Posted on 02/18/2003 9:17:58 AM PST by fight_truth_decay
The Institute for Policy Studies is a far-left, Washington, DC-based outfit, but on Friday morning its anti- liberation of Iraq expert on the subject went unlabeled by both CBS News and CNN.
When Phyllis Bennis of IPS appeared on Friday's The Early Show with Susan Sarandon to publicize the weekend's protest marches, Harry Smith, MRC analyst Brian Boyd noticed, identified Bennis simply as a "foreign policy expert."
A bit later on CNN, Maria Hinojosa set up a segment: "Joining me to talk about why they are anti-war activists are Phyllis Bennis, who is with the Institute for Policy Studies, and a Middle East expert, and Susan Sarandon."
Smith introduced the 7:30am half hour segment on the February 14 Early Show: "It is being billed as one of the largest anti-war protests ever. This weekend millions of demonstrators are expected to hit the streets worldwide to voice their protest against a possible war with Iraq. United for Peace and Justice is a coalition organizing the rallies here in the United States. Actress Susan Sarandon and foreign policy expert Phyllis Bennis are here to tell us more about it."
A bit later, on CNN's American Morning, Maria Hinojosa handled the remote interview: "We're here inside a union building on 42nd Street, and this has become the headquarters of what they say is an international movement to stop a possible war in Iraq. The organization is called United for Peace and Justice, and joining me to talk about why they are anti-war activists are Phyllis Bennis, who is with the Institute for Policy Studies, and a Middle East expert, and Susan Sarandon..."
Hinojosa's first "question" to Sarandon: "Susan, there might be some people who say that they might not agree with this war, but they don't necessarily want to take to the streets, because they're worried about seeing -- being seen as unpatriotic. Why, as an American citizen, do you think it's important to stand out and step up now?"
The IPS Web site, which will give you a flavor of its agenda.
For a paper by Bennis, "Understanding the U.S.-Iraq Crisis: A Primer.
Bennis on Donahue Excerpt:
PHYLLIS BENNIS, FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES: I would say that we have not seen a convincing case made for war. For two reasons. One, we can document each of the various allegations that were made. And they were allegations made by General Powell today. He told us that the pictures we saw of trucks, big trucks with things on them, were mobile laboratories, for instance. I don’t know that they were mobile laboratories. The only mobile laboratory we saw was a drawing, a children’s drawing, of what they probably look like inside. I could have drawn them. I didn’t, but they were not photographs. That’s one aspect of it.
The other aspect which I think is even more important, Phil, is the question of what if? The what if test. What if everything General Powell said is true? Does it make the case for war? And that’s where I think the clear answer is no. And it’s for that reason that all of the ambassadors and the foreign ministers, who were at the United Nations today with General Powell, afterwards, as well as Kofi Annan, all said the inspections should continue, with the exception of three of them. I think that tells us something.
DONAHUE: I want your comment on this. Powell presented the council with, as you know, with a secretly recorded telephone conversation between Iraqi military officers. This appears to be a conversation-I’m going to try and read this, this in Arabic with Iraqi dialect. It’s a conversation instructing an underling to make sure ammo is removed. Take a listen. For fuzzy TV reception, I’ll read the dialogue. Roll the tape.
“Peace. We just have a small question” “Yes.” “About this committee that is coming” “Yes, yes” “With Mohammed ElBaradei.” “Yes, yes “Yes.” “Yes?” “We have this modified vehicle” “Yes.” “What do we say if one of them sees it?” “You didn’t get a modified-You don’t have a modified - ” “By God, I have one” “Which? From the workshop?” “From the al-Kindi company” “What?” “From al-Kindi.” “Yes, yes. I’ll come to you in the morning. I have some comments. I’m worried you all have something left” “We evacuated everything. We don’t have anything left” OI will come to you tomorrow” OOK.O OI have a conference at Headquarters. Before I attend the conference I will come to you”
That sounds damning to you, doesn’t it?
KEN ALLARD, MILITARY ANALYST, MSNBC: I love it. I have to tell you. I’m a former intelligence officer, and I would tell that you that that sounds very, very much like the disciplines that I used to be engaged in. What you heard was a tactical conversation among two Iraqi officers. And it is the classic thing that you hear any time that there’s any kind of an inspection.
We used to worry about I.G. inspections every year. And would you pass on intelligence about hey, this is what they’re looking for. And what you heard there, essentially, were two gentlemen in the act of conspiracy. And oh, by the way, the enemy, in this case, is us. We were listening. Glad we were.
DONAHUE: Miss Bennis?
BENNIS: I don’t have a clue where or when or whom these tapes were made of. General Powell tells us that they were picked up by satellite transmissions. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. If they were, let’s let the other countries do their own independent investigations, and prove that. I just don’t know.
I.F. Stone himself leaves unanswered questions:
I. F. Stone,the KGB,free lunches, and mountains built of molehills.
The Institute for Policy Studies is a far-left, Washington, DC-based outfit, but on Friday morning its anti- liberation of Iraq expert on the subject went unlabeled by both CBS News and CNN.
LMAO!
Ms. Bennis, the point is that the United States is responsible for its own security, and will take whatever actions it deems necessary to protect itself. It doesn't matter what the UN members -- including human rights violator Zimbabwe and terrorism sponsor Syria -- or the UN bureaucracy seek to impose on America.
This country will protect itself and its citizens. Period.
Sarandon: "First of all, that's a horrible thing to think that in America you’d be afraid to take to the streets. I mean, what does that say right there about our civil liberties, this whole premise of saying you're either with us or against us has set a horrible precedent, and the fear and the hurt from the 11th has been hijacked into trying to make some leap about this war that is not in any way connected to the 11th, and we've had no evidence that it is. And as long as our representatives are not engaging in a healthy debate, I think it's important for the American people to exercise not only their right, but their responsibility to say we're not getting on to this preemptive strike which is a whole new thing. It's going to be very expensive. We've not been told enough about it. The case has not been made. We're not going to war on spec. And as a mom, I'm terrified. I mean, I live in New York. We saw what happened. I've just come back from France and India, all over Europe, and the rest of the world is not buying this. So we're acting alone, and it's going to make it much, much more dangerous, the world and the United States, if we start dropping bombs on Iraq without any reason."
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