|
|
|
 > |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Posted on 07/15/2003 4:40:59 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
In the course of just-completed interviews on The Today Show, Katie Couric wondered aloud whether, with respect to the justification for the war with Iraq, President Bush engaged in "a pattern of deception."
Couric's guests were Senators Ted Kennedy and Republican Richard Shelby.
Couric began with Kennedy, and started by lobbing him the softest of softballs: "We've seen a firestorm erupt. What is the most upsetting thing?"
When Kennedy wandered too much into suggestions that NATO and other troops share part of the burden in Iraq, Katie yanked him bank to where she wanted to go - an attack on President Bush. Thus she stated: "Let's get back to charges that Bush administration manipulated intelligence."
Kennedy obligingly stated that "the buck stops in White House. The administration trying to pin the blame on CIA head George Tenet. The President's credibility is at stake. There should be open congressional hearings."
In fairness, it should be reported that Couric concluded the interview with Kennedy by asking: "How do you get to bottom of the issue without politicizing it too much? Dem presidential contenders are obviously seizing on it."
Of course her pious words were belied by the thrust of her interviews, particularly when she turned to Republican Shelby. Gone were the softballs, replaced by high-hard ones under the chin.
Couric: "The basic question is why Pres. Bush included in the State of the Union the statement about Saddam seeking nuclear materials in Africa when Tenet told him not to include it in an earlier speech and Colin Powell was also uncomfortable with it?"
Shelby responded: "I believe however that Pres. Bush's policy on Iraq is sound, but the CIA didn't serve President well in this instance."
Couric literally couldn't contain herself, and interrupted him, shouting "But the CIA told him in October not to keep it in! Is it the CIA's or the White House's fault?"
Couric then employed one of her favorite techniques: quoting the liberal press to make a point she wouldn't dare make in her own name. Thus she quoted that bastion of objectivity and high journalistic standards, the NY Times editorial page, to this effect:
"'The British made us do it' defense would be more credible if British intelligence had a better track record for accuracy. In fact, the British relied on unverified internet reports."
Once again, Shelby retorted that the policy of Bush administration was sound, but that it was not well-served by the CIA.
Finally, referring to the controversy surrounding Pres. Bush's allegation that Saddam had obtained aluminum tubes for purposes of his nuclear program, Katie dropped this bombshell: "Could the Bush administration be seen to be engaging in a pattern of deception?"
|
|
|
|
> |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Couric and NBC salute Americans and patriots worldwide.
Kennedy up and at em this early in the morning, signals how seriously the Dems are going after Bush. (Like Terry McAuliffe on MSNBC's Press & Buchanan yesterday).
And I noticed Kennedy's line of attack: He said Bush had a failed policy toward Iraq...That we were "Bankrupt, adrift, and the ones paying the price....American soldiers."
Kennedy's main point: "We have got to bring in the international agencies. Kofie Anon said this administration has not even talked to the UN. So says Kennedy. Then Kennedy says, "I don't believe we faced an imminent threat from Saddam...Al Quada was and is the real danger.
Kennedy finished off with, "Iraq isn't America's problem, it's the world's problem."
We're beginning to see that Ann Coulter's thesis about these people in the book Treason is correct.
The United States has a huge strategic interest in being in Iraq. We needed to remove an Arab dictator, to show the other Arab dictators that it could be done. We needed to shift our base of operations from a hostile country, Saudi Arabia, to a newly created Arab democracy. We needed to remove any possibility that Iraq would be used as a base for terrorist operations, and a source of materials for terrorists. The operation also destabilised the dictatorship in Iran. These are four huge strategic goals achieved for America, and we nailed a sadistic, vicious mass-murderer to boot.
Katie Couric would have attacked the Normandy invasion as unjustified if she'd been around in 1944.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.