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Special Sections: March
2003 NBC Cans Arnett for Sharing Views, Not for Them Peter Arnett pumped up the Iraqi cause in an interview with Saddam Hussein TV and got fired for his trouble.
TimesWatch.org Notes NY Times Correspondent’s Support of Arnett TimesWatch.org, a project of the MRC, noted that
New York Times reporter Frank Rich’s support of both Peter Arnett and Peter Jennings has turned embarrassing.
Arnett’s Propaganda Comes to an End A Media Reality Check examines the why and how behind the NBC firing of Peter Arnett.
Arnett’s Recent Missteps A list of Arnett’s recent mistakes as documented in
CyberAlerts and other MRC publications.
Arnett and the Tailwind Scandal The Iraqi TV interview was the only time Peter Arnett has been at the center of controversy. After CNN’s Tailwind story ran, Arnett was in deep trouble and blame “the right wing media” for his problems. The Tailwind story was so incorrect that CNN took the extraordinary step of retracting it.
Arnett in Baghdad in 1991 A review of Peter Arnett’s performance during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
ABC Insists WMD Has To Be Found Former Clinton adviser George Stephanopoulos suggested British PM Tony Blair should resign if weapons of mass destruction aren’t found. In Qatar, an ABC radio reporter asked Gen. Tommy Franks if the inability to find WMD was a “big problem.”
Terrorist Tactics Are Legitimate Methods and Possibly Patriotic An AP reporter in Qatar contended terrorist tactics were legitimate methods and ABC’s Terry Moran called those using these tactics “patriots defending their country from invasion.”
ABC: Iraqis Starting to Believe Propaganda About Civilian Casualties ABC claimed Iraqis in Baghdad are starting to believe that coalition forces are targeting civilians. In direct contrast, CBS’s John Roberts noted a family that forgave Marines for a tragic accident and proclaimed their hatred of Saddam Hussein.
ABC Finally Catches Up… After ignoring reality for several days, ABC’s John Quinones quoted an Iraqi who said earlier pro-Saddam chants in Umm Qasr were made because the locals were still afraid of the Hussein regime.
ABC Highlights Criticism of America While NBC Notes Iraqis Are Still Scared ABC continued its negative reporting, noting that Red Crescent trucks arriving in Safwan were greeted by critical Iraqis. NBC, however, noted that Iraqis played to the camera, fearful that Saddam Hussein has not lost control and they’ll be killed for speaking against him.
Jennings and Stahl Raise Vietnam Quagmire Jennings claimed “one Marine” told an ABC reporter that Iraq “sometimes feels like Vietnam.” Over on CBS, Lesley Stahl asked former Navy Secretary James Webb if he was getting a feeling of “déjà vu.”
Powell Dismisses Stahl’s Concerns as Nonsense CBS’s Lesley Stahl relayed every retired general and Washington think tank complaint about the war to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell, in an unusually combative mood, called such complaints and “nonsense” and dismissively demanded “who says” on another occasions.
Arnett Relays Iraqi “Cluster Bomb” Claims In a harbinger of things to come, Peter Arnett passed along Iraqi claims that the U.S. had used anti-personnel cluster bombs in residential Baghdad neighborhoods, forcing NBC’s Katie Couric and Jim Miklaszewski to do some fast backtracking to cover for the unsupported reporting.
ABC Producer: Will U.S. Provide Financial Compensation? The goofiest questions at the Central Command briefings in Qatar usually come from foreign journalists but an ABC producer won the honor on this particular day, asking if the U.S. would provide “financial compensation” to victims of errant U.S. bombs.
BBC Reporter Stunned by his Networks One-Sided Coverage A BBC reporter covering the war from Central Command headquarters in Qatar denounced his network’s coverage as “one-sided” and “distorted.”
War of Contrasts ABC and CBS provided contrasting views of the war in three different stories. As expected, Peter Jennings and ABC continued with their negative spin, relaying Iraqi propaganda and claims that the war has hurt Iraqi civilians.
