Bill O'Reilly: "Every week there'll be another so-called scandal until Americans turn completely against Mr. Bush."
Reported by Marie Therese - May 31, 2005
Tonight in a Talking Points Memo entitled "Getting Americans Killed" BIll O'Reilly let loose with both barrels against the ACLU, calling it the "most dangerous organization in the country," because they have sued the Defense Department to release "even more disturbing photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal."
The Bloviating Billster razzle-dazzled his way through the usual "ego te absolvos" for the Bush administration, claiming that the government doesn't want to release the photos because they fear it will inflame tensions in the Middle East and lead to more attacks on American soldiers and here at home. Never mind that this misadventure in Iraq, which has consumed over 1600 of our fellow citizens and maimed and crippled 12,000 more, is, from start to finish, a Bush-Rove-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Chalabi production, aided and abetted by vengeful Republicans, spineless Democrats, bible-thumping preachers and a press corps more interested in a place at the tables of power than in reporting the truth.
Continuing his diatribe, O'Reilly claimed that "the ACLU doesn't care. It wants to embarrass the Bush administration and show the world that the U.S.A. is villainous, that America is provoking world conflict. "
He continued: "At this point any reasonable person knows the abuses at Abu Ghraib were illegal and immoral. No one needs more pictures to get the point. If 30 people are killed after a bogus report on the Koran, you can imagine what releasing more Abu Ghraib photos will do. Our troops will be put in even more danger and the threat will rise here at home."
Then, - pow! zap! - Bill lowered the boom on another judge, this time spitting his venom at "liberal" New York City Judge Alvin Hellerstein who "ruled in favor of the ACLU." He went on to say that "Hellerstein is a committed anti-Bush person who earlier this year ruled against the CIA in the ACLU's bid to get records on the alleged abuses BEFORE the investigations were even completed. Hellerstein's ruling must be appealed because, if this isn't a case of national security, nothing is. All Americans, including the hideous ACLU, should be doing everything possible to help our military and protect fellow citizens. Even if you dislike the Bush administration, giving fuel to the terrorists is simply unacceptable - almost treasonous, in my opinion.
"That being said, President Bush needs to take action fast. These abuse stories aren't going away. Too many mistakes have been made and each new one discovered will be front page news in the anti-Bush media. There's no question Americans have made mistakes and committed crimes against some detainees. These crimes must be dealt with fairly and aggressively.
"So the President should appoint an independent body, much like the 9/11 Commission, to examine what has happened in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. That commission could then clearly define the problem and make recommendations that would serve as future policy regarding detainees in the war on terror. President Bush has to realize that his enemies are gonna use the detainee issue to damage his administration.
[COMMENT: There would be no damage to America's reputation if there hadn't been a string of crimes in the first place. Isn't that the argument the right wing media used mercilessly against Bill Clinton for what now seems, by comparison, an innocuous peccadillo when lined up side-by-side with the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush administration?]
"Every week there'll be another so-called scandal until Americans turn completely against Mr. Bush. That's what happened during the Vietnam War and that's what's happening today. But the stakes are much higher than Vietnam. Now, we're under attack at home by fanatical fascists. But the anti-Bush people really, really believe the President is the main problem, not the terrorists. That scenario puts us all in danger. The President must go on the offensive and set up that commission. If not, chaos will reign. And that's the Memo."
O'Reilly then segued into an interview with two like-minded guests whom he described as having differing views - Barbara Comstock, former Justice Department spokesperson under John Ashcroft, and Andrew McCarthy, former Assistant U. S. Attorney and Legal Commentator and Terrorism Expert for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a conservative think tank populated by a few token DINOs to make it appear bi-partisan. A transcript of this interview will follow tomorrow.
