So Frontline is four and a half years behind a Hollywood producer with appropriate interest and skepticism. (Full disclosure: I appear in “Uncovered,” as do many of the interviewees appearing in Frontline’s “Bush’s War.”)
Actually, the interviewing by Frontline occurred just a few months later. I know because I was among those interviewed for that as well, as was my good friend and former colleague at the CIA, Mel Goodman. I was struck that Mel looked four years younger on this week’s Frontline. It only then dawned on me that he was four years younger when interviewed.
It also struck me that producing a Frontline-style retrospective going back several years is a much less risky genre to work with. Chalk it up to my perspective as an intelligence analyst, but ducking the incredibly important issues at stake over the next several months is, in my opinion, unconscionable. The troop “surge” in Iraq, for example.
Only toward the very end of the program does Frontline allow a bit of relevant candor on a point that has been self-evident since Cheney and Bush, against strong opposition from Generals Abizaid and Casey (and apparently even Rumsfeld), decided to double down by sending 30,000 more troops into Iraq. A malleable new secretary of defense would deal with the recalcitrant generals and pick a Petreaus ex Machina of equal malleability and political astuteness to implement this stop-gap plan.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist/author Steve Coll, with typical candor, put the “surge” into perspective:
“The decision at a minimum guaranteed that his [Bush’s] presidency would not end with a defeat in history’s eyes; that by committing to the surge, he was certain to at least achieve a stalemate.”
Given this week’s fresh surge of violence as the U.S. surge is scheduled to wind down, even a stalemate may be in some doubt. But, okay, small kudos to Frontline for including that bit of truth—however obvious—and for adding the grim background music to its final comment: “Soon Bush’s war will be handed to someone else.”
Rather Not, Thank You
Intimidation of the media is what has happened all around, including with Frontline, which not so many years ago was able to do some gutsy reporting. Let me give you another example about which few are aware.
Do you remember when Dan Rather made his Apologia Pro Vita Sua, admitting that the American media, including him, was failing to reveal the truth about things like Iraq? Speaking to the BBC on May 16, 2002, Rather compared the situation to the fear of “necklacing” in South Africa:
"It's an obscene comparison," Rather said, "but there was a time in South Africa when people would put flaming tires around peoples' necks if they dissented. In some ways, the fear is that you will be neck-laced here, you will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck."
Talking to another reporter, Dan told it straight about the careerism that keeps US journalists in line. "It's that fear that keeps [American] journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions and to continue to bore-in on the tough questions so often."
The comparison to “necklacing” may be “obscene” but, sadly, it is not far off the mark. So what happened to the newly outspoken Dan Rather with the newly found courage, when he ran afoul of Vice President Dick Cheney and the immense pressure he exerts on the corporate media?
We know about the lies and the cheerleading for attacking Iraq. But there is much more most of us do not know and remain unable to learn if Rather and other one-time journalists keep acting like Bert Lahr’s cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz before he gets “the nerve” and courage.
Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. During his 27-years as a CIA analyst, he chaired NIEs: he is now on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).
Here is an excerpt of my views on it to a friend who pointed the film out to me:
After seeing it all I can say is what FOX News says about itself. "Fair and Balanced!" By that I mean it was an intentionally tamed down version of Hi Jacking Catastrophe. I would also say for Bob Woodward, it's too little too late. He along with the Washington Post have been sitting on their hands for years. No Pulitzer Bob! Not this time. In many areas it was almost apologetic, at least from the neocon viewpoints. All the pricks that helped Bush lie are suddenly coming forth and putting all of the blame on Cheney and Rumsfeld. They make Powell and Rice look like innocents, saying they were out of the loop when we all know they have intentionally lied to us over and over. Basically they call them stupid rather than complicit criminals. I don't buy it! They even try to make daddy Bush look like a good guy when essentially he chose his son's cabinet. Most of them were all former George H W Bush cabinet members. It even made it look like George Jr. was an innocent dweeb coerced by Cheney when the truth is all of them are in collusion, including Armitage and the pentagon. I can't wait to see part two though. I can only imagine how soft soaked that part will be. It just goes to show you that facts can be spun into any light they wish.