ABC’s Baghdad Reporter Goes Too Far For Even Jennings ABC’s Richard Engel conceded that U.S. bombing hasn’t “caused many civilian casualties” and suggested Iraqis are going about their lives as normal because the Iraqi government is functioning normally, with press conferences that indicated Saddam Hussein is still in power. Even Peter Jennings found that view hard to swallow.
U.S. Left Basra to Fend For Itself ABC’s Terry Moran seemed to want to blame the Bush administration for the situation in Basra. “The coalition battle plan was to bypass Basra and leave the more than half million citizens there essentially to fend for themselves,” Moran said to White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.
ABC: Inadequate Troop Numbers and Official Miscalculations Charles Gibson pressed General Richard Myers repeatedly about what he termed an “inadequate” number of troops to fulfill the mission. Diane Sawyer wondered if the war was “going to be a long, protracted, quagmire of a war?”
Arnett: Saddam Says Prisoners Are To Be Treated Well Peter Arnett passed along this piece of Iraqi propaganda. Saddam himself, according to Iraqi officials, has said that prisoners should “be treated well” and be “given the best medicine and the best food.”
Stretching a Point: Newsweek’s Alter Compares War to Schindler’s List Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter looked for movies to compare the war to and somehow came up with
Schindler’s List.
Happy to See Us or Looking For Food? Couldn't it be both? That thought apparently never occurred to ABC's Bob Woodruff, who wondered if waving Iraqis were friendly or just looking for food. Elsewhere, correspondent John Donvan focused on a “humanitarian disaster” in Basra.
ABC Relays Iraqi “Farmer” Propaganda and Casualty Claims ABC’s freelance reporter in Baghdad passed along how an Iraqi official told ABC News that a “poor farmer” shot down an Apache with his rifle. He also relayed Iraqi numbers on wounded and killed, something both CBS and NBC decided to pass up.
Network Openings Provide Insights Jennings stressed hesitation and doubt, Rather delivered an upbeat assessment of the Iraq situation and Tom Brokaw emphasized the negative, describing a wrong turn that led to the capture of some soldiers as one of the “high profile Allied blunders.”
Koppel Hopes the Public Can Handle the Truth ABC’s Ted Koppel said success in Iraq would come “as a significant cost” in U.S. lives and showed what he thinks of the American public, promising while expressing “the hope and belief that you can handle it.”
Bush Has No Right to Demand Iraq Follow Geneva Conventions CBS’s Bob Simon claimed it was a “bit ironic” that the Bush administration, which he characterized as “cavalier” when it came to international accords, was insisting that Saddam Hussein follow the laws of war.
Former CNN Producer Claims U.S. & Iraq Want to Control Media The U.S. has reporters embedded with almost every combat unit but a former CNN producer claims we’re just like Saddam when it comes to wanting to control the media.
Brokaw Uses Marine Death for Editorializing Tom Brokaw used a story about a Marine from Guatemala who had died fighting in Iraq to lecture his audience. “A story to remember the next time you’re tempted to rail against the immigrants coming into this country,” Brokaw said.
ABC’s Shipman: Two Washingtons, One Official and One Worried ABC once again put their spin on the Sen. Tom Daschle affair as correspondent Claire Shipman suggested the South Dakota Senator had been “tarred and feathered” for saying lives would be lost because President Bush failed at diplomacy. Shipman also asked why there had not been more public dissent.
CNN’s Bizarre Comment CNN’s Maria Hinojosa, whose beat is anti-war marches, suggested “there may be just a few days now when people decide they have to stay indoors to learn how to deal with their own shock as the reality of this war becomes more and more prevalent.”
Not All Canadians Hate the U.S. Montreal fans booed the American national anthem at a hockey game between the Canadiens and the Washington Capital last week. In the rugged Canadian West, however, Edmonton fans cheered when
The Star Spangled Banner was played.
Celebrating Iraqis A Ruse? Iraqis tore down Saddam Hussein's picture and celebrated when coalition forces came through the town of Safwan but ABC News was skeptical. Peter Jennings suggested the actions were done "for the cameras." Correspondent John Donvan went there unescorted and said he "didn't see anything like that."
Jennings Highlights Foreign Journalists Questions About "Big Lie" Peter Jennings highlighted only one question from Gen. Tommy Franks press conference on Sunday. The question asked if U.S. claims of weapons of mass destruction was "a big lie."
ABC Highlighted Film from Official Iraqi Tour of Damage ABC's free-lancer Richard Engel highlighted video of what was supposedly a community center with chairs and tables scattered about. For effect, Engel shot some empty children's swing sets.
ABC: Protests Are "Prescient Indicators" of National Mood Forget polls. Protests are the real indicator of the national mood. ABC's Chris Cuomo highlighted what peace protestors wanted: government accountability, environmental justice and peace.
Protesters Were Diverse Group The anti-war, anti-Bush protesters were "a very diverse group of people," according to CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
Jennings versus Brokaw Peter Jennings emphasis on dissent was clearly illustrated when his opening statements were compared to those of NBC's Tom Brokaw.
Jennings: Administration Ignores Protesters ABC's Peter Jennings suggested that to journalist David Gergen that the administration has a "tendency" to "pretend" anti-war protests aren't happening. Gergen agreed and worried that the U.S. would appear to be "a bully."
Reporters Concerned About Overwhelming Force At Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's press conference, a reporter used the bully theme. If the U.S. has such overwhelming force, the reporter asked Rumsfeld, aren't you concerned about being a bully?
Rumsfeld Chides MSNBC's Williams Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld didn't mention him by name, but took exception to MSNBC's Brian Williams' comparing the bombing of Baghdad to the World War II bombing of Baghdad. "There is no comparison," Rumsfeld said.
Bombing Will Kill Civilians or They'll Starve To Death ABC's Terry Moran asked White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer if President Bush has talked about the "death of innocents." NBC's Campbell Brown asked what the administration was planning to do to alleviate food shortages.
Daschle the Victim…Continued Tom Daschle suggested President Bush's "diplomatic" failure would cost U.S. lives and got slammed for it. But the media has consistently portrayed Daschle as the victim. CBS's Harry Smith asked Daschle if he felt Republicans were questioning his patriotism.
“A Little Out of Context” That was ABC's Peter Jennings comment about video of an injured Iraqi child, although the remark could apply to much of his network's coverage. Jennings also admitted that "we cannot tell you what these pictures represent." Then why did ABC show them?
Koppel: “Invasion” Not Prompted by Action Against U.S. ABC’s Ted Koppel insisted “we ought to take note of the significance of what is happening here” because the U.S. “invasion…was not prompted by any invasion of the United States.”
Jennings: U.S. Will Be Welcomed, But We Kept Saddam in Power Jennings interviewed an anti-American former assistant UN Secretary General and made a pro-American point. Sort of. Iraqis will welcome Americans, Jennings said, because they want “to get out from under the yoke of Saddam Hussein, in part because the U.S. supported him staying in power for a long time and kept sanctions.”
Moran Claims U.S. Has Left the United Nations ABC White House reporter Terry Moran went so far that Peter Jennings, of all people, had to rein him in. When Moran suggested that the U.S. had left the United Nations, Jennings had to correct him.
ABC Highlights Protesters ABC and Jennings displayed a special zeal for the protesters’ cause. Reporter Chris Cuomo marveled at how New York City protesters came from two directions “squeezing the police in the middle.”
NBC Highlights Pro-War Iraqi-Americans NBC’s Jim Avila highlighted anti-war protests, but he also raised “the voices” of Iraqi-Americans that aren’t often heard from.
Whoops…War Catches ABC By Surprise War was the talk of the nation but the outbreak of hostilities caught ABC News by surprise. While Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw hit the airwaves at about 9:32 p.m., ABC didn't cut into programming until 10 minutes later and correspondent Chris Wallace had to man the anchor desk for almost 20 minutes.
Jennings’ Last Shots Before War Peter Jennings said he wasn’t sure Iraqis would know what “coalition” meant, highlighted a rise in Caesarian sections in Iraq and told the story of a suicidal man who read an anti-war letter before he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge.
ABC Highlights Caesarian Sections Nightline, Good Morning America and
World News Tonight all highlighted the clam that Iraqi women are getting Caesarian sections before the war starts.
NBC Again Portrays Daschle as Victim On Today, correspondent David Gregory portrayed Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle as the victim of White House attacks instead of one who made what are generally considered inappropriate remarks about a President during war time.
Old Arnett, New Arnett Peter Arnett is now doing some work in Baghdad for NBC. On
Today, he conveyed some Iraqi propaganda but also told Tom Brokaw that many Iraqis are looking forward to their liberation.
Cronkite Rips Bush’s “Arrogance” and Admits Journalists Tilt Left Retired CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, in a speech at Drew University, feared the war would not go smoothly and wondered about the U.S. doctrine of preemption. He also said Jimmy Carter was the smartest President and that journalists do tend to be liberal.
Couric’s Daughter is Against the War Today host Katie Couric informed viewers that her seven-year-old daughter is against the war. “She’s like a little Rodney King. Why can’t we just get along,” Couric said.
Daschle’s Defenders It's not Tom Daschle that violated political protocol, it's the Republican criticism of his remarks. NBC's Campbell Brown was one of the journalists advancing this spin, as she portrayed the White House as aggressors in the affair and relayed liberal speaking points about a “pre-emptive strike’ and “intimidation.”
“So-called” Coalition of the Willing ABC’s John McWethy ridiculed the coalition of the willing, stressing how it was made up of small nations like Afghanistan, El Salvador and Eritrea.
ABC Highlights Vatican Opposition The Vatican is against the war so ABC’s Peter Jennings suddenly decided it is imparting wise counsel, noting that it “had issued a very strong statement today about President Bush’s intention to go to war.”
NBC: Soft Support for War NBC’s own polls found 65 percent supported military action against Iraq and 61 percent wanted immediate action but Jim Avila maintained “much of the country” is divided.
Pro-War Americans Need to Apologize CNN’s Jeff Flock maintained that pro-war and anti-war Americans need to make up because those against the war maintain that “to criticize them is un-American.”
ABC’s Gibson Defends France ABC’s Charles Gibson defended France in a debate with Bill O’Reilly by arguing “friends” should try to prevent a friend from making a mistake.
Networks Ignore Daschle’s Blast at Bush Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle claimed President Bush had “failed so miserably at diplomacy that we’re now forced to war” but ABC, NBC and CBS didn’t bother to report it.
ABC Still Stuck on “Going It Alone” At least 18 nations are supporting the U.S. position on Iraq, but ABC’s Peter Jennings repeatedly asked about the dangers of “going it alone.”
ABC: Things Are Tough at Home and Abroad ABC John Yang warned that there was a real danger that Muslims will see military action in Iraq as “unprovoked attack on them.” Meanwhile, back in the states, correspondent Dean Reynolds was highlighting the worst possible scenario for the economy.
Jennings: Hamas is “Accused” of Terrorism Peter Jennings didn’t label Hamas as a terrorist group, it’s just a group that the Israelis “accuse of sponsoring terrorism.”
The Summit of the Convinced ABC's World News Tonight continued its anti-war spin. Peter Jennings, reporting on the Azores summit, noted that "some people" said the time would have been better spent trying to convince skeptics. Later, correspondent Dan Harris found continued cooperation in Baghdad while reporter Barbara Pinto insisted a small Indiana town is uncertain about President Bush's Iraq policy.
CBS Picks Up Rep. Jim Moran Comments, Only ABC Hasn’t CBS News picked up on Democratic Congressman Jim Moran’s claim that American Jews were helping force a new war with Iraq, leaving ABC as the only network evening newscast that hasn’t reported the controversy.
