U.S. officials predict Iran blowback.
“U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide,” the Washington Post reports. There is “a growing consensus that Iran’s agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.” 3:47 pm | Comment (38)
Gen. Zinni: ‘American Media is Being Made a Scapegoat’ For Iraq Failures
Fox News and others have relentlessly pushed the line that the media is too negative in its reporting on Iraq. Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Anthony Zinni was asked about this critique this morning on Meet the Press.
Full transcript:
RUSSERT: Do you believe the American media is distorting the news from Iraq or presenting an accurate picture?
ZINNI: Well, I think the American media is being made a scapegoat for what’s going on out there. At last count, I think something like 80 journalists have been killed in Iraq. It’s hard to get outside the Green Zone and not risk your life or risk kidnapping at a minimum to get the story. And it’s hard to blame the media for no good stories when the security situation is such that they can’t even go out and get the good stories without risking their lives. And you have to remember that it’s hard to dwell on the good things when the bad things are so overwhelmingly traumatic and catastrophic. So I think that’s an unfair blame that’s put on the media. I think that there probably are good things at the lower level, but are they balanced out by the bad things that are happening? All the good things happening out there will mean nothing if this unity government doesn’t come together.
VIDEO: Gen. Zinni Calls on Rumsfeld and Others to Resign for ‘Disastrous Mistakes’ in Iraq
This morning on Meet the Press, Gen. Anthony Zinni, former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other Bush officials to resign for making a “series of disastrous mistakes” in Iraq. Watch it:
Transcript:
ZINNI: There’s a series of disastrous mistakes. We just heard the Secretary of State say these were tactical mistakes. These were not tactical mistakes. These were strategic mistakes, mistakes of policies made back here. Don’t blame the troops. They’ve been magnificent. If anything saves us, it will be them.
RUSSERT: Should someone resign?
ZINNI: Absolutely.
RUSSERT: Who?
ZINNI: Secretary of Defense to begin with.
RUSSERT: Anyone else?
ZINNI: Well, I think that we — those that have been responsible for the planning, for overriding all the efforts that were made in planning before that, that those that stood by and allowed this to happen that didn’t speak out – and there were appropriate ways within the system you can speak out, at congressional hearings and otherwise — I think they have to be held accountable.
Full transcript below: read more »
ZINNI: I saw the — what this town is known for, spin, cherry-picking facts, using metaphors to evoke certain emotional responses or shading the context. We know the mushroom clouds and the other things that were all described that the media has covered well. I saw on the ground a sort of walking away from 10 years’ worth of planning. You know, ever since the end of the first Gulf War, there’s been planning by serious officers and planners and others, and policies put in place — 10 years’ worth of planning were thrown away. Troop levels dismissed out of hand. Gen. Shinseki basically insulted for speaking the truth and giving an honest opinion. The lack of cohesive approach to how we deal with the aftermath, the political, economic, social reconstruction of a nation, which is no small task. A belief in these exiles that anyone in the region, anyone that had any knowledge, would tell you were not credible on the ground. And on and on and on, decisions to disband the army that were not in the initial plans. There’s a series of disastrous mistakes. We just heard the Secretary of State say these were tactical mistakes. These were not tactical mistakes. These were strategic mistakes, mistakes of policies made back here. Don’t blame the troops. They’ve been magnificent. If anything saves us, it will be them.
RUSSERT: Should someone resign?
ZINNI: Absolutely.
RUSSERT: Who?
ZINNI: Secretary of Defense to begin with.
RUSSERT: Anyone else?
ZINNI: Well, I think that we — those that have been responsible for the planning, for overriding all the efforts that were made in planning before that, that those that stood by and allowed this to happen that didn’t speak out — and there were appropriate ways within the system you can speak out, at congressional hearings and otherwise — I think they have to be held accountable. The point is, those that are in power now that have been part of this are finding that their time is spent defending the past. And if they have to defend the past, they’re unable to make the kinds of changes, adjustments, admit to mistakes and move on. And that’s where we are now, trying to rewrite history, defend the past. Ridiculous statements that well, wait 20 years and history will tell you how this turns out. Well, I don’t think anybody wants 20 years to continue like it is now.
VIDEO: McCain Says Jerry Falwell is No Longer an ‘Agent of Intolerance’
This morning on Meet the Press, Sen. John McCain declared that right-wing Rev. Jerry Falwell is no longer an “agent of intolerance,” as McCain described him in 2000. Watch it:
Transcript:
RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance?
