Bush Pentagon Spokesman Nominee Under Attack(says networks aid terrorists) [View All]

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Bush Nominee for Pentagon Is Under Attack
By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: October 26, 2005


WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 - The senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee vowed Tuesday to defeat President Bush's choice for chief Pentagon spokesman, citing an op-ed article the nominee wrote in April accusing American television networks of aiding Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

The comments by the senator, Carl Levin of Michigan, during and after a committee hearing to consider the nomination of J. Dorrance Smith to be assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, cast serious doubt on Mr. Smith's chances to win approval by the full Senate.

Mr. Smith, a former ABC News producer who has worked as an adviser in both Bush administrations, said in an article in The Wall Street Journal on April 25 that the Arab satellite news channel Al Jazeera operated on behalf of terrorists and that American networks aided them by televising Al Jazeera's videotape....

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"Al Jazeera," he added, "has very strong partners in the U.S. - ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN and MSNBC. Video aired by Al Jazeera ends up on these networks, sometimes within minutes."

Mr. Levin said Tuesday that coming from someone who had been picked to be the Pentagon's chief liaison with the news media, those comments went too far. "That you would characterize them as aiders and abettors of the terrorists that attack us," he told reporters, "as far as I'm concerned that is so far over the top, it's unacceptable."

Even some Senate Republican aides said Mr. Smith's nomination appeared in jeopardy....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/politics/26pentagon.html