Cable News Blew It! US Soldiers Charged - Murder, Cover Up, Trophies, Skulls, Fingers!

American soldiers charged with keeping a skull, finger bones and leg bones from Afghan corpses as trophies. Twelve American soldiers charged with a total of 76 crimes, including the premeditated murders of three Afghan civilians (possibly for sport) and the beating of one or more fellow soldiers. Sounds like an outtake from Predator.

It’s not.

This story didn’t knock a pathetic “pastor” with a half baked scheme to burn the Qu’ran off cable news? This didn’t make it to the front pages of the web sites of the major cable TV news outlets by midnight Saturday?

The admirable Army Times had the story, which they’ve recently updated. The AP had the story on the 8th. The Guardian, the AP and McClatchy had extensive, horrifying stories on the 9th. Huffington Post covered it on Friday, as did the Daily Mail in the UK. Slowly, print has picked it up. All these stories were factual, well researched, responsible with different narratives. The Drudge Report picked up the Daily Mail’s story. So I guess now Drudge has it, 23 year old TV bookers will notice it.

It may not have been up to the young bookers not to cover what is clearly a massive story. They may have brought it up in editorial meetings and been knocked back. Told “we’re on a roll with the lunatic pastor, the ratings are way up, we already have reporters in the field, it works with 9/11, nobody cares about Afghanistan, it’s a downer, don’t get in the way of our story, get me some more coffee”.

OK. A couple things. It’s BODY PARTS. If all you care about is the ratings, then you’ve got skulls, finger and leg bones as trophies, 76 crimes including the murder of three Afghan civilians, hashish smoking, guys ratting out each other, the cover up, kill teams, killing for sport, hitting, kicking, strangling, dragging and spitting, gruesome photographs (good visuals), Wasilla Alaska (really), desperate, failed attempts to whistle blow on Facebook and a young, green hero.

Early Sunday, four days after the AP had it, this story was absent from the web sites of the major US news organizations. Instead, on their front pages under top stories we had: CNN “Tiny gal eats 181 wings in 12 mins”; MSNBC “Americans still skipping fruits veggies”; Fox “Massive iceberg crashes into island splits in 2”. The BBC and al Jazeera English both had the story, not on their front pages, but under the US, and Central and South Asia respectively. Funny how you often have to go outside the US to find negative stories about the US.
Is it an excuse that Saturday was 9/11? No. It’s actually possible to tell two stories. Oh, get this, we’re in Afghanistan because of 9/11 - sooo - linkage?

There’s been a lot of hand wringing and forehead smiting this week about playing into the hands of al Qaeda by talking about a former hotel manager turned cult leader blackmailer who was going to burn Qu’rans. (There was almost NO talk on TV about his very shady past in Germany and in Florida, extensively documented in print, and nicely summarized by TPM.) What really plays into the hands of al Qaeda is American soldiers murdering Afghan civilians for sport, keeping body parts as trophies and covering it up. (These soldiers have only been charged. They have not been convicted.)

The American public has a right to know about the heroism of its soldiers, like Sgt Salvatore Giunta, the first living serviceman from the Iraq or Afghan wars to receive the Medal of Honor, as well as the atrocities committed by men and women in uniform. The media have the obligation to report it.

Cable news will give this hideous story some coverage now as it becomes “mainstream” and hard to ignore. If the cable networks decide to go all out on the story, will it be because it’s important, or because it’s a ratings grabber? Or will they stay away because it’s Afghanistan and “nobody cares”, or because it would be “playing into the hands of al Qaeda”?

There are very responsible journalists and editors at cable news, as well as people whose job is just to make money for the network. That’s the business. I’m in the radio end. Who wins the coverage war? Agony, forehead smite, hand wring, chest beat.

“Is it going to be bigger than Abu Ghraib? Guantanamo? Hey, maybe we could get General Petraeus to come on and ask us not to cover it, then when we do anyway, Secretary Gates comes on. Then Robert Gibbs gives a rambling reply to a question from the front row about it, Secretary Clinton gets in on the act somehow, and, maybe, if we get really bad protests and flag burnings and an accidental death if we’re lucky, the President will weigh in. Then we can blame him for stirring it up. Big Sis raises the threat level. We get family members of the soldiers - there’s 12 of them, should be able to find someone, maybe a pregnant, crying wife. This could run and run. It’s a ratings bonanza - it could put Afghanistan back on the map for us. We’ve spent enough effing money on it already.