MCCAIN: No, I don’t. I think that Jerry Falwell can explain to you his views on this program when you have him on.
Back in 2000, when McCain was asked whether he stood by his description of Falwell, he said, “I must not and will not retract anything that I said in that speech at Virginia Beach. It was carefully crafted, it was carefully thought out.” (Hardball, 3/1/00)
UPDATE: Georgia10 has more.
Full transcript below: read more »
MCCAIN: As regards to Rev. Falwell, which is the major thrust of your comments, I met with Rev. Falwell. He came to see me in Washington. We agreed to disagree on certain issues, and we agreed to move forward. I believe that speaking at Liberty University is no different from speaking at the New College or Ohio State University, all of which I’m speaking. I speak at a lot of colleges and universities. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to do so, to talk to young Americans and talk to them about the obligations and the privileges of freedom.
RUSSERT: But, Senator, when you were on here in 2000, I asked you about Jerry Falwell, and this is what you said:
MCCAIN (clip, 3/5/00): Gov. Bush swung far to the right and sought out the base support of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Those aren’t the ideas that I think are good for the Republican Party.
RUSSERT: Do you think that Jerry Falwell’s ideas are now good for the Republican Party?
MCCAIN: I believe that the “Christian Right” has a major role to play in the Republican Party. One reason is because they’re so active and their followers are. And I believe they have a right to be a part of our party. I don’t have to agree with everything they stand for, nor do I have to agree with everything that’s on the liberal side of the Republican Party. If we have to agree on every issue, we’re not a Republican Party. I believe in open and honest debate. Was I unhappy in the year 2000 that I lost the primary and there were some attacks on me that I thought was unfair? Of course. Should I get over it? Should I serve — can I serve the people of Arizona best by looking back in anger or moving forward?
RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance?
MCCAIN: No, I don’t. I think that Jerry Falwell can explain how his views on this program when you have him on.
Goldberg and Podhoretz Still Don’t Get It
Last night, journalist Jill Carroll issued a statement. Here’s is an excerpt:
I also gave a TV interview to the Iraqi Islamic Party shortly after my release. The party had promised me the interview would never be aired on television, and broke their word. At any rate, fearing retribution from my captors, I did not speak freely…
I want to be judged as a journalist, not as a hostage. I remain as committed as ever to fairness and accuracy–to discovering the truth–and so I will not engage in polemics. But let me be clear: I abhor all who kidnap and murder civilians, and my captors are clearly guilty of both crimes.
Jonah Goldberg and John Podhoretz of the National Review feel this statement somehow justifies their attacks on Carroll in the hours after her release. It doesn’t.
As I explained before Carroll’s statement was released, future comments by Carroll “may not be completely consistent with what she said moments after being released” but “Carroll is the only one who know the facts.” (Goldberg falsely claims that ThinkProgress and others “took her initial statements at face value.”) The point was that, until the full story is revealed by Carroll, it is inappropriate for pundits like Goldberg and Podhoretz to attack her personally.
Goldberg and Podhoretz both suggested that Carroll was suffering from a mental disorder. (Goldberg: “maybe JPod’s right about Stockholm syndrome.”) Goldberg said that he was “getting a bad vibe” from Carroll and she was “really starting to bug me.” He followed up by asserting that her “moral center” was not “in good order” and she wasn’t “thinking clearly.”
Now Goldberg and Podhoretz think I should apologize to them for criticizing their remarks. I will not. (Podhoretz claims that my earlier call for him to apologize – which I stand by – damages “civil discourse.” Goldberg, to his credit, apologizes for suggesting she was a terrorist sympathizer.) The attacks on her mental state and her character were completely unjustified. Carroll’s statement only underscores that.
UPDATE: JPod responds: read more »
JUDD LEGUM… [JPod]
…of ThinkProgress is, basically, unbelievably dishonest. He writes the following: “Podhoretz… suggested that [Jill] Carroll was suffering from a mental disorder.” I never suggested any such thing. I said, correctly, that people would might think she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome — which is not a mental disorder in any case, but a form of post-traumatic stress.
Podhoretz said “[A]fter watching someone who was a hostage for three months say on television she was well-treated because she wasn’t beaten or killed…I expect there will be some Stockholm Syndrome talk in the coming days.” Podhoretz didn’t say Carroll had Stockholm syndrome but he clearly suggested it. (Jonah Goldberg understood that, writing a few hours later “maybe JPod’s right about Stockholm syndrome.”)
