Posted on 05/14/2004 11:24:22 PM PDT by LifeTrek
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
A British reporter says a U.S. journalist in Baghdad told him she wants to see more Iraqis die so President Bush will be thrown out of office in November.
Toby Harnden, Middle East correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph, said he engaged in the conversation while taking a break by the pool at the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Iraqi capital.
In an opinion piece for the Spectator magazine of Britain, Harnden said at poolside he "was accosted by an American magazine journalist of serious accomplishment and impeccable liberal credentials."
The American journalist told Harnden she had been disturbed by his argument that Iraqis were better off now than under Saddam Hussein.
Harnden said he heard from her the usual "script" from antiwar activists, "no WMD, no 'imminent threat' (though the point was to deal with Saddam before such a threat could emerge), a diversion from the hunt for bin Laden, enraging the Arab world, etc."
But the American then came to her point, Hernden said.
"Not only had she 'known' the Iraq war would fail but she considered it essential that it did so because this would ensure that the 'evil' George W. Bush would no longer be running her country.
"Her editors back on the East Coast were giggling, she said, over what a disaster Iraq had turned out to be. 'Lots of us talk about how awful it would be if this worked out.'"
"Startled by her candor," said Herndon, "I asked whether thousands more dead Iraqis would be a good thing."
The British journalist said, "She nodded and mumbled something about Bush needing to go."
He then suggest to her that by this logic another Sept. 11 attack, on about Sept. 11, would be perfect for pushing up John Kerry's poll numbers.
"Well, that's different that would be Americans," she said, haltingly, according to Harnden. "I guess I'm a bit of an isolationist."
In his column, Harnden then commented on the "moral degeneracy of these sentiments," concluding with:
"Whatever we thought about the war before it was launched, it is imperative that the forces of Arab nationalism and Islamism that now threaten to destroy Iraq are defeated. If America fails in Iraq it will be all of us in the West, not just Bush, who will suffer. But those who would be most in peril, of course, would be the Iraqis, who deserve better than to have their country treated as an electoral playground by the American Left or Right. To wish otherwise is as sick as the grins on the faces of the Abu Ghraib torturers."
"Leftists themselves are too cowardly to actually carry out massive terrorist" attacks.
What about eco-terrorism? I live in Seattle and we saw just how violent these wack-pukes can be during the WTO riots.
The founding fathers could not have anticipated that technological media would eventually blur, then eliminate, the distinction between journalism and entertainment.
Until the second half of the twentieth century, these were entirely separate fields of endevour. In the nineteenth century, journalism was a highly regarded profession (with some notable exceptions), while entertainers, especially actors, occupied the same social rung as prostitutes and common criminals.
Today, mass media "news" is effectively a form of entertainment and the traditionally depraved values of the acting profession have superceded those of journalism.
I agree. He's shielding a covert "Tokyo Rose" among us.
I pray we can get America back on track without such a disaster befalling us all.
That AIM Report article from November 2003 (your middle link) is terrific. Garrels comes off much better than Amanpour. My money is now on CA being the traitoress b!tch.
Not necessarily a magazine journalists. Reporters often "turn" a detail to protect someone from being outed.
I think there will be a leftist-Al Queda joint mission. The American leftists will do the recon and provide access, the AQ will come in last for the wet work.
Think about this -- a good majority of the elite in the private sector, the sector you would expect to find the most conservatism, are liberal Democrats. It is this generation, whose rebellion against America hasn't changed -- they haven't changed -- even though they've aged and many years have gone by.
They've institutionalized their rebellion in schools and institutions for nearly a generation now, so I don't think we can hope to just see them age and disappear...they've seeded their philosophies well in the generations coming up behind them.
Their goal in the 60's was to destroy America and turn it into a hippie-eco-socialist paradise with themselves forever in charge. They haven't changed. But now they have arrived at a point in their collective lives where they have the power to effect their ends. America will either change into their utopian vision (which will be no utopia at all) or it will continue to split until such time that the division becomes untenable -- and then perhaps cataclysm comes that truly Balkanizes the [former] nation into pieces.
Georgie Anne Geyer, syndicated columnist
Terri Gross, NPR's "Fresh Air"
Molly Moore, Wash. Post
Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes
Discount the part about "magazine reporter." Reporters routinely change a detail to protect someone's anonymity.
Thanks for posting that second part! Very instructive. Sounds like the VN reporters who "reported" from the hotel-top bars.
Scott, your point in #148 is true and disturbing, however the growing number of college Republicans and younger people willing to call themselves conservative reinforces my belief in the people. That is why the left have moved so forcefully in this war - they don't understand why their plans don't seem to be working.
DKK
Not so. The parcel or daypack bomb left in an office or train is the ultimate coward's weapon. Plenty of leftists would volunteer to leave one at a "right wingers' picnic" and gloat over the slaughter they caused.
My prediction: in CW2 (or DW1) the right will use rifles against specific targets, the left will use bombs against groups they hate, including women and children.
In EF&D, and included several "unsolved cases" which are interpreted through different ideological prisms.
We know which side has the guns, and is willing to use them.
It will not be a symetrical DW, and it will be almost impossible to stop the leftists from leaving their satanic bombs among us.
The bomb is the coward's weapon of choice, you can bet the leftist enemy will make terrible use of them.
San Francisco, April 2004
Good insight. One possibility is an AQ attack on a soft left target such as a major media outlet or a left-wing academic institution. As when Michael Berg blamed his son's murder on the administration, rather than the terrorists, the lefties would fall into line and blame this on Bush, further radicalizing the remaining non-violent elements.
They could also blame a more general attack on the administration, but they would be more outraged by one on their own (Remember Michael Moore condemning 9-11 for killing people other than Bush supporters?). In either case, the utter predictability of their demented reaction is a temptation that terrorists cannot ignore.
AyatollahTeddy's anti-American lickspittle on the floor of the U.S. Senate this past week proves your point!
One problem. This fits in quite nicely with the media behavior, everything from covering up WMD-related and AQ-in-Iraq info to the comments by Ellen Ratner.
So, while this may or MAY NOT have happened, I'm tending to believe it does. I've had enough discussions with leftists to think it's true on some level.
That's not completely true(getting foot in the door in HOllywood.) John Malkovich is VERY right-wing and while not a superstar gets plenty of roles AND acclaim for his performances. Bruce Willis, Schwarzenegger, Patricia Heaton, etc.
There are others, but I would say you're safer keeping your mouth shut until you become a commodity that they can't blackball.
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