Get that cute little booker back in here.
 
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OPINION: Obama And The Mosque - Cool Logic Spawns Heated Inanity

For a few minutes on Friday night (and before the PR debacle on Saturday) it seemed like a grownup had weighed in on the Ground Zero mosque mess, but not for long. President Obama had the nerve - the temerity - to say that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. Including on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. Gosh. This mild observation caused veins to pop, minds to boggle and political self preservation, bigotry, prejudice, venom, fear and hatred to spurt all over the media.

Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are hyperventilating to outdo each other in over-reacting to the President’s remarks at the Iftar Dinner he hosted at the White House.

Sarah Palin wants Obama to get the “Muslim mosque” developers to take up New York Governor Paterson’s offer to find state land and move it away from Gound Zero. She doesn’t seem to think it unseemly or odd that a President would pressure a religious group to take state land that they don’t want for a private religious building. She doesn’t seem to think that there might be a church state conflict. Mind you, she doesn’t think there is much of a separation of church and state, and she’s OK with America being a Christian nation. Remember when she spoke to the Women of Joy?

Newt Gingrich, an intelligent man who should know better, says “There is nothing surprising in the President’s continued pandering to radical Islam. What he said last night is untrue and inaccurate. The fact is, this is not about religious liberty.” The fact is that this is. Islam’s just not a “popular” religion with non Muslims in America. Newt’s idea of freedom of religion in America is be as restrictive towards Muslims as the Saudis are to Christians and Jews.

Dana Perino, former White House Press Secretary, says on Fox on Sunday “Of course, everybody’s for religious freedom.” I’m sure she is. However, quite apart from Lt. Gov Ron Ramsey (R) Tennessee, who suggests that freedom of speech might not apply to Islam because it might be a cult, and Muslims might be invading the US, quite a few people feel that religious freedom should apply to everyone except Muslims, because just maybe they might be up to something.

Florida Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene has jumped in, showing some political acumen ( if not cynicism). With a constituency containing many retired New Yorkers, he says “President Obama has this all wrong”.

Senator John Cornyn (R) Texas says the building of a mosque near Ground Zero is not about religious liberty. Yes, it is. It’s about a religion that many people don’t understand and are not comfortable with. He also predicts it will become an issue in the fall midterm elections. He’s right, it will. It’s why Democrats are silently (and some not so silently) fuming - did the President have to drop this into the middle of the summer recess, when cable news is itching for an issue?

Rep Peter King (R) New York, is having some trouble with his memory. Now he says “I support mosques, obviously. I visited many mosques before September 11, and I was one of the first to defend the Muslim community after September 11. He seems to have forgotten that three years ago he’d had enough. “Unfortunately, we have too many mosques in this country.”

Do we really need another mosque in New York? New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio thinks not, in his latest statement condemning Obama’s mosque speech. He’s set the limit at 100. Well, do we really need another church? I used to live in Nashville, we had one on almost every corner, and they were still building them when I left. And why not? Mind you, there’s a bit of a problem in Murfreesboro - not far away - with an Islamic Center. Some citizens are apparently concerned that Sharia law will be imposed there.
A recent study by Duke and the University of North Carolina concluded that “contemporary mosques are actually a deterrent to the spread of militant Islam and terrorism”.

Let’s be clear on a couple of things. Do a few people attend mosques with ill intent towards America, have people hatched plots in mosques, and will it happen again? Yes. That has happened and it will happen again. People have genuine concerns that Cordoba House will be used to foment terror. But this idea that Muslims should be out of sight, out of mind, invisible, untouchables, doesn’t address that. Generally speaking, making people welcome and including them in the life of the community discourages them from wishing you harm.

Someone still can, and someone might, foment terror in an Islamic center somewhere north of Canal Street or east of Broadway, instead of at 45 Park Place. However, moving Cordoba House makes 19 dead losers larger than life, it says we’re still impacted by you. This is New York we’re talking about. The city stands up for itself.

This is about demonizing all Muslims because some of the worst men we can imagine defiled Islam by calling themselves Muslims, murdered 3,000 human beings, and devastated their families. It ignores the fact that Muslims died as victims on September 11, it ignores the fact that Muslims serve in the US military, it ignores the fact that Muslims contribute to the good of our country, it ignores the fact that al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than anyone else.

This isn’t who we are. This is sad.

Let Them Eat Cake

You can be on the right side of history or the wrong side of history. Or you can, when a disaster of the magnitude of the Haitian earthquake occurs, shut up, and text "Haiti" to 90999 on your cell phone.

Rush Limbaugh pretends to be a populist, a man of the people. Pat Robertson pretends to be a man of God. Both are nouveau aristocrats.

Limbaugh claims President Obama is using the relief effort to gain points ("burnish their, shall we say, credibility") with the African American community. "It's made to order for him." With the exception of Michael Steele and Armstrong Williams, didn't the African American community vote for Obama?

He suggests that because Obama has directed people to the White House's web site, maybe your money might not be going to Haiti, and your name might end up on a mailing list. So on the one hand, Obama is sending masses of military might to actually help Haiti, but on the other hand, he is secretly squirreling away donations from kind and distressed Americans (somehow - not clear how, as the money goes to the Red Cross) for - ?

Limbaugh's most obscene, astonishing comment is "Besides, we've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax." Limbaugh talks disparagingly about the liberal elite, but this is where he betrays himself as the true nouveau aristocrat - rich elitist, jingoistic, cruel. Give him powder and a wig. Tumbrils, anyone?

As for Pat Robertson, he claims the Haitians made a deal with the Devil, (who said OK) to get out from "under the heel of the French", "uh you know Napoleon the third and whatever". He goes on to say "the Haitians revolted and got themselves free." Hello. If the Haitians revolted and got themselves free, then ipso facto - and I'm going by what Robertson says - then they did not need the Devil. Apart from the idiocy of this, it is ignorant (see Juan Cole's piece in Informed Comment), but all of a piece with his disgusting perversion of religion.

Robertson blamed September 11 on the United States: "because God Almighty is lifting His protection from us", and among other things, because the Supreme Court had insulted God. As for Katrina, it was a good thing for John Roberts who was coming up for confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. It might intimidate Democratic senators into not asking questions about abortion and other conservative issues.

A nouveau aristocrat, Robertson has had no problem in the past aligning himself with human rights violators Charles Taylor of Liberia or Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire. Gold and diamonds shimmered in the shadows.

Stay tuned for Limbaugh's next inevitable aristocratic swill. Because there is only one airstrip at Haiti's airport, because the roads in many places are almost impassable, and because civil authority has virtually collapsed, Limbaugh will attack the Obama administration's
aggressive, and so far well coordinated response as incompetent, ineffective and a rip off of your good will.

God only knows what Robertson will say.

White House Gaggle With Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

By Victoria Jones - Talk Radio News Service

START Agreement
White House Press Secretary Gibbs opened the gaggle by saying that President Obama spoke with President Medvedev this morning from the White House to continue to make progress on a renewed START agreement that expires on December 5. In the likely event that negotiations are not concluded in the next 24 hours, there will be a joint statement from the two presidents outlining that the status quo will continue as the two make progress toward a renewed agreement.  Issues can probably be worked out with a little more time, Gibbs said. Gibbs said there are no face-to-face meetings planned anytime soon.

A joint statement by the two presidents has since been released.


November Jobs Numbers
Gibbs said the numbers today show that the nation continues to make much needed progress in getting the economy going again, and in getting the right trend going in terms of hiring. These numbers were the best numbers that have been released in 22 months. The two previous months’ numbers were revised downwards. The US is clearly moving in the right direction, Gibbs said. According to Gibbs, the Recovery Act got economic growth going again; Now there is positive movement in jobs. There will be bumps along the way. There will be ups and downs in this process. The President is pleased that we continue to move in the right direction.