What’s incredibly dishonest is Podhoretz pretending, after it’s fairly clear the interview televised after her release was not evidence of Stockholm Syndrome, that his statement was purely about what other people might suggest.
PowerLine Claims ThinkProgress “Rallies To The Defense Of Terrorists”
Paul Mirengoff of the popular blog PowerLine takes issue with my defense of Jill Carroll from right-wing attacks in a post called “‘Think Progress’ rallies to the defense of terrorists”:
By rejecting criticism of Carroll’s comments, and attacking those who place them in their proper perspective, the Think Progress author joins Carroll in casting the terrorists in a far better light than they deserve. Carroll did so after nearly three months of intense emotional distress. What is Think Progress’s excuse?
A couple of comments:
1. The authors of Powerline and other right-wing pundits are not in a position to put Carroll’s experience in its “proper perspective.” At most, they’ve seen a few seconds of video out of an 82-day ordeal. Just because Carroll’s initial comments didn’t fit in with their preferred narrative doesn’t mean there is something wrong with her.
2. Everyone agrees that terrorists and kidnappers are bad people. Powerline and others confuse Carroll’s efforts as a journalist to accurately describe her conditions in captivity with some subversive effort to rehabilitate the reputation of terrorists.
3. It’s quite possible that, in time, Carroll will provide more details about her treatment in captivity. These comments may or may not be completely consistent with what she said moments after being released. We’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, it seems inappropriate to attack her mental state, her patriotism or her character because she didn’t use the right’s preferred buzzwords about terrorists.
Jill Carroll being released from captivity is a piece of genuine good news from Iraq. Why is it so hard for the right to accept it.
‘Burn the Mexican flag!’
Some constructive advice from Michael Savage, a go-to source for anti-immigration hardliners and certain senior presidential advisors. April 1, 2006 12:30 am | Comment (51)
37%.
President Bush’s approval rating in a new Time poll, his lowest ever. March 31, 2006 9:12 pm | Comment (52)
Fox News: Liberal Media ‘Out To Sabotage The Economy’
According to Fox News guests, the media is ignoring all the great news about the economy just like it does in Iraq. Watch it:
Transcript:
But according to a new survey, 59 percent have bought into that crackpot notion. They rate it [the economy] as bad, very bad, or terrible, in fact, when all the facts say that just the opposite is true. So, where are the folks getting this image? My next guest says look no further than the liberal media. Larry, it’s media making the people thank the economy stinks, is that right?
But the polls don’t reflect media manipulation. Americans see the real state of the economy in their everyday lives:
- After adjusting for inflation, wages have not risen during the last three years. In fact, real hourly wages fell for most middle- and low-income workers in 2005 and the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage is 29 percent lower today than it was in 1979.
- The poverty rate has risen each year since 2001, with 12.7 percent of the population now living in poverty.
- Job growth during President Bush’s term has been the lowest since World War II.
Full transcript below: read more »
FOX: And what if I told you that with the stock market is approaching multi-year highs — despite today’s figures, and unemployment below five percent, more than half of Americans think the economy is in a recession. It ain’t, folks. But according to a new survey, 59 percent have bought into that crackpot notion. They rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible, in fact, when all the facts say that just the opposite is true. So, where are the folks getting this image? My next guest says look no further than the liberal media. Radio personality Larry Elder, host of the Larry Elder Show, says that. We’re also joined by some from Cavuto on Business, who I’m sure you recognize. Lee Gallagher — she used to be with another magazine — and Charles Payne, they are here as well. But Larry, it’s media making the people thank the economy stinks, is that right?
Jonah Goldberg Responds: I’m “Thinking More Clearly” Than Jill Carroll
Jonah Goldberg has responded to my earlier post criticizing his attack on Jill Carroll:
UNTHINK PROGRESS [Jonah Goldberg]
…Is it really so crazy to think that someone who hasn’t spent the last 82 days in captivity by Islamic kidnappers might be thinking more clearly than someone who has? Is it so absurd to think that maybe someone who had their senses about them and their moral center in good order, would be less thankful about her treatment and more upset that the translator she asked to come with her was murdered while working for her? I understand that the logic of the left cannot escape the orbit of “you wouldn’t understand” identity politics. But come on. Does anyone in their right mind think that Think Progress would be rallying to this woman’s side if she emerged from her captivity saying George W. Bush was right and the people who kidnapped her were terrorist animals? Please. They’d be prattling on about how she lost her mind.
A couple of thoughts:
1. The issue of how Carroll was treated is not something you can “understand” or “not understand.” It’s a factual issue and Jill Carroll is the only one who know the facts. Jonah Goldberg does not know the facts and even his razor sharp mind (absent mental telepathy) isn’t going to figure them out.
2. Goldberg has ratcheted up his attacks on Carroll. This morning he was “starting to bug her.” Now she isn’t thinking clearly and has lost her “moral center.”
3. No matter what Jill Carroll or anyone else says we would not make a medical diagnoses without any expertise or facts. That seems to be a specialty of the right.
Mr. Goldberg could put this whole episode behind him with a simple apology to Jill Carroll and her family.
Baseball Steroid Investigation Shouldn’t Skip Over Bush’s Texas Rangers
Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, has tapped former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to lead a thorough and impartial investigation into steroid use in professional baseball. Selig has given Mitchell the permission to “expand the investigation and to follow the evidence where it may lead” through at least the last 15 years.
From 1988 to 1994, President Bush was managing general partner of the Texas Rangers.
Among his players during that time, several — Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Pailmero (tested positive) and Jose Canseco (admitted) — are all alleged to have used steroids while playing for the Rangers under Bush.
Identifying players and suppliers of steroids in professional baseball will undoubtedly clean up the sport. But even more useful will be identifying owners who turn a blind eye to cheating, and rake in major dividends from power hitters like Barry Bonds.
President Bush has denied being aware of steroid use in his tenure as managing partner of the Rangers, and has called for an immediate stop to steroid use in professional sports.
We look forward to Mitchell’s final report.
– Sam Davis
Hearts and minds watch:
“The U.S. military was trying to send a ‘little reality jab‘ to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr when American and Iraqi troops raided a Shiite community center and shrine over the weekend, says a top U.S. military official.” March 31, 2006 1:41 pm | Comment (20)
Imus Exec. Producer: “Taliban Jill” Is “Wearing Terrorist Headgear” And “Carrying Zarqawi’s Baby”
Imus executive producer Bernard McGuirk and sidekick Charles McCord continued their assault on journalist Jill Carroll. Watch it:
Some lowlights:
MCCORD: Put on 20 pounds while in captivity, yeah.
MCGUIRK: And why do we suspect?
IMUS: Well, why do you suspect?
MCGUIRK: She’s carrying Zarqawi’s baby. No doubt about it.
IMUS: Man, you are a such a, you’re a…
MCGUIRK: Did you hear her comments yesterday? She’s wearing the terrorist headgear. And everything points to that.
…
MCGUIRK: She’s Taliban Janie, this girl. Taliban Jill or whatever.
IMUS: That’s a little strong don’t you think.
MCGUIRK: I don’t think so. Well except for the fact that she seems overly sympathetic. There’s something wrong. Something stinks.
The Washington Post reported this morning that the garments Carroll wore in her first interview were “given to her by her captors,” and that she gained weight in captivity because “she never dared turn down their offers of meals or candy for fear of giving offense.”
The full transcript is posted HERE.
Rice admits ‘thousands’ of Iraq mistakes.
“I know we’ve made tactical errors, thousands of them, I’m sure,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today, speaking about Iraq. “But when you look back in history what will be judged on is” whether the “right strategic decision” was made. March 31, 2006 11:42 am | Comment (82)
BREAKING: Former DeLay aide Rudy flips?
“Tony Rudy, a former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the widening federal investigation of lobbyist fraud. … Rudy would be the first person to plead guilty to charges in the case since Jack Abramoff, once a leading GOP lobbyist, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in January.”
UPDATE: A backgrounder on Rudy. March 31, 2006 10:13 am | Comment (45)
Jonah Goldberg: “Jill Carroll Is Increasingly Starting To Bug Me”
Jonah Goldberg – the right-wing pundit who was recently given a regular column in the LA Times – attacked reporter Jill Carroll early this morning on the National Review’s website:
MAYBE IT’S JUST ME [Jonah Goldberg]
But Jill Carroll is increasingly starting to bug me. The details are still murky and it’s hard to appreciate what she’s been through. And maybe JPod’s right about Stockholm syndrome. And maybe the media’s selectively choosing what to show of her statements. But it would be nice to hear her say something remotely critical of her captors, particularly about the fact that they murdered her translator in cold blood. I’m very glad she’s alive, but I’m getting a very bad vibe. More, no doubt, to come.
No, Mr. Goldberg, unfortunately it’s not just you.
