O'Reilly treated listeners to misinformation
SugarMonkey
about intelligence, Iraq, terrorism
http://mediamatters.org/items/200605110012
During the May 8 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill
O'Reilly treated viewers to an assortment of misinformation concerning the
Iraq war and terrorism. O'Reilly falsely claimed former CIA analyst Mary
McCarthy was "accused of ... leaking" the existence of the National Security
Agency (NSA) warrantless domestic spying program; suggested there was no
domestic element to the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance
program, stating it involved only "foreign calls" and "nothing domestic";
alleged that House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) "want[s] us to lose
in Iraq" and "want[s] there to be chaos in Afghanistan"; and deceptively
edited an exchange between retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern and Secretary of
Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld while accusing the media of being "derelict" for
failing to note that McGovern belongs to a group that opposes Bush's
policies.
a.. McCarthy
O'Reilly claimed that McCarthy was "accused of, you know, leaking the CIA
prisons in Eastern Europe [to The Washington Post] and then the NSA leak [to
The New York Times] and all of that." McCarthy was dismissed on April 21 for
allegedly disclosing classified information to two different news reporters.
But, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, the CIA has not
accused McCarthy of leaking information about the prisons and has not
explicitly connected her to the Post's November 2 report regarding the CIA's
alleged secret detention operations. McCarthy has also denied being the
source for the Post's CIA secret prison story. Further, as Media Matters
noted the last time O'Reilly made the accusation, no official has publicly
accused McCarthy of being the source for any New York Times story, including
its December 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning report exposing the NSA's
warrantless wiretapping.
a.. The NSA's warrantless spying
O'Reilly suggested -- contrary to the Bush administration's own
acknowledgement -- there was no domestic component to the NSA program,
stating the NSA tapped only "foreign calls" and "nothing domestic." In fact,
even though the Bush administration disputes that the calls monitored byt
the NSA are "domestic," the administration has admitted that the agency
monitors certain calls "coming into or going out of the United States." The
Bush administration asserts that the program monitors only domestic
communications in which one actor is in a foreign country and has ties to
terrorism.
a.. Pelosi
Commenting on Pelosi's concerns over Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who
was recently appointed to replace Porter Goss as CIA director, O'Reilly
asserted that "all Pelosi wants is someone who hates Bush so there could be
more leaks to embarrass Bush and make his job harder." O'Reilly continued:
"Nancy Pelosi and her acolytes, people who like her, they want us to lose in
Iraq. They want there to be chaos in Afghanistan. They want this. They're
rooting against their own country."
a.. McGovern-Rumsfeld exchange
After cropping the exchange between McGovern and Rumsfeld, in which McGovern
confronted Rumsfeld on the Defense secretary's previous claims about Iraq's
purported weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda, O'Reilly
complained that the press didn't provide the full context of the exchange
because it failed to identify McGovern as "a far-left guy" associated with
the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. O'Reilly declared:
O'REILLY: So everybody should know that. And then we listen to what he has
to say and you listen to what Rumsfeld what has to say. That's why we played
the clip. Then you make up your own mind. But full disclosure is part of
making a responsible decision.
Yet, as he was claiming to give his audience the "full disclosure" he found
lacking in other media outlets, O'Reilly edited the Rumsfeld-McGovern
exchange while giving his listeners no indication that the audio had been
edited. O'Reilly aired the contentious questions and answers until Rumsfeld,
defending prior attempts to link Al Qaeda to Iraq, told McGovern that
Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "was in Baghdad during the
prewar period. That is a fact." O'Reilly did not air McGovern's response
that Zarqawi "was in the north of Iraq in a place where Saddam Hussein had
no rule" and that he went to Baghdad only "when he needed to go to the
hospital":
McGOVERN: We're talking about lies, and your allegation that there was
"bulletproof" evidence of ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Was that a lie or
were you misled?
RUMSFELD: Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the prewar period. That is a fact.
McGOVERN: Zarqawi? He was in the north of Iraq in a place where Saddam
Hussein had no rule. That's where he was.
RUMSFELD: He was also in Baghdad.
McGOVERN: Yeah, when he needed to go to the hospital. Come on, these
people aren't idiots. They know the story.
