O'Neil on Nightline now

[Nat2004]

O'Neil is taking Ted Koppel apart right now and Koppel is trying to keep him from talking. this is real good.

[occutegirl]

WOW

[occutegirl]

Being on TV? Party boss told them too? Dan Rather asked them to?

[occutegirl]

Being on TV? Party boss told them too? Dan Rather asked them to?

[Jim_Curtis]

O'Neil should have asked Koppel if he thought/was charging that Kerry lied to his Biography?

Sounds good but it's a Koppel trap. Koppel would start talking about the different perspective of this new group of folks and that would be his opening to plant in his audiences' mind "maybe things were more complicated, had different perspectives" and that would leave O'Neill looking like he asked a question that he was willing to score points on either way Koppel answered which would plant the idea that O'Neill was out to score points against Kerry rather than paint a picture of what actually happened.

[cgk]

I have NO idea how to do that. We do have a capture card but the last time I tried to record a video clip from TV (Estrich drunk on Hannity & Colmes) there was no SOUND.

[Pharlap]

What arrangements with North Vietnamese government did ABC (Koppels staff) make and when were they made? The NV would not allow such a trip to occur, including interviews, without knowing precisely what ABC wanted. The NV would then prep the villagers (or, put their own people into the village) to tell ABC exactly what the NV government wanted ABC to hear. Kerry is a hero to the NV (look at their museum that commemorates the war). Kerry has befriended NV. NV wants Kerry to be in power to further help NV interests. Get the details surrounding the trip and analyze exactly what was said by the "villagers" and it will show the nature and extent of the "set up" to give ABC exactly what the NV government wanted ABC to have. ABC, based on Koppel's demeanor and questioning, was a willing accomplice to the NV government. But, analyze what was said from the standpoint of the interests of the NV government. Especially, compare what the villager said to what the available written record (e.g., the after action reports) provides. The statements by the villagers seek to corroborate what the "record" says, rather than what they would have seen. More happened from the villagers' perspective than what was reported; but, they appear to address what Kerry was supposed to have done. Thus, the focus on the one NV person who was killed, not what all the other villagers were doing (other than watching).

[Jenya]

I just wrote about this and sent it to Drudge, Rush and Hannity. Kerry lied in his military reports and book interviews. That date on the tombstone doesn't add up either.

[Former Military Chick]

I so agree, just watching it now.

[PhilipFreneau]

>> What did he end with...his general comments?

Paraphrasing, "You know we will be straight with you. If the research had been unfavorable to John Kerry, we would reported it as such. Etc.."

Koppel implied that we could trust Nightline, but not the Swifties (without using those exact words). Of course, any one with half an objective brain would know that Koppel was biased as hell and lying his ass off to help his commie buddy, John Kerry, get elected.

[B-Cause]

Bump

Thanks Pharlap - excellent analysis

[Former Military Chick]

Excellent posts. You know, I wish there was a way to put this on the net. There are soldiers serving in Iraq, that are falling into the Kerry trap that would be aided by seeing this -- perhaps if you or anyone else on the thread has an idea I would appreciate it. Even if it is just the treanscript!

Maybe on the Swiftee's website. Of course would ABC allow this to be re-aired over the net? I am so outraged of what I observed that I think everyone should see it.

[Proud Conservative2]

Nightline's e-mail address:

niteline@abc.com

[Samwise]

Am I the only one who thought it odd that Koppel didn't say anything about the weapons supposedly buried in the garden? I figured he would try to dig them up.

The Kerry-led crew killed one man, burned civilian huts, but missed the weapons cache that was later used in large operations.

Kerry missed the weapons but complains about Bush dropping the ball on Osama?

What am I missing?

[Proud Conservative2]

and here's mine:

Enough is Enough! Your phony Nightline tonight has cost you this viewer and extended family. As of the end of Nightline, I will no longer watch ANY ABC programming and will certainly spend the days ahead notifying your advertisers.

The very minimal investigative reporting would have included asking why Kerry will not sign a 180 if he has nothing to hide. I can't for the life of me understand why the main stream news media is pushing so hard to get a man of no principles and no character elected.

Your credibility is in the crapper right alongside CBS. SHAME ON YOU!

[TheCrusader]

"Hey, someone should get ahold of those peasants and find out how much ABC paid them to lie! All you'd have to do is pay them to tell the truth."

LOL, great line. And a great idea too.

[A CA Guy]

I wonder if the west coast version will get edited?

[Anti-Bubba182]

Koppel in his report overlooks the point that where Kerry was at the time of the shooting incident that there was only one VC. The Nightline Report said that the area was overgrown with mangrove and the whole action ranged the length of the canal(we are not told how long the canal was.

It is entirely possible that the people there shooting up the place are not aware of the true numbers of the other side. The place is overgrown, the VC hide very well and there is the general confusion of the shooting.

There are different specific locations of the action and while one part may have many VC, others may have less or even individuals. Because the area is so overgrown and there is a lot of fire from the Swiftboats, Nobody has a crystal clear view of what exactly is happening other than in their area. The after action reports and recollections relied on by Kerry, the Swiftboat Vets and others are entirely from the American point of view. Obviously they could not interview the VC as to their troop dispositions and perceptions at the time and what they say now is largely irrelevant to what went on in the awarding of the medal. Were most of these VC fighting or actually hiding? There was a lot of firepower comming at them fast and ducking in the bunker was a good idea. Several of the VC said they were doing that.

There is no way to know how exactly the citation including the "superior enemy force" was arrived at, or if that language was simply boilerplate added to make the citation look better. There were 3 versions of the citation. Why didn't Koppel ask about that?

[jimbokun]

"It would be like interviewing native cubans about Fidel in Havana, how could you expect the answers to be untainted by the government. "

I remember a lot of "journalists" doing exactly that in Iraq in the run up to the war, asking civilians what they "thought" about being attacked by the U.S., with government minders standing right there.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Koppel was so smug, arrogant and sarcastic. He would not shut up and kept interrupting. When he finally did shut up, he flippantly acted like he never got the clear answers that he got. He ordered him to put all the books down, badgering him like a child! I am so glad he got exposed for the fool he is. He has been asking for it for a long long time.

[L.N. Smithee]

I am in the process of watching this on the Pacific Coast as I type. The thing that jumped out at me from the git-go was that Nightline DID NOT INITIATE THIS STORY. Ted said -- and I will check this later when I can review the recording I am making -- that they were APPROACHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCER.