U.S. journalist wants war to failEditors believe it would ensure 'evil' Bush ousted

Worldnet Daily ^ | May 15, 2004 | WND

[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."

[LifeTrek]

Good work, I will take a few minutes tomorrow to review some of these articles. Interesting that she was able to turn the Presidents T-giving trip as negative!

I normally can't stand Geraldo - everything is always SOOO dramatic (did you see him getting shot at in Iraq - first words out of his mouth weren't to see if his brother was okay, but to see if he got it on tape!) so I would never have caught her interview.
DKK

[Travis McGee]

Sounds like we've found our traitorous home-grown Tokyo Rose reporterette mole!

[Squantos]

We need to e-mail Toby Harnden, refer to the article, and ask him why he thinks Walts hate is so intense for all things American ?

See if we get a nibble ? I realize were using stink bait but hey ......they "are" presstitutes and thus bottom feeders........:o)

Stay Safe !

[Bigg Red]

I think it is because he is "nuanced"...

***

I agree with what you said, but I think you meant to say

I think it is because he is NOT "nuanced"...

[Bigg Red]

Oops! Saw your correction re "nuanced" after I posted my previous response.

[RGVTx]

Harnden's article was published on May 15, 2004. In it he says:
"The other day, while taking a break by the Al-Hamra Hotel pool, fringed with the usual cast of tattooed defence contractors, I was accosted by an American magazine journalist of serious accomplishment and impeccable liberal credentials."

This gives somewhat of a timeline for this encounter. We know it was before May 15 and probably within a few days prior to that day since he says "The other day..."

"The other day" indicates it was less than a week before he wrote the story after being accosted. Or perhaps a week or so before at the most.

I found this on Vivienne Walt:
Saturday, May. 08, 2004 By VIVIENNE WALT / BAGHDAD

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,634638,00.html

So we know she was in Baghdad the week before Harnden reports being accosted by an American mag journalist.

[LifeTrek]

Hey thanks TGVTx,

Can anyone check to see what reporters were at the Al Hamra? That should reduce the number of options - Of course it isn't Fox, they are at the Sheraton.
DKK

[RGVTx]

Just wanted to add to my last post that we also know Walt was in Baghdad on 5-16-04 because I saw her reporting from there on Fox News with Geraldo. So she definiately was in Baghdad during the right time frame.

I've also found Walt's byline on reports from Iraq for Feb, March and April 2004, as well as many during 2003.

Can anyone answer the question of 'Where does Time Mag employees stay when in Baghdad?'

I'm doing some searching in hopes of finding a mention of Time and Al Hamra hotel.