An October 5, 2005, Knight Ridder article noted that "[t]here's no dispute
that al-Zarqawi spent time in Iraq before the U.S. invasion, but virtually
all that time was in a portion of northeastern Iraq that wasn't under
Saddam's control." The Washington Post reported on Zarqawi's hospitalization
in Baghdad in an October 21, 2004, article:
In 2002, Bush administration officials said, Zarqawi went to Baghdad to
have one leg amputated after having been wounded by a U.S. bombing attack.
That account has turned out to be wrong, according to U.S. intelligence
officials who have interrogated Zarqawi associates.
"It was for another ailment, but not his leg," one intelligence official
said yesterday. "We are still learning about him," this official added.
From the May 8 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor:
O'REILLY: Anyway, the reason Goss got fired was because of all the leaks.
Was leaks all over the place. Because there are some people within CIA who
don't like the Bush administration. Who are tied to the old Tenet -- when
George Tenet was CIA director. They, they were hired by him. And because
Tenet got embarrassed, you know, the Bush people threw him overboard on the
9-11 collapse of intelligence there and then the bad intelligence in Iraq.
These people who like Tenet are trying to undermine the Bush administration.
And you saw that with all the leaks.
This woman, Mary McCarthy, is accused of, you know, leaking the CIA
prisons in Eastern Europe and then the NSA leak and all of that. So the Bush
administration said, "Look, we can't have these leaks." I mean, you can't
run, fight a war with all of our top-secret agents leaking the press. And
the press, of course, hates Bush. You can't have it. You -- everybody would
understand that.
[...]
O'REILLY: All right. So, you, you know. General -- Admiral Stansfield
Turner was a CIA chief under Jimmy Carter. Of course Pelosi doesn't even
know that. I mean, all Pelosi wants is someone who hates Bush so there could
be more leaks to embarrass Bush and make his job harder.
You know, at this point, I'm gonna say that Nancy Pelosi and her acolytes,
people who like her, they want us to lose in Iraq. They want there to be
chaos in Afghanistan. They want this. They're rooting against their own
country. I believe that. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. But I watch these
people every day, and I never see anything out of them as far as protecting
the American people ever.
[...]
CALLER: Hello. I think the border -- I'm all with you on the border deal.
As an over-the-road truck driver, I've listened entirely to the Senate
Judiciary Committee hearings about the NSA wiretaps, and I think that even
prior to 9-11, George Bush had said that he wanted to restore the
presidential power to what it had been prior to the Nixon administration.
And I think that he's completely within his Article 2 rights to pursue these
wiretaps. And the reason why people are against Hayden isn't because of his
qualifications, it's because he was in charge of the NSA during --
O'REILLY: Yeah, and because he's a Bush crony. Because the, you know, he
likes Bush, Bush likes him. Sure. That's the opposition. I -- it'll be
interesting. Look, the NSA wiretap thing is a winner for the Bush
administration. They know it's a winner. They know most people feel the way
you do, [caller]. Now, what's the big deal? You're taping foreign calls. You
know, it's nothing domestic. So we want to be protected, and that looks like
it's designed to protect us. So it's a winner for the Bush administration.
All the polls say that. Congress just doesn't want to get into this fight.
The Democrats know it's a loser. It just makes them look soft on terror.
So that's the truth of the matter. But I do believe that the Bush
administration could've gotten the wiretap warrants 72 hours after the fact,
because the court is set up to do that. And the reason that the Bush
administration did not do it is their arrogance. And I, I believe that.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I believe.
[...]
O'REILLY: OK. We're talking about the totalitarian left. Now, the reason
that these guys get away with this is that the media pretty much gives them
a pass. And here's the best example I've seen in years about this. Remember
last week that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld went down to Atlanta and gave a
talk. All right. And he was confronted by a guy named Raymond McGovern, who
used to work at the CIA. Roll the tape:
[begin audio clip]
McGOVERN: Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary
and has caused these kinds of casualties? Why?
RUMSFELD: Well, first of all, I, I haven't lied. I did not lie then.