And We Were Trying to Help! A Boston Globe reporter got kicked out of Iraq for trying to file a story via satellite phone from his hotel room. The paper’s foreign editor was shocked and told AP that “it was a story that should have been regarded as useful for Iraq in telling its story…”
Peter Jennings: Tank Commander? ABC's Peter Jennings donned a helmet and climbed aboard an armored vehicle to promote his interview with Gen. Tommy Franks in Qatar. During the interview, Jennings asked Franks if he wanted more time to prepare and if the U.S. would declare military targets located next to mosques and hospitals off-limits.
FNC Reviews France’s “Friendliness” FNC provided a historic review of France’s recent history of hindering any effort to impede Saddam Hussein.
CBS Mocks High School Protesters Steve Hartman of CBS’s 60 Minutes II filed a short piece that noted high school students had used “peace” protests to get out of class and included a few less-than-knowledgeable comments from high school students.
Moran: U.S. Still “Rushing to War” The debate over Iraq seems to have gone on forever but ABC correspondent Terry Moran seconded claims that Bush is rushing to war by insisting that the March 17th deadline be kept.
Moran Whines That Press Was Too Easy on Bush
The ABC correspondent also claimed that the press needed to question Bush more forcefully in order to “bring the President back down to what he is: a citizen President who needs to be engaged in a normal, ordinary conversation about these issues.”
CBS Highlights American Disappointment with France A World War II veteran returned his “certificate of gratitude” to the French government. Several other people took sledgehammers to a Peugeot and a storeowner refused to sell French products. That story ran on CBS but you’ll never see it on ABC.
NBC Finally Highlights Rep. Jim Moran’s Anti-Jewish Comment Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) took the low road, blaming the Jewish community for pushing America into war with Iraq. NBC News ran the first network story on Wednesday, March 12, several days after the comments had been made and publicized. Now just imagine that a Republican had made similar remarks.
Historian Bashes Bush For Bullying and Certainty NBC’s resident historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said President Bush’s “bullying” is ruining FDR’s United Nations dream. For good measure, she added that Bush’s belief in God makes him “so sure” that he can’t put “reason into our doubting minds.”
ABC: Bush Still “Hardline” Terry Moran reported that the Bush administration was still “hardline” and Peter Jennings said Iraq had suspended U2 flights. Jennings relayed that the Iraqis felt the flights were “simply helping the U.S. prepare for war.”
Saddam Hussein…Father Figure Iraq’s dictator is “looking remarkably relaxed” and “almost paternal,” according to CBS correspondent Lara Logan.
CBS Still Ignoring Poll Numbers A CBS-New York Times poll found 55 percent of the public approve of the U.S. taking military action against Iraq even if the U.N. Security Council votes against it. CNN, CNBC and the
New York Times all reported those numbers, but not CBS.
ABC News Poll Finds Significant Support for Military Action Peter Jennings reported that a new ABC News poll found 61 percent don’t believe the U.S. needs the support of the U.N. to take action against Iraq. ABC News web site reported that the number jumps to 71 percent if allies participate in the action.
ABC’s GMA Highlights Sick Child Who’s Anti-Bush Not content with passing along the meandering, often mindless rants of celebrities,
Good Morning America gave time a very ill 12-year-old who’s against war.
CBS News Poll Story Skips Some Vital Points Another CBS News poll found 66 percent favor taking military action against Iraq while 30 percent oppose. Correspondent Bill Plante didn’t inform viewers of that number, although he did note that this poll found support for military action had climbed nine points in the last week and Dan Rather pointed out that 58 percent think the U.N. is doing a “poor job of handling Iraq.”
Klein: Bush Too Much of a “Cowboy” Time columnist Joe Klein wrote that President Bush didn’t have much of a style of diplomacy and that he was a “cowboy” in his press conference.
Coalition of the Coerced The President’s Iraq policy depends on a “coalition of the coerced”
Time’s John Dickerson asserted on The Chris Matthews Show while CBS’s Bob Schieffer blamed Bush’s opposition to Kyoto for losing the Germans.
Jennings Press Powell From the Left Peter Jennings used an interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell on
World News Tonight to argue that “most people” believe the U.N. inspections are doing a “reasonably effective job.”
