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Richard Clarke on GMA: With Zarqawi Dead, Iraq No Safer, War's End No Closer
GMA/NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

Posted on 06/08/2006 7:57:13 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest

by Mark Finkelstein

June 8, 2006 - 10:37.

Interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America this morning, Richard Clarke - former White House advisor, turned author and bitter Bush-administration critic - scoffed at the significance of the killing of Zarqawi.

GMA: "First question has to be this morning, is it any safer in Iraq and will the war end any sooner?"

Clarke: "Well, unfortunately the answer is no. The man was a terrible man. He was a symbol of terrorism. He was the face of terrorism, the only real name we knew of a [terrorist] leader in Iraq. But he commanded only a few hundred people out of tens of thousands involved in the insurgency. So, unfortunately for the loved ones of troops over in Iraq, this is not going to mean a big difference."

GMA was only too happy to run with Clarke's lead: "He was not the one targeting the most american troops. Those are the I.E.D.'S by other terrorists, right?"

Clarke: "That's right. What we can say about Zarqawi is he was responsible for many of the big attacks on things like the U.N. Headquarters, the Red Cross headquarters, the hotels in Jordan and he personally was involved in beheadings. But in terms of what is making life difficult for American troops, these improvised explosive devices by the side of the road, that really wasn't Zarqawi."

Yet more negative spin from GMA: "For the Iraqi people, as we pointed out earlier, just this morning there was another car bombing in a marketplace in iraq, 19 people dead, more than 40 wounded."

And in perhaps the most negative MSM spin yet, GMA added this: "So for overall terrorism against the U.S., again, it's not a major effect."

A real Clarke-MSM love in, with one mutual goal - downplaying the importance of Zarqawi's death.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bittertwink; ciaversionofmorford; dontaskdonttell; gma; iraq; mediabias; msmmourningzaqwi; msmmourningzarqawi; pancakemakeup; richardclarke; wot; zarqawi; zarqawikilled
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
Got to move move move those goalposts!!! Got to root root for American retreat. Your political fortunes are tied to it, so down with America if it means George Bush's defeat!!!

And now, a tick tock of the goalposts:

-We will never get to Baghdad and are bogged down,
-Ok, we got to Baghdad, but will never stop the looting,
-Ok, we stopped the looting, but what about Saddam, we will never get him or his sons.
-Oh, and where are those WMDs?
-They were moved? Saddam still had capacity!?! Sorry, nothing less than a nuclear bomb will do.
-Ok, we got Saddam's sons, but not Saddam.
-Fine, we got Saddam, but did not have a suitcase nuke in his possession (see no WMD's) and Iraq is no safer. What about an Iraqi government, we will never form that.
-Ok, we formed a provisional government, but it wasn't elected and elections will be a disaster, a slaughter.
-Ok, there were elections, but the Sunnis didn't vote this government is not legitimate. Oh and where are those WMDs?
-What, audio tapes of Saddam discussing WMD's, Saddam's generals talking about WMD's, sorry, we hit the ignore button.
-Ok, you can't stop the insurgency. It has widespread support amongst the Iraqi's. Zarqawi is free and will never be caught or killed.
-Ok, so you had another election and the Sunnis participated, but the Iraqis will never be able to form a government.
-See, we told you so and now there is wide spread civil war. Civil War, we told you Iraq was a failure!!!!
-Ok, they formed a government, but it will not be able to appoint key members and stop the widespread civil war.
-Who said anything about a civil war, its the violence caused by the insurgency and the unstoppable Zarqawi.
-See, we told you our soldiers are baby killers, just look at the Haditha massacre where we are making up our own official report based on anonymous sources who may have seen the official report.
-Ok, So you killed Zarqawi, but nothing will change, Iraq is Vietnam. Our marines are baby killers. DOWN WITH THE EVIL GREAT SATAN AMERICAN DOGS!!!

Sincerely yours,

The democrat party, the MSM, Kristin Notsobreitweiser, Cindy Sheehan, Richard Clarke, Joe Wilson, Hollywood, and a whole host of kooks.
61 posted on 06/08/2006 8:27:00 AM PDT by FlipWilson
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To: Numbers Guy

They'll get around to it right after they go after Clinton holdover George Tenent for saying the WMD's in Iraq was "A slam dunk", based on the intel his CIA had gathered over his tenure.


62 posted on 06/08/2006 8:27:30 AM PDT by massgopguy (massgopguy)
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To: Grampa Dave

Yes .. we need to keep track of this

I am just flabbergasted at their reaction of this news

I know I shouldn't be ... but I am


63 posted on 06/08/2006 8:28:10 AM PDT by Mo1 (DEMOCRATS: A CULTURE OF TREASON)
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To: Dog

The responses of the MSM and the rats like Clark need to be saved to bash them with their own words until they just fade away.


64 posted on 06/08/2006 8:28:35 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (There's a dwindling market for Marxist Homosexual Lunatic wet dreams posing as journalism)
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To: Fenris6
Didn't Clarke say the same thing when we got Saddam?

Are you suggesting he was incorrect regarding the capture of Saddam?

IOW, Clarke's a scumbag, but if you're going to discredit him, using his predictions regarding Saddam is a poor approach to the argument.

65 posted on 06/08/2006 8:28:43 AM PDT by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

I'm not absolutely sure....but I think Clarke said the al Zarqawi was the big hit to go for. It would change the equation.


