Fox Guest Repeats Story That WMD's May Be In Syria, Doubts That Plame Was Covert
Reported by Donna - April 30, 2007 -
Today discussion was centered around the new book from George Tenet, former CIA Director, called At the Center of the Storm. Of course since there are some critical parts of it about the president the Fox gang was going to focus on being negative about the book.
They showed a clip of Tenet saying that Dick Cheney came to him a day after 9/11 and said that Iraq had to pay a price for 9/11, that they bore responsibility. Tenet went on to say he had the document in his hand that said that Al Qaeda was responsible and he thought of Cheney, "What the hell is he talking about." When the clip was finished Doocy said "The he in that was Richard Perle." He said that Perle was not going into the White House, he was in France so this was a discrepency. (Comment: Very confusing, was it Dick Cheney or Richard Perle that Tenet was talking about? I think the first part he was referring to Cheney and maybe the second part to Perle?)
Kilmeade then said that George Tenet has been painted by a lot of people in the past 3 1/2 years as "An idiot." (Comment: Have to just love that fair and balanced reporting, not to say the professionalism)
Camerota said that Tenet felt like he was the fall guy for the administration. He said that when they said he said it was a slam dunk that he knew he would be the fall guy. Doocey said that Tenet said there was no connection between 9/11 and Iraq.
They showed another clip of Tenet where he talked about how hard it was for him the past 5 years to see the vice president go on the air and say that George Tenet said it was going to be a slam dunk. He said he became a "talking point."
That's when they had Wayne Simmons, former CIA operative on. He said that Tenet was full of passion and CYA. He agreed with one part of Tenet's book that enhanced torture was needed (Comment: Wow, what a surprise from Simmons). Camerota said that Tenet told NSA head, Condi Rice that there was going to be a spectacular event including buildings that was an imminent threat. He said this happened in July before 9/11. (Comment: Of course at this time Fox ran a banner that said, Tenet Telling Truth?) Simmons said that was wrong that Tenet was sitting right next to the president (cue a picture with Simmons sitting right next to the president) and he should have spoken to him not Condileeza Rice. Simmons said we had strategical intelligence, no tactical intelligence.
Kilmeade asked Simmons why we didn't find weapons of mass destruction there. Of course Simmons went into the old talking points of they could be in Syria, or Lebanon, we didn't know. Simmons said that Tenet really stuck up for the CIA. Doocey added that Tenet also stuck up for Valerie Plame and how her outing had really made him mad. Simmons disagreed with Tenet on this and said that he didn't know that she was covert, that he, himself, didn't think she was covert and that everyone in Washington knew who she was.
Comment: Another fair and balanced segment from the Fox people. Simmons is a rabid right winger who always comes down on the side of torture or whatever this administration deems is necessary in their war on terror. Later on in the hour they had a segment on with a Republican strategist and a Democratic strategist, but they never had a segment on with just a Democratic guest like they did with just the Republican guest.
This is how Fox tries to appear that they are fair and balanced, but really they aren't.
