Christopher Hitchens weighs in on the possibility that George Bush really did want to bomb Al Jazeera, an act that would have been not only criminal but also very bad policy. Bottom line: sounds plausible to him.
UPDATE: Spun and Spinning goes a bit beserk over this posting. My offense? Conceding the possibility that Bush didn't really propose bombing Al Jazeera. Unfortunately for Tony, even the story he cites as proof says only that the document in question "suggests" that Bush may have "considered" bombing. Hitchens finds it believable, and so do I, but it ain't proof.
UPDATE: Now he's gone beserker. Of course, he has to misquote me to do it -- he substitutes "maybe" and "possibly" for "suggests" and "considered" -- but that seems to be no obstacle.
Easy, big fellow. We don't even disagree on this. All we're arguing about is the standard of proof.
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25 comments:
What somebody wanted to do and what he actually did are two different things.
When conspiracy nutcases like “Tony” post first, you know the thread is going to be pathetic.
I wouldn't miss Al-Jazeera at all.
They should have made a 'mistake' and dropped a 500# bomb on every location they have.
Anonymous,
I wouldn't miss you. Is that grounds for murder?
I'm talking about buildings, not people.
I agree! No one should know what Hitler is doing in Poland....OOOPS! I mean Bush is doing in Iraq! It's best that the world doesn't see.
Hitler was the best thing that ever happened to Poland. You don't hear the Poles today complaining about him cleaning out their country, do you?
You must be really devastated by the lessons of history.
Black Jack, That's probably the dumbest thing ever written by a human being.
You are human, aren't you?
Sure, David, I’m human. But I’m a realist. Beyond good and evil, you know?
The history of the world is people getting out of their boxes and then being put back in their boxes. Christians into the Holy Land, then back to Europe. Moors into Spain, then back to North Africa. Muslims into Austria, then back to Turkey. Shintos into China, then back to Japan. Jews into Poland, then back to Judea.
Nobody in the Holy Land, Spain, Austria, China, or Poland is complaining. So what’s your problem?
IN 1999 NATO bombed a TV station in Belgrade, killing four and destroying the station. The reason: The station was putting out propaganda, they said. (Every Arerican network and TV and radio station and newspaper should be on notice!) In 2001 Al Jazeera in Kabul was bombed - sending our Al Qaeda messages, we are told. In April of 2003, Al Jazeera in Baghdad was bombed, killing a journalist. And now the memo. Is there a pattern? Probably.
I’m really sorry, Tony. I had no idea you were THE Tony Lewis! Golly, every Delta Force guy and SEAL team in the country has read about your exploits in South America. I should’ve checked out your profile, and I would’ve have seen the link to “spun and spinning” and then figured it out.
Anyway, I’m really sorry if I made you mad, Mr. Lewis. Oh, and thanks for your address. Maybe I’ll drop by and have you autograph one of your books for me.
Gotta run! I just wet my pants again.
Mark T. Good comments.
Re: 1999 NATO bombed a TV station in Belgrade.
That would be Slick Willy and Wes Clark (another Little Rock boy) who bombed the TV station.
It's sad to watch a thread degrade like this.......
Anyways, back to our TOPIC:
"The United States bombed its offices in Afghanistan in 2001, shelled the Basra hotel where Al Jazeera journalists were the only guests in April 2003, killed Iraq correspondent Tareq Ayoub a few days later in Baghdad and imprisoned several Al Jazeera reporters "
I don't know if anyone else has seen the footage of Ayoub's final film. He's filming an American convoy from a rooftop, and then you see the machine gun fire as it gets closer to him quickly, then PLUNK......the camera falls and points upward.
I remember watching all of this on TV as it happened and thinking "My God, is this what my country is?" It was all so blatant back then, but spin has taken over now, and some people actually believe none of it was intentional. And we needed a stupid memo to start talking about it. It's all so pathetic.
There is a pattern here, but maybe it's just a result of there being so much bombing that patterns are easy to pick out of the rubble. We've been on a bombing binge for quite a few years now, and TV stations are not exampt.
That one TV station was bombed under Clinton, two others and a memo under Bush only serves to show that foreign policy is not subject to elections.
Steve T. -- For heaven’s sake, WWII was started over a radio station on the German-Polish frontier. Get a grip on yourself. Were you born yesterday? This is what WAR is all about.