Asked if there were any areas of concern, Gibbs said that the President would say that even though the number is less than it has been in 22 months, still 11,000 more people lost their jobs in November. That is too many. We have to return to an economy that is not just growing, but creating jobs. The President held a jobs summit at the White House yesterday, where he heard from CEOs, small businesses and others in the private sector. Today in Allentown, Pa. and in a speech on Tuesday, he will talk about some of his ideas for job growth. We are moving in the right direction, but there will be bumps along the way, said Gibbs.

Pakistan
Gibbs was asked whether the CIA’s expanded use of drones in Pakistan includes targets in Baluchistan. He replied that he respects the longstanding tradition of not talking about it.

Osama bin Laden
Gibbs was asked about a report that says that a Taliban detainee says that bin Laden was in Afghanistan earlier in the year. He refused to discuss it when asked if the US has independent intelligence on it. 

Economy
Gibbs said the President believes he has seen and heard good ideas from his economic team, based on discussions yesterday. He will outline some of what he supports going forward on Tuesday. It will not be the totality, but the President believes we must create an environment for job growth and job creation. Gibbs said there would not be another $787 billion stimulus plan. Using TARP money for job creation is being looked at. Asked whether the job package would be deficit neutral, Gibbs said he did not want to get ahead of that.

Gibbs said the President has asked to be as aggressive as we can be in ideas that will create jobs. If somebody has an idea to create jobs, the President is anxious to hear and look at it. There is not a political constraint on good job creating ideas. Gibbs hoped it would be true from both parties that good ideas create jobs.

In the speech on Tuesday, the President will outline specific ideas for creating jobs and creating an environment where hiring can happen. The President will talk to Congress about these ideas, and Gibbs added that there have already been some discussions with members of Congress.


NATO and Afghanistan
Asked whether the rules of engagement for NATO would be loosened as 7,000 more troops have been announced by NATO for Afghanistan, Gibbs said different countries would make some of those determinations. The US is extremely pleased by the continued cooperation and continued contribution that the international community is making to efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. 

An additional 7,000 troops is a hefty contribution on their part, Gibbs said, and the NATO Secretary General said he believes there are likely more to come.  That is a very positive development in helping us with the mission of combating the insurgency, as well as training the security force that will ultimately take responsibility for security of Afghanistan, said Gibbs.

Gibbs said that General McChrystal’s original equation did not include any NATO troops. One of the points of progress throughout the time period in which the President’s team analyzed the situation was to ensure that our international partners were continuing along our pathway with us. 

Gibbs said that the strategy that got the US into July 2011 is a number and a date that came from military planning at the Pentagon, based on their belief in what could be accomplished, given the strategy that the President would approve, in terms of incentivizing for the Afghans changes in their governance and corruption and an acceleration in their training. 

The full force is likely to get in by the end of next summer. This is a significant ramp up from what was originally proposed in General McChrystal’s assessment, which spread out deployment well into 2011.

Health Care
Gbbs was asked if a realistic date for a health care bill was closer to the State of the Union, given that it took four days to pass two amendments this week. He said he would not wiggle on the date. He said there has been a motion by the Democrats to post amendments on the internet, and Republicans objected. So there had been hours and days debating what the Republicans had wanted to be posted previously. At some point the American people understand there are people in this town to solve the problems people have, and there are people looking to continue to play the same old Washington political games that have gotten their party’s approval ratings a (low rating). If the bill passes, the President would be happy to sign it in Hawaii at a number of picturesque locations.

White House Gaggle With Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

By Victoria Jones - Talk Radio News Service

Afghanistan
Robert Gibbs said the President talked on Sunday afternoon by phone with Secretary Clinton, met last night at 5 pm at the Oval Office with Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, Gens. Cartwright and Petraeus, National Security Advisor General Jim Jones and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

The President communicated his final decision on the strategy, and issued orders on the strategy’s implementation. After that meeting in the Oval Office, the President held a similar meeting by secure video teleconference in the situation room with General McChrystal and Ambassador Eikenberry in Afghanistan at 6 pm.