Colin Powell didn't lie. He spent weeks and weeks with the Central
Intelligence Agency people and prepared a presentation that I know he
believed was accurate. And he presented that to the United Nations. The
president spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence people and he
went to the American people and made a presentation. I'm not in the
intelligence business.
They gave the world their honest opinion. It appears that there were not
weapons of mass destruction there.
McGOVERN: You said you know where they were.
RUMSFELD: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were and we
were --
McGOVERN: You said, you said you knew where they were near Tikrit, near
Baghdad, and northeast, south and west of there. Those are your words.
RUMSFELD: My words, my words were that -- no, no, no, wait a minute,
wait a minute, let him stay one second, just a second.
McGOVERN: This is America, huh?
RUMSFELD: You're getting plenty of play, sir.
McGOVERN: I'd just like an honest answer.
RUMSFELD: I'm giving it to you.
McGOVERN: We're talking about lies and your, your allegation that there
was bulletproof evidence of ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Was that a lie
or were your misled?
RUMSFELD: Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the pre-war period.
[end audio clip]
O'REILLY: All right. Now, who is this guy Raymond McGovern? Well,
according to the media reports, and I was -- right away, we didn't do this
story per se on The Factor radio or TV. But on CNN, Fox News, and in the
newspapers, he was identified as a former CIA employee, former CIA agent.
But who he is really is one of the organizers of a group called the Veteran
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, a group that's called for the
resignation of Dick Cheney and the impeachment of President Bush. He's a
far-left guy, but he wasn't identified as such. And even Fox News was
derelict in doing that. All right.
[...]
O'REILLY: Yeah, I, I mean I -- let's get that online. Let's, let's get
that on billoreilly.com. Look, I understand the frustration that Americans
have because you guys can't quiz them, but I'm your voice. And I don't care
whether this CIA guy, former CIA guy, stood up and, and challenged Rumsfeld.
I -- that's fine with me. I just think everybody should know who he is and
where he's coming from. All right? That he's already convicted Rumsfeld and
Cheney and Bush of war crimes. In his mind, they're already guilty.
So everybody should know that. And then we listen to what he has to say
and you listen to what Rumsfeld what has to say. That's why we played the
clip. Then you make up your own mind. But full disclosure is part of making
a responsible decision.
Now we all know where the Republicans get their lies.
thom
"SugarMonkey" <gig...@bush.net> wrote in message
news:YqQ8g.15921$Lm5....@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
somehow, there are a lot of people addicted to this stuff in our country.
willful ignorance. i don't get it. brainwashed?
>
>
The Pervert
"SugarMonkey" <gig...@bush.net> wrote in message
news:YqQ8g.15921$Lm5....@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
And you do he same in here. See how much you two have in common?
SugarMonkey
"The Pervert" <perv...@spambad.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:d-CdncyCe5V...@comcast.com...
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
~George Washington
grinder
like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
really a very simple formula.
SugarMonkey
"grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:tl19g.3503$u4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
> like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
> really a very simple formula.
99% of their diatribe is made up on the spot because if they told the truth,
their whole angle would be, "We don't want to pay taxes and that bad man
Clinton made us pay our fair share".
Of course nothing is said of the asshole who boasted, "Read my tits, no more
taxes" and then proceeded to burn everyone on Earth.
omare...@aol.com
> "grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
> news:tl19g.3503$u4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> > O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
> > like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
> > really a very simple formula.
>
> 99% of their diatribe is made up on the spot
I'm sure you have something to back this up. Go ahead, I have all day
:)
because if they told the truth,
> their whole angle would be, "We don't want to pay taxes and that bad man
> Clinton made us pay our fair share".
Still hysterically sobbing that the government is stealing much less of
the wealthy's money these days? Continue wailing.
omare...@aol.com
> O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
> like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction.
Sort of like Air America (or it would be if they had any listeners) :)
SugarMonkey
<omare...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1147453807....@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
Air America isn't a Bush outlet reaping millions off of suckers who live on
Fantasy Island.
Air America is P-A-R-O-D-Y.
"Boss, boss, de plan, de plan".
kyl...@yahoo.com
omare...@aol.com wrote:
> SugarMonkey wrote:
> > "grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
> > news:tl19g.3503$u4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> > > O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
> > > like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
> > > really a very simple formula.
