The Agent

[bfp]

[Via The Belmont]

The Drudgereport carried a report of this strangely shrill exchange at a press briefing between Bush spokesman Scott McClellan and reporters. The words in the exchange are important, but not nearly as significant as the atmospherics which evoke Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Q With respect, who made you the editor of Newsweek? Do you think it's appropriate for you, at that podium, speaking with the authority of the President of the United States, to tell an American magazine what they should print?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not telling them. I'm saying that we would encourage them to help --

Q You're pressuring them.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I'm saying that we would encourage them --

Q It's not pressure?

MR. McCLELLAN: Look, this report caused serious damage to the image of the United States abroad. And Newsweek has said that they got it wrong. I think Newsweek recognizes the responsibility they have. We appreciate the step that they took by retracting the story. Now we would encourage them to move forward and do all that they can to help repair the damage that has been done by this report. And that's all I'm saying. But, no, you're absolutely right, it's not my position to get into telling people what they can and cannot report....

Q Are you asking them to write a story about how great the American military is; is that what you're saying here?

MR. McCLELLAN: Elisabeth, let me finish my sentence. Our military --

Q You've already said what you're -- I know what -- how it ends.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I'm coming to your question, and you're not letting me have a chance to respond. But our military goes out of their way to handle the Koran with care and respect. There are policies and practices that are in place. This report was wrong. Newsweek, itself, stated that it was wrong. And so now I think it's incumbent and -- incumbent upon Newsweek to do their part to help repair the damage. And they can do that through ways that they see best, but one way that would be good would be to point out what the policies and practices are in that part of the world, because it's in that region where this report has been exploited and used to cause lasting damage to the image of the United States of America. It has had serious consequences. And so that's all I'm saying, is that we would encourage them to take steps to help repair the damage. And I think that they recognize the importance of doing that. That's all I'm saying.

Q As far as the Newsweek article is concerned, first, how and where the story came from? And do you think somebody can investigate if it really happened at the base, and who told Newsweek? Because somebody wrote a story.




The resentment is palpable. Not the resentment of the spokesman of a Commander in Chief of a military vilified in an article that has already been retracted, but the resentment of reporters whose prerogatives have been questioned. "With respect, who made you the editor of Newsweek?", one asks.

McClellan actually cannot finish a sentence in answer, because one of the prerogatives of this particular reporter is to ask the questions. "You've already said what you're -- I know what -- how it ends." And the question, although put in different words each time, is monomanaically the same: when did you stop beating your wife? "As far as the Newsweek article is concerned, first, how and where the story came from? And do you think somebody can investigate if it really happened at the base, and who told Newsweek? Because somebody wrote a story." And because "somebody wrote a story" the presumption was that the story had to be true, the retraction notwithstanding, as if it never existed, as if the retraction were completely irrelevant from the discussion. In a sense it is, because there was never a retraction. There may have been words which resembled a retraction, but it was never, ever really made because it is absolutely impossible to ever make it.

[Adam D]

It was a reporter from the NYT (hence the evil hatred of the US, right? ). His answer was yes, they should.

[Element4040]

Good for the reporters, they need their feet held to the fire. Alot of us are tired of the cryptic dodging of questions. The generic crap flying out of the mouths of the spokesmans. There is no beating around the Bush (pun intended), they are exacting pressure on Newsweek.

The truth will come out eventually.

Remember these are the same cats that gave us the 'heroic' Jessica Lynch story. And the Hero Pat Tillman who was killed in a firefight with the enemy.

Yeah, we should just believe what the White House is telling us.

[ChunkyAcidReflux]

Originally Posted by Element4040

Good for the reporters, they need their feet held to the fire. Alot of us are tired of the cryptic dodging of questions. The generic crap flying out of the mouths of the spokesmans. There is no beating around the Bush (pun intended), they are exacting pressure on Newsweek.

The truth will come out eventually.

Remember these are the same cats that gave us the 'heroic' Jessica Lynch story. And the Hero Pat Tillman who was killed in a firefight with the enemy.

Yeah, we should just believe what the White House is telling us.

I dont trust the general media any more than I trust the white house, you have to step back and look at any information that is distributed on a mass scale and ask yourself "why do they want to tell me this information". A vast majority of reporters and very definately politicians have agendas that they are trying to get out. There is very little real unbiased information distributed on a national scale....at least thats my perception.