66 posted on 06/08/2006 8:28:57 AM PDT by Sacajaweau (God Bless Our Troops!!)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
"Clarke: "Well, unfortunately the answer is no. The man was a terrible man. He was a symbol of terrorism. He was the face of terrorism, the only real name we knew of a [terrorist] leader in Iraq. But he commanded only a few hundred people out of tens of thousands involved in the insurgency. So, unfortunately for the loved ones of troops over in Iraq, this is not going to mean a big difference." Funny, Clarke used to sing a different tune about Zarqawi - he said he was responsible for the insurgency in the first place:

Richard A. Clarke’s address to participants in the Watson Institute Dialogue among Americans, Russians, and European (DARE) Project, Yale Club, New York, November 28, 2005

The fourth phase, the growth of the insurgency. It took a year, and we now tend to forget that fact. The first year that the United States was in Iraq, there wasn’t much of an insurgency problem. Many people in Iraq accepted the American presence, they expected the United States to deliver a reasonably different circumstance, an improved circumstance from the Saddam Hussein regime. But by phase four, the growth of the insurgency, it became clear to many that the United States was not going to do that. This fellow Zarqarwi from Jordan, had previously been arrested, tried by the Jordanians, and released after a period of imprisonment. Zarqarwi emerged as a significant figure...Zarqarwi was important during this period of growth in the insurgency because of his ability to organize the so-called foreign fighter element. His ability to reach into Saudi Arabia, and recruit using the old al-Qaeda network. Recruit Saudis to come and fight in Iraq, and eventually, his ability to tie in to the old al-Qaeda network, and recruit hundreds of Europeans—a number perhaps somewhere between, 400 and 800 European Muslims to come to Iraq.

Why do liberals always forget that the pajamadeen can do Google searches?

67 posted on 06/08/2006 8:29:22 AM PDT by dirtboy (When Bush is on the same side as Ted the Swimmer on an issue, you know he's up to no good...)
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To: Mo1

I'm sure they had focus groups of who to have trot out when the Z pig was finally killed.

Berg and Clarke, are two vile pos who should be tried for sedition.


68 posted on 06/08/2006 8:30:08 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (There's a dwindling market for Marxist Homosexual Lunatic wet dreams posing as journalism)
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To: Numbers Guy

Unfortunately, no one has ever asked Clarke why Secy of State Baker fired him from the State Department. Or, for that matter, why that simp Scowcroft found him a job at the NSC.


69 posted on 06/08/2006 8:30:52 AM PDT by gaspar
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To: dirtboy; backhoe; Cindy; Ernest_at_the_Beach; TXKat

Great find.

Again we thank Global Warming Goron for inventing the internet.


70 posted on 06/08/2006 8:31:35 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (There's a dwindling market for Marxist Homosexual Lunatic wet dreams posing as journalism)
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To: Grampa Dave
I just made a bookmark for my files and called it Media in mourning over Zarqawi
71 posted on 06/08/2006 8:33:15 AM PDT by Mo1 (DEMOCRATS: A CULTURE OF TREASON)
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To: ExTexasRedhead


Exactly, Red.


72 posted on 06/08/2006 8:33:55 AM PDT by in hoc signo vinces ("Houston, TX...a waiting quagmire for jihadis. American gals are worth fighting for!")
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To: Mo1

Thanks. From your reply I came up with a new key word:

"MSMMOURNINGZARQAWI"


73 posted on 06/08/2006 8:36:57 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (There's a dwindling market for Marxist Homosexual Lunatic wet dreams posing as journalism)
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To: DCPatriot
Are you suggesting he was incorrect regarding the capture of Saddam?

Yes. Are you suggesting that Saddam's capture did not make Iraq safer? Do you really think the natives would have given us intel on Zarqawi's location if Saddam was still "out there somewhere" waiting to be restored to power?

74 posted on 06/08/2006 8:37:10 AM PDT by Fenris6 (3 Purple Hearts in 4 months w/o missing a day of work? He's either John Rambo or a Fraud)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

When Harold caught an arrow in his eye his army ran and William went on to become king. Not saying that that will happen but you just know that Al Quaida is demoralized and that is a good thing!


75 posted on 06/08/2006 8:37:31 AM PDT by mrsparkle
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
[ Richard Clarke on GMA: With Zarqawi Dead, Iraq No Safer, War's End No Closer ]

BUT; there WILL BE a distraction from the Mexican Border for a couple of weeks..
After a couple of weeks there will be something else...

76 posted on 06/08/2006 8:38:26 AM PDT by hosepipe (CAUTION: This propaganda is laced with hyperbole..)
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To: Fenris6
Didn't Clarke say the same thing when we got Saddam?

Don't know about Dickie, but Howard Dean certainly said it.

77 posted on 06/08/2006 8:42:25 AM PDT by Christian4Bush (Lefties will claim to the death that they have the right to speak freely. Well, so do I.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

Liberal taking points: "Lefties lost, but here's how that's a good thing..."


78 posted on 06/08/2006 8:42:27 AM PDT by Libertina
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To: rhombus
Only in America, are there enough "liberal" assholes that incompetent feckless imbeciles like Clark, Halfbright, Clinton, Murtha, Biden, Kennedy, Durbin, etc, etc., get rated as "sources" for any "intelligent" comment...

In a sane world -- the bastards would be unemployed, incarcerated or taking their eternal dirt nap.

Semper Fi
79 posted on 06/08/2006 8:43:53 AM PDT by river rat (You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

Richard Clarke is dead???


80 posted on 06/08/2006 8:44:13 AM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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