Apparently, Jonah Goldberg, who has spent the last 82 days in safety, knows what Jill Carroll should be saying better than Jill Carroll herself. And when she doesn’t say it, it means something is very wrong with her.
ThinkFast: March 31, 2006
The Army has banned privately purchased body armor in Iraq, a decision that veterans groups “immediately denounced.” GI’s who have “waited months to be outfitted counter that substandard armor is better than none at all.”
In a letter, President Bush urged Iraqi Shiite Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to get more involved in negotations over Iraq’s new government. Sistani “laid the letter aside” unread because of increasing “unhappiness” over heavy-handed U.S. meddling in Iraqi negotiations.
Another novel right-wing immigration solution from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA): “The millions of young men who are prisoners in our country can pick the fruit and vegetables.”
Slow learner: Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen admits that the first time he realized that President Bush had lied was last week.
In response to “embarrassing allegations” that NASA’s public affairs manipulated scientific information to suit the needs of the Bush administration, a new NASA policy now says their “scientists are free to talk to members of the media about their scientific findings and even express personal interpretations of those findings.” read more »
Peter Smith, the freelance photographer who caught Antonin Scalia making an obscene hand gesture in church, has been fired. “I did the right thing,” Smith said of releasing the photo. “I did the ethical thing.”
$10 billion. New cost of rebuilding New Orleans’s levees, triple the original estimate. The Bush administration announced yesterday “that there may not be enough money to fully protect the entire region.”
The Justice Department’s subpoenas reach far beyond Google, AOL, and MSN. The government has demanded information from least 34 Internet service providers, search companies, and security software firms.
U.N. nonproliferation chief Mohamed ElBaradei (who had a far better track record on Iraq than the Bush administration) said of the Iran nuclear impasse: the “only durable solution is a negotiated solution,” and the time has come to “lower the pitch” of debate.
As one in three people in sub-Saharan Africa go undernourished, a new report shows that 80 percent of Africa’s farmland is rapidly becoming barren from overfarming.
And finally: Cut the Small Town Boy some slack. After learning he got the White House address wrong by a few blocks in the title of his newest song “1900 Pennsylvania Ave.,” John Cougar Mellencamp responded: “Well, I guess I’ll have to change that.”
Blame the military.
Kaloogian’s latest excuse. March 30, 2006 7:25 pm | Comment (32)
Imus Executive Producer: Carroll is “The Kind of Woman Who Would Wear One of Those Suicide Vests, Sneak Into the Green Zone”
There was a shocking segment earlier today on the popular radio/television show “Imus In The Morning.” Watch this exchange between Executive Producer (and “quick-witted on-air contributor”) Bernard McGuirk and Don Imus’ sidekick Charles McCord.
Some lowlights:
MCGUIRK: She strikes me as the kind of woman who would wear one of those suicide vests. You know, walk into the — try and sneak into the Green Zone.
IMUS: Oh, no. No, no, no, no.
MCCORD: Just because she always appears in traditional Arab garb and wearing a burka.
MCGUIRK: Yeah, what’s with the head gear? Take it off. Let’s see.
…
MCCORD: Exactly. She cooked with them, lived with them.
IMUS: This is not helping.
MCGUIRK: She may be carrying Habib’s baby at this point.
…
IMUS: She could. It’s not like she was representing the insurgents or the terrorists or those people.
MCCORD: Well, there’s no evidence directly of that –
IMUS: Oh, gosh, you better shut up!
…MCGUIRK: She’s like the Taliban Johnny or something.
Full transcript posted HERE.
Blackwater USA: Turning The All-Volunteer Army Into An ‘Army For Hire’
This week at a conference in Jordan, Blackwater USA vice chairman Cofer Black announced that the private security company is ready to shift from a security role to a more “overt combat role,” essentially becoming an army for hire.
The Bush administration has shown itself more than willing to call in Blackwater in place of U.S. troops.
In Aug. 2003, the Bush administration awarded Blackwater a $21.3 million contract to guard then Amb. Paul Bremer. The average senior special operations officer makes $50,000 a year from the U.S. government. Employees in private security firms in Iraq often make more than $1,000 a day from government contracts. This arrangement is “depleting the ranks of the special forces,” luring them into lucrative private jobs.
Some military analysts initially welcomed the administration’s private security arrangement with Blackwater because it allowed “regular military troops to concentrate on fighting.” But Blackwater’s new proposal would shift some of the fighting to the private sector, further diminishing the role of the all-volunteer army.