NBC Highlights Iraqi Calling U.S. a “Terrorist Country” NBC Nightly News relayed the concerns of “average” Iraqis, as if they can truly say what they think when they’re on camera.
ABC: Iraq Loves Saddam Diane Sawyer passed on Saddam Hussein’s claim that the Iraqis have loved him for the last 35 years. Dan Harris added that Saddam often points out that he got 100 percent of the vote in a recent election.
How Did This Guest Slip In? Diane Sawyer asked the mother of a 9-11 victim if she was worried that Iraq would distract from a “concentrated” approach to the war on terror. The lady replied: “I think President Bush’s focus on Iraq is consistent with this focus on the war on terror.”
Totenberg: Iraqi Troops in U.S. Uniforms Not “Worth the Time and Effort” NPR’s Nina Totenberg dismissed the idea that Iraqis would wear U.S. troops and kill their own people, despite ample evidence that Hussein has butchered Iraqis in the past.
CBS Poll: Nation Almost “Equally Divided” According to a CBS News poll, 69 percent of the public favor using military force to remove Saddam Hussein from power while only 26 percent are opposed. But that’s not that angle correspondent Bill Plante took in his story.
Hall: MRC Fueling “Unfortunate Climate” Former Los Angeles Times reporter and current American University professor Jane Hall chided the MRC for contributing to a climate in which people opposing the war are demonized. Hall’s example was a
CyberAlert item on Bill Moyers claim that conservatives had “hijacked” the flag.
Helen Thomas is “The Nutty Aunt” Fox News picked up on the whining over President Bush not calling on Helen Thomas at his press conference. On
Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume suggested Thomas was “the nutty aunt in the attic of the Washington press corps.”
Jennings Expresses Disillusionment with Bush ABC’s Peter Jennings took advantage of the time after President Bush’s press conference to complain that the President is not listening to UN inspectors or allies.
Was That An Argument or a Question? ABC’s Terry Moran used his question at the Bush press conference to claim the President’s policies had sent millions into the streets in protest and made the U.S. “an arrogant power.”
Author Claims Political Motives Are Driving Iraq Policy Another form of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy? James Moore, co-author of
Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential, told Connie Chung that Iraq “distracts” people from the economy.
Another Nefarious Conservative Plan Ted Koppel claimed a group of conservative thinkers headed by Bill Kristol has brought the nation to the “brink of war.” The group has pursued a “plan” that calls for the U.S. to protect its interests and eliminate Iraq’s threat for the last five years. For good measure, Koppel quoted from a Moscow paper that compared the “plan” to Hitler’s Mein
Kampf.
Fox Provides Angle Others Missed
Fox News Channel reported that the papal envoy to the U.S. “made clear that the Vatican doesn’t have much faith in Saddam Hussein.” ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC all neglected to mention that.
Jennings: College Anti-War Crowd Well-Rounded Bunch The college anti-war protesters on ABC’s
World News Tonight are well-rounded and reasonable, according to anchor Peter Jennings. The students support homeland security and think the government should be “focusing on jobs, security and health care.”
Vieira: We Need Daily Protest Marches Meredith Vieira, one of the many hosts of the ABC daytime show
The View, said anti-war protests “should be consistent and repeated every day, I believe.”
Baghdad Police and Firemen Support Hussein ABC and CBS treated an officially organized Baghdad march as a newsworthy “show of support for Saddam Hussein” and a display of how the American invaders will be fought to the death.
Helen Thomas Argues With Ari Fleischer The day before the President’s press conference Helen Thomas was up to her old tricks, making statements and arguing on behalf of her own causes. When White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told her the goal was to eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, Thomas spat: “There is no imminent threat!”
Rooney Thinks Embedding Journalists Leads to More Military Control “I think maybe they’re trying to stick it to the correspondents, they hope some of them will get killed,” the CBS newsman added. Rooney also said he agreed with the French position, but claimed claim they have not “earned the right to be objectors to our position.”
