May 12th at 11:50PM
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: You Probably Don't Understand the Iraq War
Former Bush Administration Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight to set the record straight on the Iraq war. Apparently we were not mislead misled into war. I believe him. Unless he's misleading me now...
Anyway, Jon started summer early by firing up the grill and sticking Feith on it. Listen to the defense of a man who was in the room when all the planning went down and decide if it flips your script.
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What an excellent interview! It was done in a polite but incisive manner, especially inview of the time constraints and the fact that the interview is being conducted on a 'fake news programme'.
I felt uneasy reading the posts on blogs etc; as it made me realise that people felt that there are no good interviewers in mass media on U.S. It is supposed to be a country built on truth, justice and free speech.
May be Jeremy Paxman or John Humphries should get these people on the programme and give them a good grilling.
So I sell Vinnie's cousin my car -- he didn't really want it -- I talked him into it: "There's nothing really that wrong with it!" I proclaimed.
His cousin has to replace the tranny after a month. The wierd starting problem continues for a few months until a smart tech explains that the codes that should have been lighting his engine light have shown a history of serious cpu problems. The guys think I lied about the car and don't buy me drinks.
I post a note on the bulletin board to explain that I had known about the failing tranny -- even cite estimates from AAMCO; and that discussions with mechanics about the engine codes were truly disturbing so I finally took out the indicator bulb.
I go on to say that my understanding of the car's troubles was excellent, but my speaking about the car's troubles was very poor -- but I wouldn't call it deception.
Finally...the bittersweet sense of relief that someone was calling to task one of the architects of this terrible and bloody scam. It felt liberating to see Jon try to convey the sense of bitterness and betrayal that a lot of Americans feel right now about how we were so badly tricked into this mess. I remember talking to my conservative Fox-watching brother in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq and responding to his gung-ho giddiness about the upcoming war with a weak trepidation because even though I knew something felt really, really wrong about this, I was naive enough at that point to think that there was no way that the government would lie to us so blatantly about something so important. As each justification for the war has been meticulously debunked, I have become increasingly deflated, and angry at the self-promoting flim-flam artists who used the trust of the American people as a springboard for an unnecessary war.
Jon's questions were brilliant...especially the manslaughter/homicide comparison. I wish that other so-called news programs/channels would see this and be shamed into mimicking this kind of ballsy interview, but I suspect they've become so decoupled from any sense of purpose that they wouldn't know what to make of it.
Go, Jon!
I must say that I quite enjoyed the interview and that I thought that Jon struck a good balance between being aggressive with his questions and challenges while also giving Feith adequate time to respond and make his case. So overall it was good discourse, although it probably would have been better without some of the oversimplified analogies (like the 'race car' one).
That much being said, I'm not sure I agree with what I took to be the crux of Jon's argument - or perhaps I should say that I'm not as bothered (or surprised) by the deception orchestrated by the government. The administration determined, based on the evidence available to them, that it was in the best interest of the country to go to war in Iraq. Therefore, in making their case for war I think it's only natural that they would emphasize the pros and downplay some of the risks. This is where the media is supposed to come in.
It was the role of the media (or it was supposed to be) to ask the difficult questions before going to war. It was their job to be sceptical of the government's argument for going to war, and to challenge their case and expose any flaws. We can't honestly expect the government to serve of its own watchdog, can we? I think that if the media had had the courage to do its job then the public's perception might have been much more educated and much more realistic.
integrity grit Jon has true Grit his soul like a sink hole and has trapped guests and interviewers from other places like he watches his people and his questions and its always masterfull viewing I HATE WAITING ALL THE time to watch THE JON DON
Mr Stewart has proven himself to be the bravest,most knowledgable, reasoned voice on the American scene This was most lucid argument ever presented on television regarding the many flaws in neo-con philosophy, while being adequately defended by one of its prinicipal architects.
By bringing forth the argument, that this administration weakened our democracy through their willingness to practice deception in describing the risks of an Iraqi war, while wrongly describing the risks of no such adventure, puts the correct issue in the fore. That total forsaking of the truth is the real problem. We have been distracted by the poor prosecution of flawed strategy.
To those wondering how Doug Feith, a complete and total idiot, got to where he is today, it is, as usually the case with all things Republican, due to money and influence. Can you say Bush Family?
Doug Feith's father was a Holocaust survivor, came to the US, became a wealthy businessman (big shock here---Dalco Manufacturing, his company, manufactured/manufactures electronics components and... wait for it, weapons!), and a very prominent and generous donor to the Republican party. Doug went to Harvard, worked under a Russian Civ professor (Pipes) who joined the Reagan administration and surprise, surprise, got his student (doug) whose dad was a wealthy supporter of the Republicans---- to come on board. The senior Feith was a prominent and vocal Zionist involved in extreme rightwing causes.
I have read so many of the books that have been written by staffers who successfully escaped the Bush administration, including Paul O'Neill's book, and the things that one ALWAYS see in all of those books is that Feith is a walking idiot. That he is the stupidest man in Washington. Seriously, the attacks on this man's intellects are broad and could not be more severe. Quoting from a New yorker profile of Feith (2005):
"Fifteen hundred people report to Feith in the Pentagon, where he is known for the profligacy of his policy suggestions. Tommy Franks, who led the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, has been much quoted as calling Feith “the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth,” apparently for ideas he proposed to Franks and his planners."
I remember when I found out he was getting a faculty position at Georgetown, that that university must be completely desperate for bucks. Why ELSE would they take on such an idiot in a faculty position? Well, in Paril of this year, they apparently decided that there was not enough money in the world to keep Doug Feith on the payroll. Quoting from M.J. Rosenberg in Talking Points Memo:
It's not much but it's something. Georgetown University has decided not to renew Doug Feith's contract.
Word from campus is that both students and faculty had pretty much had it with the arch war criminal walking around campus although I also heard that he is such a goofy, pathetic guy that some students felt sorry for him. One told me, "he's like the nerdiest loser I ever saw. He cannot have done the things he's accused of. He's too obtuse."
Feith says he doesn't know what his next move will be (according to the Washington Post) and that he has several irons in the fire, and is busy with Book Stuff. The "several irons in the fire" ought to put the fear of God into the heart of every thinking person in America! That's all we need, Doug Fieth at loose ends.
So to sum up. Feith got where he is by being born to a wealthy man. Pretty much the way it always seems to be.
I am endlessly impressed with Jon's ability to have these discussions in such a professional and composed manner. In response to Danny D, I feel that Jon is not saying anything about preemptive attacks but instead that he understands that in the wake of violence such as 9/11 it is important to consider where additional terrorism may arise from, a legitimate concern of any leader. However, that said, our government used the vulnerability of our nation to pursue the threat of Saddam in a completely incompetent, unexplained and tragic manner leaving us where we are today. Thank you Jon for giving us a place to have these discussions and voice our thoughts and concerns.
I thought this was a magnificent piece of reporting - Jon was prepared, informed and dead-on. Mr. Feith will never know the shame he should feel nor the agony he has caused - - he will remain convinced of his own superior intelligence and make no apologies for being blinded by the right. I believe Jon Stewart was fair, accurate and very well prepared - - and God knows he was a hell of a lot smarter!
Why does it keep saying this video is not available? Everyone else seems to view it fine, my flash is up to date...uggg. Maybe blocking Canadians???? what gives