ABC Hit Piece On Reid Embraced By Right Wing

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/13/tapper-reid/

ABC Hit Piece On Reid Embraced By Right Wing

During a press conference yesterday after President Bush’s briefing on Iraq progress, ABC’s Jake Tapper pressed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to speculate on post-withdrawal from Iraq.

Even though Reid responded and explained that the U.S. should withdraw because Iraqis feel more insecure right now, Tapper refused to back down. Later that night, he produced a segment for ABC’s World News Tonight attacking Reid. Watch it at link~

Tapper then wrote a piece for ABC News entitled “Benchmarks and Bickering: Where Are Dems on Iraqi Security?,” stuffed with right-wing rhetoric. He alleged that Reid “refused to discuss whether the United States had a moral obligation to secure the country for Iraqis or even answer questions as to whether withdrawing troops would make the country safer for the tens of millions of Iraqis.”

In fact, as the ABC segment showed, Reid did answer the question, telling Tapper: “It is clear that the Iraqi people don’t want us there. It is clear that there is now a state of chaos in Iraq, and it is up to the Iraqi people to make themselves safe.”

Nevertheless, the Washington Times picked up on the exchange today and reinforced Tapper’s attacks in an editorial titled “They Still Have No Plan“:

Mr. Reid’s response to this very reasonable question was to dodge here, dodge there. … What they lack is any compelling rationale for the precipice over which they seek to push Iraq. Congress, do not turn a bloody and difficult stalemate in Iraq into an even bloodier, still more dangerous strategic catastrophe.

These talking points have been refuted time and again. Numerous military and diplomatic analysts argue that withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq would in fact “prevent Iraq’s multiple sectarian conflicts from spreading beyond its borders and gives Iraq and its neighbors the right incentive to help resolve Iraq’s internal conflicts.”

[William769]

1. Go figure!

The same news organization that joined Fox news in the hit piece on Clinton & Edwards.

[bryant69]

2. Reid is part of the party leaership in the Senate

And like all Good DUers I feel it my duty to despise him.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[mzmolly]

3. Where was the "moral obligation" lingo on staying the F out?

We had a "moral obligation" not to start the freaking war.

[mzmolly]

4. Recommending by the way, this is very important.

Thanks for sharing BabylonSister. :hi:

[depakid]

5. What do you expect from the corporate media?

No matter how much and how often the Democrats pander to them- they'll keep on acting dishonestly and with no accountability.

[BonnieJW]

8. Jake Tapper

used to write for Salon.

[depakid]

9. He did indeed

but like all "good journalists," he knows who's buttering his bread....

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. Reid utterly mishandled the question

And looked like an absolute jackass.

He doesn't want to provide the real answer, because it's a sucky answer. His stupid blaming of the Iraqis is intellectually dishonest and morally repugnant. That is for sure.

[mzmolly]

7. I hope he's better prepared in the future.

.

[OHdem10]

10. I have had it --up to my eyeballs.

When is someone going to ask the Republicans --How long
must we support the Iraqis? Mr GOP when do you believe
we will have spent enough money on the Iraqis>

In World War II, our young men and women were given what was
called the "120" . Our Military had 120 days to train our
jyoung men and get them to frontlines as replacements.

According to that darn report. Not ONE Brigade in Iraq is ready
to stand up and fight without our boys supporting them. People
it is over 4 years we have been training them. They cannot
be that much of slow learners. Intelligent people. They do not
even show up for duty at times.

Do not get me started on the BILLIONs and BIllions spen
while we are forced to cut programs here for our citizens?
Do not even mention NOLA (katrina).

Ask Republicans over and over --How long do you plan to keep
our troops there and support finacially the Iraqi government?
Do not let them weasel out.

[MessiahRp]

11. Ironic since they never had a plan going into and all through this Iraq mess anyway.

But I suppose we're always the ones they depend on to fix their fuckups right? I mean why else has there been a call for a Democratic plan in Iraq ever since we first went in even when we were either in the minority or did not have a veto proof majority?

Why is the onus always on us?

Rp

[ljm2002]

12. Always the same old, same old, isn't it...

...it brings to mind the political cartoon where Bush and (Reid? dunno -- some Democratic leader) are in a car with Bush at the wheel and they've just gone over a cliff and are dropping. At which point Bush turns to the other guy and says, "Oh yeah? So what's *your* plan?"

It is literally what has happened to us. Only it's not just Bush, it's the entire friggin' press corps, who now turn on the Dems and say "Neener neener neener, you don't have a plan, whatcha gonna do, huh?? HUH?"

[TreasonousBastard]

13. Oh, someone else posted this a bit later and...

I kinda mentioned in that thread that no one can trash Reid as well as we can here.