Tonight: A NIGHTLINE TOWN MEETING - Why Now? (ABC Stacks the Deck Against Bush!)

ABCNEWS | March 4, 2003 | Sara Just

[Dont Mention the War]

When war could be just days away, Ted Koppel will host a 90-minute town meeting tonight on the war in Iraq: WHY NOW? Has the Bush administration made its case to you? Do you support the U.S. acting without the support of a new United Nations resolution? Without the support of many of our longtime allies? Without Turkey as a military staging area? We'll talk about all of that and more - tonight.

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The scuttlebutt around Washington these days is that war is coming soon....very soon. And a majority of Americans, 6 of 10, support it. But within that support, which hasn't moved significantly in the last few weeks, there are many Americans who voice concern for the timing, among other reservations. Have all other options been exhausted? Will we act without our allies? Without another U.N. resolution? Have the consequences of the aftermath of such a war been fully explored and planned?

Tonight Ted Koppel will host a town meeting before a live audience at St. John's Episcopal Church on Lafayette Park in Washington DC, directly across the street from the White House. This is the church that is often called "the church of the Presidents" because every American president since James Madison has worshipped there. Surely more than one president has ducked into this church to offer one more prayer, or seek one more request for guidance, on the eve of war.

So, in this historic and distinguished setting, we will bring together diplomatic, political, ethical and military perspectives for a discussion on the decision to go to war with Iraq. The panelists will include:

- Joseph Wilson, former deputy chief of mission, U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
- James Woolsey, former Director of the C.I.A.
- Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan
- Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona
- Rev. Richard Land, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
- Rev. Susan Thistelthwaite, Chicago Theological Seminary

If you feel like you missed the debate over this issue in the Congress, it's because there wasn't much of one - not in recent months, anyway. So, tonight we have invited every member of Congress to attend the town meeting, to have the debate that hasn't taken place in its own chambers. Not surprisingly, only a handful of members accepted our invitation, but we are glad to have all of them, and will allow some to speak, as they do, for the Americans they represent.

We will also have a cross-section of Americans in the audience - some who are concerned that the decision to go to war is coming too quickly, others who feel that Saddam Hussein has been given ample time to disarm or step down and refused all alternatives, and still others who haven't made up their minds yet.

Have you? We hope you'll join us.

Sara Just and the Nightline staff
Senior Producer
ABC News
Washington bureau

[Dont Mention the War]

On the anti-war side, one two three four ... On the pro-war side, John McCain?!?!

[FoxGirl]

On the pro-war side, John McCain?!?!

Looks like the only one...

[Redcloak]

I have to agree. Why now? Why rush to war. We should wait. We shouldn't even consider going war until after the entire ABC News staff is going into convulsions from anthrax poisoning.

...and then only if the UN says that it's OK.

[EggsAckley]

Koppell and his lackeys should be arrested for treason, and ABC should have its license suspended.

[AZLiberty]

There's a whiff of capitulation in the air. This past weekend Hillary came out in support of Bush's actions in Iraq. Today my '60s flower-child boss, based on something he heard on Diane Rehm's show yesterday, came in and said that he thought that the war -- if won quickly -- might actually be a good thing. When he heard that his icon, HRC, had come to a similar conclusion, he was floored.

The delay strategery was won. The obvious has become, well, obvious. This week the U.N. will cave, and before we even have a chance to invade, there will be revolution from within Iraq.

[Huck]

According to Broadcasting/Cable magazine (3/4/02) "Nightline's ratings have also trended down in recent years, particularly among 18-49 year olds, the demographic that most advertisers seem to covet. Season to date, the program's 18-49 demo is down 6%, to a 1.6 (rating)."

[Shermy]

Why now?

Why not in 1998? The "Why now" campaign is a delay tactic not aiming for "proof", but that the US govt will lose it's resolve. Just like in the 1998 delay game plaayed by France.

Without the support of many of our longtime allies?

Presumes France is our ally and must be appeased. You think Koppel will bring up the French oil contracts dependent on Hussein's remaining in power? Nope.

[syriacus]

WHY NOW?

Because the infected toe (aka, Saddam) we've been trying to ignore, hasn't gotten better.

Time to go to the doctor and get some minor surgery, before the foot needs amputation.

It doesn't matter if we've been ignoring the toe 1 day, 3 weeks or a year. At some point we have to deal with it, if it doesn't heal itself.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

It's not the number of "pro" vs "anti" in any debate, it's the strength of their position and supporting facts that count.

For example, the average Freeper could effectively debate 1,500,000 human shields.

[Dont Mention the War]

Mild nitpick: ABC doesn't need a "license."

[EggsAckley]

ABC MUST have some certificate from the FCC, license, schmicense. Whatever.

[GraniteStateConservative]

McCain is plenty for our side. He can handle them by himself. I'm satisfied.

[MississippiMan]

You're thinking the guy from the Southern Baptist Convention is going to come out against Bush? Hmmm.

MM

[Texas_Jarhead]

The SBC is not anti-war so long as the war is just. There was a vrey nice thread posted the other with an article from the BP about a roundtable that the SBC had regarding war with Iraq. In case you haven't heard the SBC is nothing like the anti-war unitarians or other liberal denoms.

[mallardx]

Right on, Huck. And if my memory serves me right, wasn't Nightline the show that faked the Chevy Truck accidents by rigging them with incendiary explosives? If so, they have NO credibility whatsoever...

[browardchad]

From the Washington Times, 9/11/02:

The Southern Baptist official, the Rev. Richard Land of Nashville, Tenn., said Monday through the denomination's Baptist Press service that Saddam is developing weapons of mass destruction "at breakneck speed."

Mr. Land said war against Iraq would be defensive because of the future "human cost of not taking Hussein out and removing his government." He said the purpose would be to aid Iraq and its people, not to conquer or destroy the nation.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Here is the thread I mentioned

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/853405/posts

[brownie]

Not if the Freeper was not given a chance to speak, which is the likely outcome of this cr*p. I predict that McCAin will have a total of about 9 minutes of speaking time out of this event, tops!!

The audience will be picked so as to be slanted left, and they will ask self-serving questions of the 4 anti-war panelists, who will then reiterate why we shouldn't go to war.

McCain, on the other hand, will be asked 2 or 3 ridiculous questions, such as "isn't this just about oil?", which he will be foreced to respond to and not have time to really make much of a persuasive argument.

If the networks thought they could defeat the administrations argument for war, they would not have stacked the deck so blatantly, which is the only good I see of this cr*p.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I'll take your word for it since I don't watch Night Line.