Wash. Post editorial joined Bush in conflating "Al Qaeda" and "Al Qaeda in Iraq," despite Post's own reporting
A July 12 Washington Post editorial headlined "Wishful Thinking on Iraq" asserted that U.S. generals in Iraq "believe they are making fitful progress in calming Baghdad, training the Iraqi army and encouraging anti-al-Qaeda coalitions." But by claiming that the generals are "encouraging anti-al-Qaeda coalitions," the editorial conflated -- as the Bush administration has done -- the Sunni insurgent group "Al Qaeda in Iraq" with the Osama bin Laden-led group responsible for the 9-11 attacks. As Media Matters for America has noted, "U.S. military and intelligence officials" reportedly "reject[]" the Bush administration's claim that, in President Bush's words, "[t]he same people that attacked us on September the 11th is the crowd that is now bombing people, killing innocent men, women and children" in Iraq. The Post itself reported on the distinction between the two groups in a July 11 article, a distinction ignored by the Post's editorial writer. Read more
NBC Nightly News ignored senior intel official's assessment regarding violence in Iraq
On the July 11 edition of NBC's Nightly News, host Brian Williams reported that according to information obtained from a White House assessment, "there is unsatisfactory progress on 10 of the 18 so-called benchmarks laid out by Congress" for the Iraqi government but that "there is some good news, though, including a drop in those sectarian killings in Baghdad." Williams' report did not contain any other information regarding the administration's report, thus ignoring a more negative assessment on progress in Iraq from National Intelligence Council chairman Thomas Fingar, who is also the deputy director of national intelligence for analysis. According to prepared testimony presented to the House Armed Services committee on July 11, Fingar asserted that "even if violence is diminished, given the current winner-take-all attitude and sectarian animosities infecting the political scene, Iraqi leaders will be hard pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation." Read more
Boortz: Media Matters' "Dave Brock is the illegitimate bastard child of Hillary Clinton and George Soros"
On the July 12 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Neal Boortz said he does not want to go on vacation "without having stirred the pudding with Media Myrmidons at least one more time." He went on to suggest that Media Matters for America President and CEO "David Brock is the illegitimate son of [Clinton deputy White House counsel] Vince Foster and [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY]" and later said, "Dave Brock is the illegitimate bastard child of Hillary Clinton and [philanthropist] George Soros." In the same segment, Boortz said he used to refer to Hearst Newspapers columnist Helen Thomas as "the hag" but would no longer be able to use the term because at a"White House Christmas party one year, she took [his wife] Donna and me under our [sic] wing like a craggy old aunt and started showing us around the White House. ... I mean, she was just the perfect aunt or grandma." Boortz continued: "[S]o I can't call her 'the hag' anymore. ... 'Left-wing bitch,' maybe." Boortz followed by saying, "I'm sorry. No, but she was just so sweet." Read more
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