Mark T. -- “maybe it's just a result of there being so much bombing that patterns are easy to pick out of the rubble.” Take a look through the ruble of Antwerp, Coventry, Dresden, Warsaw, or Hiroshima. See any radio stations or newspaper offices? See any “pattern”?
B.J.- You think it's all a part of war, I think it's murder. That is the crux of our argument. We will never agree.
So please, avoid talking, you're making my ears bleed.
Steve T. -- Well, at least your bleeding ears match your bleeding heart.
War is just another part of the grand human experience, Steve. We hang out and read some Shakespeare or listen to a little Mozart, maybe do a smattering of science or medicine, and then we all start to kill each other! Isn’t it grand? Never a dull moment!
David,
Christopher Hitchens is credible, in my opinion. I'm not sure I agree with your conclusions, but it doesn't really matter if I agree or not, as we didn't bomb Al Jazeera.
For those of your readers who are unfamiliar with Christopher, here's an excellent video of him thrashing Ronny Reagan over Ronny's complete lack of knowledge of terrorism Link to The Political Teen. Enjoy!
Hitchens is a delight. I highly recommend re-watching the Hitchens/Galloway debate of September 14, 2005. It can be found HERE Scroll down a short way to see the audio links. Warning to conservatives, the warmup to the event includes some broadcasters glorifying this year's Idiotarian of the Year.
Hitchens also penned a short pre-debate story HERE in which he states, among other things:
Thanks in part to Eve and Jane, the “anti-war” movement has as its new star a man who is openly pro-war, but openly on the other side. A man who supported the previous oppressors of the region—the Soviet army in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq—who supports its current oppressors—Bashar Assad and his Lebanese proxies—and who still has time to endorse its potential future tyrants in the shape of the jihadists in Iraq and elsewhere. Galloway began his political life as a fifth-rate apologist for the Soviet Union, but he has now diversified into being an apologist for Stalinism, for fascism, and for jihadism all at once! All this, and Jane, too. One’s cup runs over.
Actually, richie, I happened to SEE the Galloway hitchesn debate. I've never seen a man get his ass so thoroughly whipped in public before! I almost felt sorry for hitchens! He's kinda pathetic.
I apologize for posting the audio archive when I indicated one should 'watch' the program. I'm still looking for the video archive. If anyone happens finds it, I'd be grateful if you'd post a link.
Thanks.
Actually, richie, I happened to SEE the Galloway hitchesn debate. I've never seen a man get his ass so thoroughly whipped in public before! I almost felt sorry for hitchens! He's kinda pathetic.
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A lot of the moonbats in attendance agreed with you. Seems like poor company to me.
More than once, when faced with some bizarre crime, I have heard people fall back on the retort "Well, it's war." It's the grand excuse that pardons all deeds - Dresden and Tokyo firebombings were "just war", and routinely bombing TV stations that happen to put out news not favorable to our cause is "just war."
Ain't it interesting, that phrase,"just war"? It gets throown at us in two ways - one to pardon criminal activity, the other to call in the Vatican to suport our cause.
What is odd is that these same people will point to the USA as some paragon of virtue, pursuing only just wards, the exception to the ordinary drift of history. I'm content to know that my country is like any other country that ever existed - ruthless to a fault, energetic in pursuit of cheap labor and resources, and as skilled in the use of propaganda as Goebbels. My country knows propaganda. Me and my fellow citizens swim in propaganda every day and do not know it. Maybe Blackjack has an inkling. It is this in depth understanding of the nature of propaganda that makes my country bommb TV stations. Truth is the enemy.
Truth is what you make of it.
I must say, one of the most delightful things I have ever seen was Galloway's testimony before the Senate that was "investigating" him.
I have always been delighted with Hitchens, despite strong disagreements with him on the Iraq war. He is a joy to listen to, even when he's full of it.
All of this being said, after listening to their debate, and as much as I disagree with Hitchens, I would say that he won the debate when their was debate to be had. I wish they could have sat down at a table and had reasoned discussion. Lots of name calling and phrases for popular appeal.
Fun to listen to, nonetheless! Thanks for the link.
Re: Your UPDATE Tony goes beserk
I don't think it's a good idea to post a link to that guy's blog. Anybody who'd put "private" family pictures like that on his blog must be pretty sick.
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