The President believes the situation in this region is a shared international challenge. Building on the work he has been doing in this regard, including productive calls last Wednesday morning with Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy, the President will be in close consultation with friends and allies throughout the day today.

The President spoke this morning with President Sarkozy. He will meet with Prime Minister Rudd and discuss our strategy moving forward as well as the economy and climate change. He will not ask for more troops from the Australians as they have increased their contributions throughout the spring to a level the US is quite pleased with. He spoke at noon with President Medvedev, and will speak at 1 pm over secure
video teleconference with Prime Minister Brown. Many of the calls will be to update leaders on the process that has gone into this. Conversations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Zardari will either happen later today or tomorrow. The President is not yet getting overly specific with foreign leaders as to the number of troops he will send.

Consultations with Congress will continue throughout today and tomorrow in the run up to the speech. The President continued to work through the weekend primarily with Ben Rhodes on tomorrow night’s West Point speech.

Tomorrow afternoon at 4.45 pm a bipartisan group - so far about 31 names, maybe more - will gather at the White House with leadership, as well as a number of the committees of jurisdiction. Today, tomorrow, and in this meeting there will be consultations with Congress on strategy.

Gibbs said the President and his team have ensured that there are benchmarks for progress, whether it is on the training or governance side.

Gibbs declined to respond to requests for troop number increases.

In tomorrow night’s speech, the President will reiterate the limits on our resources, both from a manpower perspective and budgetary perspective, and he will say this is not an open ended commitment. The goal of the strategy is to train an Afghan national security force comprised of the Afghan national army and police that can fight an unpopular insurgency in Afghanistan, so we can transfer that responsibility back to them. This is not open-ended.

A big part of this policy is ensuring that the Taliban in Afghanistan are not capable of providing a safe haven for al Qaeda that existed prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The President will discuss that in the importance of why we are there, Gibbs said.

Gibbs was asked if the President would talk about what success would look like in Afghanistan. He replied that he would go through why we are there, what this process brought about, and outline what he hopes to achieve there.

Gibbs was asked if the President would address human rights in Afghanistan, particularly the condition of women and girls, in his speech tomorrow night. He said that he would have to check the speech on that.

Asked if there would be an embargoed copy of the speech made available to the press ahead of the speech, Gibbs said that at 7.30 tomorrow it was their hope to put out a full embargoed text.

Asked if there was a point at which they could just not afford the war anymore, Gibbs said from a broader perspective the President has many concerns about long term debt and the deficit. Throughout the next several weeks and into the next year and beyond, the President will continue to take steps to address fiscal responsibility. Health care costs are part of that fiscal responsibility. Getting the economy back in good health and creating jobs will also help the fiscal situation.

Pakistan
Gibbs said that throughout the campaign and his time here the President has been deeply engaged in improving our bilateral relationship with Pakistan, and ensuring we are working together to root out violent extremism.

Prime Minister Rudd Photo-Op
Gibbs was asked why there would not be a photo op with the press. Gibbs replied that there would be an official photo, to which the reporter pointed out that that was not the same. Gibbs said there would be two people in the photo.

Iran
Gibbs said that a number of the President’s forthcoming conversations with foreign leaders would involve discussing Iran. He said we have seen from the Board of Governors at the IAEA a clear statement from the international community in rebuke
to the activities of Iran. We have seen now purportedly the response of the Iranian government. The Iranians have clear responsibilities and obligations. Their failure to uphold these means that time is running out and failure to take those responsibilities seriously will result in further action.

Jobs Summit
Gibbs said the jobs summit is going ahead on Thursday. The President is eager to hear the private sector’s ideas and where they see the economy. It took extraordinary action at the beginning of the administration to get economic growth going, which has to happen before we can see job growth.

Asked what the real purpose was of having a community event to talk about jobs, Gibbs said they were happy to get ideas and suggestions from anybody. Wisdom is not the dominion of Washington.

Secret Service Investigation - Salahis
Gibbs said as best he knew the Secret Service continues to look into that situation, and when there is something complete, they will have it.