> >
> > 99% of their diatribe is made up on the spot
>
> I'm sure you have something to back this up. Go ahead, I have all day
While he's at it, would you like someone to post something to back up
the assertion that WWE is fake, imbecile?
grinder
Not quite Skippy. The only outrageous things Air America plays are the
B.S. sound bites from Limbaugh and O'Reilly Then they counter them with
facts. They don't play to the lowest denominator.
Morton Davis
"grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
television he's come off as a smarmy asshole.
WhyNotMe
lot of people
Mitchell Holman
@attbi_s22:
Having five Emmy's and three bestselling books
will do that to you.
George Washington Hayduke
The problem is that the rightards drag the rest if us down with them.
---
"And reality has a well-known liberal bias." -- Stephen Colbert
"Hitler had Auschwitz, Bush has Abu Ghraib."
Tempest
Unlike the rightwing talking heads, Franken has been to Iraq and
Afghanistan on multiple occasions to entertain the troops.
And he's been very well received on each trip.
Funny how the rightards don't like to mention that.
--
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do,
because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."
- Susan B. Anthony, 1896
KenStahl
> Afghanistan on multiple occasions to entertain the troops.
So in your uninformed retarded opinion NO rightwing talking heads
have been to Iraq or Afghanistan?
Damn boy, if you didn't post retarded shit or lies you wouldn't have
anything to say.
Jerry Okamura
"George Washington Hayduke" <GeorgeWashi...@Hotmail.COM> wrote in
message news:126aia0...@corp.supernews.com...
> "grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
>>O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
>>like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
>>really a very simple formula.
>
> The problem is that the rightards drag the rest if us down with them.
>
George Washington Hayduke
Look at any Democrat politician and you'll find yourself
looking at a Republican traitor wearing a fake name.
---
"And reality has a well-known liberal bias." -- Stephen Colbert
"It just doesn't get any dumber than fox news. It's the cartoon
channel but with humans." -- hadenough
Tempest
George Washington Hayduke wrote:
> "Jerry Okamura" <okamu...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
>>"George Washington Hayduke" <GeorgeWashi...@Hotmail.COM> wrote in
>>message news:126aia0...@corp.supernews.com...
>>
>>>"grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>>O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
>>>>like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
>>>>really a very simple formula.
>>>
>>>The problem is that the rightards drag the rest if us down with them.
>>
>>Or visa versa?
>
>
> Look at any Democrat politician and you'll find yourself
> looking at a Republican traitor wearing a fake name.
You sure can be an idiot at times.
Would your grossly inaccurate statement also include Democrat
politicians like Wellstone, Surbanes, Kennedy, Lunenburg, Milkulski,
Reed or Corzine who are distinctly Liberal?
Jesus Christ man, stop with the drama queen act already.
George Washington Hayduke
>George Washington Hayduke wrote:
>> "Jerry Okamura" <okamu...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
>>>"George Washington Hayduke" <GeorgeWashi...@Hotmail.COM> wrote in
>>>message news:126aia0...@corp.supernews.com...
>>>>"grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
>>>>>like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
>>>>>really a very simple formula.
>>>>The problem is that the rightards drag the rest if us down with them.
>>>Or visa versa?
>> Look at any Democrat politician and you'll find yourself
>> looking at a Republican traitor wearing a fake name.
>You sure can be an idiot at times.
How many Democrats voted against funding this fascist regime's wars?
Oh. Right.
How many Democrats voted against the Iranian "Freedom" initiative?
Oh. Right again.
How many Democrats have stood on their hind feet and said the
word "TREASON" in front of the cameras to denounce this fascist
regime?
Oh. Right again, huh?
The Democrat mother fuckers are ZERO dofferent than the Republican.
Trying to pretend that they're any different is why we're living in
a theofascist dictatorship.
Tempest
George Washington Hayduke wrote:
> Tempest <tem...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>George Washington Hayduke wrote:
>>
>>>"Jerry Okamura" <okamu...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>"George Washington Hayduke" <GeorgeWashi...@Hotmail.COM> wrote in
>>>>message news:126aia0...@corp.supernews.com...