[Element4040]

Originally Posted by uselesknowledge

I dont trust the general media any more than I trust the white house, you have to step back and look at any information that is distributed on a mass scale and ask yourself "why do they want to tell me this information". A vast majority of reporters and very definately politicians have agendas that they are trying to get out. There is very little real unbiased information distributed on a national scale....at least thats my perception.

Well I'd agree with that. My point is though, this whole thing is the pot calling the kettle black.

Anyone remember the Mobile Weapons Labs? Did washington not rely on an 'unidentified' source that turned out to be wrong? How about all the other claims about WMD's etc.. Has this Administration retracted their shoddy research on the premises to take us to war with Iraq? McClellan speaks of Journalistic integrity, and in order to save it, Newsweek must try to right the wrong. Since when has this Administration done the same?

[bfp]

There is no beating around the Bush (pun intended), they are exacting pressure on Newsweek.

The truth will come out eventually.

They need to put pressure on Newsweek. They took a small piece of information and ran with it without checking the credibility. The journalist asked two questions to a Pentagon spokesman. The spokesman commented on one of the questions and left the other one hanging(no one knows why). The fact that the question wasn't answered gave them reason to believe it was true.

You don't expect the white house to put pressure on Newsweek for doing such a wreckless, irresponsible job?

Are you nuts?

Remember these are the same cats that gave us the 'heroic' Jessica Lynch story. And the Hero Pat Tillman who was killed in a firefight with the enemy.

Yeah, we should just believe what the White House is telling us.

The media propped up J Lynch. Not the White House.

[Element4040]

Originally Posted by bfp

You don't expect the white house to put pressure on Newsweek for doing such a wreckless, irresponsible job?

Are you nuts?

No, I'm not nuts, tks for asking though. How wreckless and irresponsible is yet to be seen. I still find it rather Ironic that the 'source' retracted his own statement, perhaps due to pressure?

Furthermore, all of the violence in Afghanistan that is being blamed on the report is not entirely accurate either.

Let's look at these two little quotes

"Mr. McClellan and other administration officials blamed the Newsweek article for setting off the anti-American violence that swept Afghanistan and Pakistan. 'The report had real consequences,' Mr. McClellan said. 'People have lost their lives. Our image abroad has been damaged.'

"But only a few days earlier, in a briefing on Thursday, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had said that the senior commander in Afghanistan believed the protests had stemmed from that country's reconciliation process.

"'He thought it was not at all tied to the article in the magazine,' General Myers said.

The media propped up J Lynch. Not the White House.

LOL, ok, where did they get the intial reports from dude?

[Ryan]

Considering the Bush administration's longstanding history of contempt for free press and their persistent attempts at manipulating the media, I would expect certain members of the press to nail these people when they come at them with a high and mighty attitude.

[Satchel]

It's about fucking time

[octaviaN]

Originally Posted by bfp

The media propped up J Lynch. Not the White House.

Who filmed her dramatic rescue?

They went all out on that one, they even used NIGHT VISION!

[bfp]

Originally Posted by octaviaN

Who filmed her dramatic rescue?

They went all out on that one, they even used NIGHT VISION!

Have you noticed over the past few years, that troops have small night vision cameras on their helmets? That's where the video came from. There wasn't a cameraman with them shooting every scene in some dramatic kind of way.

[Element4040]

Originally Posted by bfp

Have you noticed over the past few years, that troops have small night vision cameras on their helmets? That's where the video came from. There wasn't a cameraman with them shooting every scene in some dramatic kind of way.

I think that is his point, the video was shot by the US Military and circulated to the News Organizations.

[bfp]

I think that is his point, the video was shot by the US Military and circulated to the News Organizations.

Well, thanks for pointing that out. I gathered that much, but it was how he made the statement, by them having 'cameras' recording the whole thing, to prop it up as something huge was quite misleading.

[Element4040]

Originally Posted by bfp

Well, thanks for pointing that out. I gathered that much, but it was how he made the statement, by them having 'cameras' recording the whole thing, to prop it up as something huge was quite misleading.

Was it not staged?

[bfp]

Originally Posted by Element4040

Was it not staged?

It's questionable. There's no 100% full proof. The story was hyped before the capture, so maybe they were using full force to make sure she was safe? That can be debated. The film of her capture from the helmet-sets was edited for use. Although the hospital was safe before entering for capture, the troops didn't know it was safe inside.

All of this can be debated, but who knows?