Nightline’s Town Meeting: 11 of 13 Questions Anti-War ABC put Nightline on for 90 minutes to debate the war issue. The panel was evenly balanced and included three opposed to President Bush’s Iraq policy and three who were for it. The audience, however, was loaded with opponents.
Brown: U.S. May Have to Go It Alone Dozens of countries, including a majority of nations in Europe, support the U.S. In spite of that fact, CNN’s Aaron Brown warned that the U.S. may have to “go it alone” on Iraq.
Jennings Claims Iraq Continues to Comply A quiz. As Iraq brought to a mere ten the number of missiles it would dismantle out of over 100, who said the following on Tuesday, the Iraq regime's Tariq Aziz or ABC's Peter Jennings: “The Iraqis continue to comply with the UN weapons inspectors.”
Worried If U.S. is Torturing Al Qaeda Mastermind Three days after the capture of top
al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the murder of thousands of Americans, what was the chief concern of Peter Jennings? Have we tortured him?
Upset by the Lack of Congressional Dissent Not enough dissent on the war to satisfy ABC or NBC. Trumpeting an anti-war speech by Senator Ted Kennedy, Peter Jennings on Tuesday night rued how “there has been very little opposition in the U.S. Congress to war with Iraq.” Over on NBC, anchor Tom Brokaw dedicated a story to how “Congress has practically gone mute on the war plans after authorizing the President to proceed in House and Senate resolutions last year. The debate on Capitol Hill has been spotty and, with just a few exceptions, it has been timid.”
Dan Rather is No Jennings CBS’s Dan Rather ended a story about a Marine, who though told he could stay behind, shipped off for Kuwait: “Lest we forget, the price is paid.”
ABC: Bush’s Hard Line Could Complicate Diplomacy ABC correspondent John McWethy said the war could start before the end of next week and White House reporter Terry Moran lamented that “there’s nothing that the current Iraqi regime could do in the way of disarmament to avoid war.”
Moran: Missile Destruction is “Real Disarmament” ABC’s White House reporter Terry Moran has taken on an argumentative edge during White House press briefings. When Press Secretary Ari Fleischer disagreed with Moran’s assessment of Iraq’s destruction process, Moran objected: “But it is substantive, it is not just process, this is substance, this is real destruction of weapons.”
Critics Are Criticizing the President! Here's a hot scoop. Late-night comedians are "critics" of President Bush and they're "painting him as a kind of pro-war zealot figure," according to CNBC anchor Brian Williams.
Al-Samoud Destruction Too Painful to Show on TV NBC’s Ron Allen claimed no pictures were released of the missile destruction. Iraqi officials said “the process is too painful for the people here to see.”
Al Samoud Destruction Means The French and Others Are Right Today co-hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric used a town hall segment to claim that Iraq’s destruction of some Al-Samoud missiles means Saddam Hussein is taking steps “to cooperate with weapons inspections.”
Matthews Calls President “A Kid” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews went on a rant against President Bush during an appearance on the
Imus in the Morning show. The former Tip O’Neill aide called the President “a kid” and accused him of wanting “to change these governments around so that they play ball with us.”
Focus on Iraq Takes Away From Al Qaeda Hunt? Hmmm…. NBC Nightly News anchor John Siegenthaler noted that the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed might have taken that liberal argument out of play. “Does this arrest change that debate,” he asked.
Moyers Claims U.S. Wants to Pull a “bin Laden” on Baghdad Not every patriot thinks we should do to the people of Baghdad what bin Laden did to us," PBS's Bill Moyers sneered, as if the intention of the U.S. in Iraq is to kill civilians. Moyers added that the flag pins on the President and Vice-President reminded him of Mao's China.
ABC: War on Iraq Will Cause Miscarriages and Kill Kids ABC’s Dan Harris was in Baghdad, highlighting Iraqi claims that an American attack would lead to more miscarriages than normal. Harris also relayed the fears of two pre-teenagers.
Today Says President Still Marching To War Katie Couric opened Today by noting that the President is marching toward war “even as Baghdad promises to start destroying missiles.”
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