>>>>
>>>>>"grinder" <sea...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>O'Reilly can't make it telling the truth. He, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.
>>>>>>like doing/saying outrages things and then reacting to the reaction. It's
>>>>>>really a very simple formula.
>>>>>
>>>>>The problem is that the rightards drag the rest if us down with them.
>>>>
>>>>Or visa versa?
>>>
>>>Look at any Democrat politician and you'll find yourself
>>>looking at a Republican traitor wearing a fake name.
>>
>>You sure can be an idiot at times.
>
>
> How many Democrats voted against funding this fascist regime's wars?
>
> Oh. Right.
Several.
> How many Democrats voted against the Iranian "Freedom" initiative?
>
> Oh. Right again.
Several.
> How many Democrats have stood on their hind feet and said the
> word "TREASON" in front of the cameras to denounce this fascist
> regime?
>
> Oh. Right again, huh?
Several.
> The Democrat mother fuckers are ZERO dofferent than the Republican.
> Trying to pretend that they're any different is why we're living in
> a theofascist dictatorship.
You continue to look like a complete idiotic lunatic, Freddie.
You're not helping your cause at all.
As a matter of fact, you're hurting it immensely.
It was better around here before you came back.
George Washington Hayduke
>George Washington Hayduke wrote:
>> How many Democrats voted against funding this fascist regime's wars?
>> Oh. Right.
>Several.
Irrelevent since the vast majority voted for treason and crimes
against humanity is goose-step with the Republinazi terrorists.
>> How many Democrats voted against the Iranian "Freedom" initiative?
>> How many Democrats have stood on their hind feet and said the
>> word "TREASON" in front of the cameras to denounce this fascist
>> regime?
>> The Democrat mother fuckers are ZERO dofferent than the Republican.
>> Trying to pretend that they're any different is why we're living in
>> a theofascist dictatorship.
>You continue to look like a complete idiotic lunatic, Freddie.
Translation: You admit I'm right on all counts.
KenStahl
Two lib-turd kornholers in a sissy hissy.
Come on, girlz, butt fuck and say you're sorry.
You may as well...
Your both dumber than donkey shit.
Kyle Daulton
"KenStahl" <kens...@fastmail.us> wrote in message
news:1147728441.2...@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Yet, presumably, they, whoever they are, are capable of using quotes in
their responses so we'll know what in the fuck they're talking about and to
whom they are responding. A simple skill which you quite clearly have yet to
master, you moronic, closet case wind bag.
--
"...would Jesus smack me down? Most likely..." -- Matthew Ogilvie
KenStahl
They're lib-turds, KyleKornholer.
They have nothing to say that would interest anybody.
Much like your retarded retorts, KyleKornholer.
Have you ever had an original thought in your whole pathetic life?
Tempest
Stool is a perfect example of the typical southern trailer trash that
supports Bush.
Uneducated, ignorant, unable to write in complete sentences and hides
his homosexuality behind a false bravado.
Bush must be so proud to have the likes of Stool supporting him.
KenStahl
supports Bush.
Old queenie is having another Alzheimers moment.
Keep plucking away, old girl, some day you may stumble
upon a correct thought.
grinder
"KenStahl" <kennykorn...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:1147748327.2...@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
The last original thought you had was when the words "NEED TO FART" flashed
across your mind.
Kyle Daulton
"Tempest" <tem...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:44694053...@hotmail.com...
>
>
> KenStahl wrote:
>>>Yet, presumably, they, whoever they are, are capable of using quotes in
>>>their responses so we'll know what in the fuck they're talking about...
>>
>>
>> They're lib-turds, KyleKornholer.
>> They have nothing to say that would interest anybody.
>> Much like your retarded retorts, KyleKornholer.
>> Have you ever had an original thought in your whole pathetic life?
>
>
> Stool is a perfect example of the typical southern trailer trash that
> supports Bush.
>
> Uneducated, ignorant, unable to write in complete sentences and hides his
> homosexuality behind a false bravado.
That pretty much sums KneelStahl!
kyl...@yahoo.com
Hey, insulting you with something original is tough, since there
probably aren't many insults you haven't already heard, Stool.