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Michael Shaw (6 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 245 comments)
on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 1:11:16 PM
I see this film as a gearing up for the forgiving moment similar to Nixon when GWB walks out of the White House. The main message I saw was Bush being naively led and that is bullshit as far as I'm concerned. Granted he's a dummy, but a complicit dummy. Seeing him joke about weapons of mass destruction at that RNC dinner was sickening
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Michael Shaw (6 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 245 comments)
on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 1:19:23 PM
How unfortunate that Michael Kirk failed to include all but the tiniest reference to the tens of millions of people who marched against the war for months and months.
How unfortunate that Michael Kirk failed to include the reactions from other nations' leaders, with the exception of Tony Blair, who in fact was a co-conspirator with Cheney-Bush.
How unfortunate Michael Kirk failed to include any time to the likes of Scott Ritter, Ray McGovern, Ralph Nader and dozens of experts who spoke out about the hijacking of the military.
How unfortunate -- for us, for the truth.
There is still time to impeach Cheney. It is absolute folly for Dems in Congress to think that Americans will reward them for ignoring the crimes of the most dangerous man on the planet.
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More Voices (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 7:01:00 PM
" Bush's War" is trying to sell Americans incompetence?... The truth is the MSM is losing their grip on controlling the flow of information and their hold on omitting and constraining the truth. Millions of Americans are aware of the truth of 9/11 and The PNAC document spelling out The NEOCON's intentions waaaay before these so called incompetent people came into power.
"Bush's War" is a FICTION! And PBS is no longer to be trusted as a source for anything remotely connected to truth.
I have one rule I go bye...It it's on your TV... it's Bullsh*t
Stop thinking you can still get the truth from MSM. Stop trusting them.
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Scott Ledger (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 135 comments)
on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 7:03:02 PM
Mr. McGovern I do hope that you are feeling well and I want to again thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in helping bring forth the lies and deceit which this pernicious administration has wrought upon both the United States and Iraq. Hopefully through God's grace we can piece back together our fractured country, and establish peace throughout the world. It is indeed possible. However, it will no doubt be a very long hard slog. No pun intended.
Before the Iraq invasion Frontline ran two programs which I've linked below. Both shows were essentially pro-Bush administration and depicted how much of a tyrant and a threat Saddam and Iraq were to America. The narrator subliminally instilling the fear which was needed for such an invasion.
Looking back, Frontline was merely a "front" that helped sell this horrific and costly war to a credulous America.
With no end in sight to the violence in what was once a peaceful country, and while I truly feel for the innocent Iraqi people, what I fear most is that our troops, many of whom have been in Iraq now for far too long, will become bogged down in the middle of this renewed sectarian strife and for what! Oil and hegemony? This botched PNAC wet dream!
It is high time the American people got off of their duffs and demand that we put an end to this senseless slaughter.
The Long Road to War: A FRONTLINE Special Report (120 minutes) America appears to be within days of attacking Iraq. Many observers believe President Bush may soon signal to weapons inspectors, diplomats and members of ...
Feb. 20, 2003
The War Behind Closed Doors (60 minutes) FRONTLINE examines the hidden story of what is really driving the Bush administration to war with Iraq. The investigation asks whether the publicly reported reasons--fear ...
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Munich (0 articles, 38 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 577 comments)
on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 12:30:19 AM
Bush's yes men run the FCC. We also know they oversea PBS. Let's not forget what they did to Bill Moyers, forcing him off the air. It took thousands of letters threatening boycott to bring him back. When it comes to anything political on PBS, Bill Moyers is the only guy you can trust. Even before Democracy Now he was plugging Body of War.
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Michael Shaw (6 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 245 comments)
on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:25:03 AM
