get out of Iraq, and indeed we do at some point or another. But the notion that the war will be over when we pull out of Iraq, and even when we pull out of Afghanistan, you heard what Gen. Abizaid had to say, it’s not going to be over. It’s going to be a different war, but the war continues.

Wow. Shocking stuff that you won’t hear from most of the left, and virtually all of the media who are calling for troop withdrawals.

Bravo, Ted. Nicely done.

[bnelson44]

Please spread the word about an appeal for redress that people in the military can sign to show support for the mission:

www.appealforcourage.org

[Just sayin]

I didn't know wet paint smelled that odoriferous.

Now your talkin'!

I have to wonder if the sheeple even noticed the shift in analysis that you point out by icon's of the MSM.

I recently saw a reporter for the New York Times (Sorry, I forget his name but suspect he is British per his accent) talking with Tim Russert. He was saying things along the same lines you point out here. Timmy was visually taken aback and didn't quite know how to react.

The sheeple danger I sense now is that people will say that all this has changed because Democrats hold power in the Congress. I hope people do not fall for that....again.

[LdSentinal]

Ted Koppel is Libertarian. I never understood the hatred spewed forth towards him on FR. Other than the fact that he worked for ABC.

A libertarian? I truly doubt that. The hatred is justified considering he was a Clinton shill and shilled for John Kerry on 2004.

Just because he speaks the truth this one time doesn't mean he's turned the corner.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

Time to head over to the DummieUnderground and watch the heads exlode!

 

Heh, heh! This is going to be great!

---

Any bets on what PJ's "Dummie Funnies" will feature tomorrow?

[SoCalPol]

Ping

Ted Koppel Tells Shocking Truth About Iraq and War on Terror (Updated w-videos)

He gets it!

[RJS1950]

Koppel said that?!!!?

I stopped listening to the lop-eared fluff-head many years ago.

What kind of an epiphany did he have?

[Quix]

Where did Koppel buy a brain?

I know a lot of people I'd like to refer to the same place.

Great news.

Shocking. Did the puppet masters change their tune or did he resign?

[mad_as_he$$]

Wow Koppel in a lucid moment!

FWIW I loved the Boeing ad, it was very well done.

[CT102ndInfSister]

Hey, Rush was right. He said the tide of information is turning. The Dems can't even count on their MSM telling their lies anymore. It will be interesting to see how the poll watchers start flipping around with their opinions and stances on the war. Hitlery is already changing her stance... granted, it's the wrong stance but, hey, she's always on the wrong side of things.

[Kaslin]

The left thinks tha tmost of our oil comes from Saudi Arabia, when in fact it comes from Canada

Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries

[bnelson44]

He said something similar about the total war on terror on Colbert this week:

http://www.colbertnation.com/?p=689

[SandRat]

Must have been struck on the road to perdition and had a conversion to the light.

[M203M4]

Second, he said the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are part of the war on terror that “has been going on for the past 24 years” starting when “the precursors of Hezbollah blew up the U.S. marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon” in 1983

Longer if you count Israel as an ally. But this statement highlights something else interesting.

I offer this especially to fans of science-historian James Burke, in particular, fans of his "Connections" columns that used to be found at the back of each Scientific American magazine:

Who bombed the US marine barracks in Beirut in 1983? Yes, a precursor of Hezbollah, but does anyone want a name of the organization? Answer: Islamic Dawa, a shiite party formed by Muhammad Baqr al-Sadr (uncle of the al-Sadr so dear to our hearts), an Iranian-backed group that, in addition, operated out of Iraq in many operations against Saddam Hussein.

In addition to murdering more than 240 marines in Lebanon that year, the Islamic Dawa Party also bombed the airport, oil infrastructure, the French and American embassies, and a civilian compound housing employees of Raytheon Corp in Kuwait. Around 20 Dawa Party terrorists were arrested and charged for these attacks, among them one Jamal Jafaar Mohaamed. Held awaiting execution, Jamal was freed in a daring operation by Hezbollah operatives and today is among the most powerful politicians composing the leadership of a middle-eastern nation - he, a murderer of hundreds of Americans, including 241 marines.

Where is Jamal Jafaar Mohaamed, and where is Islamic Dawa today? In the mid-1980's, Islamic Dawa, reeling from Saddam's crackdown following the group's assassination attempt(s) against him, formed the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and among its leaders (upon his escape from Kuwait engineering by Hezbollah) was, and still is, one Jamal Jafaar Mohaamed. In 2005, this political entity joined the United Iraqi Alliance, and today is included in the ruling coalition governing Iraq. As well, it is arguably the most powerful group within today's Iraqi Council of Representatives.

Let's go back to Damascus, 1983, seat of power for the Islamic factions running amok in Lebanon (Beirut in particular). The Islamic Dawa chief in Damascus was, three years earlier, sentenced to death by Saddam Hussein. Having fled Iraq for Syria, this man continued to be among the most powerful Dawa leaders until the organization's restructering, assuming the head role at the group's Jihad Office. It is all but assured that an Islamic Dawa's Jihad Office leader would have played at least a planning role in the 1983 bombing in Beirut - making him an accessory to the murder of 241 American marines. Who is this man, where is he now, was he ever brought to justice? His name is Nouri al-Maliki. You tell me.

[Tunehead54]

Bump! ;-)

[Quix]

That would be WONDERFUL.

SOMETHING must have happened. Curious.

Very thankful but curious.

[visualops]

Check it out.

[Doctor Raoul]

Ted Koppel is Libertarian. I never understood the hatred spewed forth towards him on FR.

I don'tr care who's having sex with, but ask kristinn how Kopel set up a sham audinece for a one sided "debate" on the war.

[bnelson44]

DSC — Koppel: Our Children's Children's War
MAR 11 2007
@ 09:00 PM

MAR 12 2007
@ 01:00 AM

Many think the war on terror will end with a withdrawal from Iraq or a stable government in Afghanistan. While the world focuses on those two conflicts, the U.S. military is preparing to fight a war that may last for generations, a war that may never end.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=0&cpi=25450&gid=0&channel=DSC

also see:

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/koppel.html

[bnelson44]

Time is ET/PT

[syriacus]

It's amazing that Koppel would say those things.