Flush twice... it's a long way to Sally Quinn's place!

Pundit Pap for July 27, 2003
The Buyer's Remorse Starts to Show
By Morrie Friendly

July 27, 2003 -- WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (apj.us) -- Most of our usual media junkie gang opted to take off for the weekend while the taking was good -- and who can blame them?

But that didn't stop a couple of us from watching the antics on ABC and NBC.

Now remember, the two networks are owned by companies with a serious lean-to-the-right penchant. Both are dealing with economic malaise which has failed to offset the generous tax givebacks orchestrated by the Texas Dauphin and his allies.

And, judging from Tim Russert's performance this Sunday, the latter seems to smell blood in the political water -- and for once, it's elephant-flavored

My, how things have changed. Russert morphed into a pit bull on the pant leg of the Department of Defense. George Stephanopoulos decided to plunge in some depth into the geostrategic crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

This Weak
Steph's latest field trip -- to South Korea -- puts the focus where it should be
Players: George Stephanopoulos; South Korean President Roh Mu-Hyun; General Leon La Porte, commander of US forces in South Korea; Donald Gregg, former US ambassador to South Korea; Roh Kyong-Soo, political science professor at Seoul National University

Kudos to ABC for sending George Stephanopoulos to South Korea. With the 50th anniversary of the Korean Armistice looming and a new and very real nuclear crisis underway, Steph put a focus on news that corporate media has deemed less important than the Laci Peterson trial and the Kobe Bryant flap.

Today's program hinted at a number of changes on the way at This Week, some of which were detailed in a New York Observer piece published last week. Notably absent from the article was any mention of George will. Maybe This Week producer Tom Bettag actually took our five-point plan to save This Week into consideration!

Steph's first guest was General La Porte, who detailed the potential threat North Korea's sizable military force poses, tossing off statistics about millions of soldiers, 12,000 underground facilities, and 800 missiles in "Li'l" Kim Jong-Il's arsenal. La Porte also flogged the threat of terrorism (i.e. crazy Kim may sell a nuke to criminals), "heightened escalations," and the massive artillery possessed by the North (but note that La Porte does not see artillery as the primary threat to American forces -- most of it would be used to shell civilian targets). There was an interesting back-and-forth about whether or not Kim is taking advantage of the fact that the US is tied up in Iraq. (And what about Afghanistan, guys? Can anyone say, "Spread thin?")

Interestingly, Steph and La Porte pushed the notion that US forces in South Korea would be a "middle linebacker" if there were a face-off with the North (and the point that South Korea has had to deal with the fact that they have not been at peace fro the last fifty years is one which US media does not seem to make clear strongly enough).

Is it militarily possible to take out Kim's nuke facilities? La Porte said that it is difficult because some of them are underground.

Steph brought up the matter of young South Koreans who want the American presence to leave; La Porte talked a lofty game about South Korea's free elections and freedom of speech in a "maturing democracy," but did not address the actual issue.

Steph then welcomed his second guest, one not mentioned in this morning's "Talk Shows" section of the WaPo: Roh Mu-Hyun, the president of South Korea, who said that both the US and South Korea feel that the North's claims about the completion of reprocessing uranium are "exaggerated." Steph suggested they are in fact reprocessing uranium, but Roh said there's not much reprocessing going on.

(Now this is troubling, especially given new evidence that North Korea appears to have stepped up reprocessing -- is Roh trying to make this assertion in an attempt to reduce tensions between the two Koreas? It would not be the first time a nation tried this gambit in public while in fact pursuing more vigorous diplomatic efforts in private.)

Roh said that bilateral negotiations between Kim and the US would be productive; he said that he wants multilateral talks, but also thinks that talks between North Korea and the US would yield some progress. Roh did acknowledge that North Korea wants "security guarantees" (translation: they may be willing to trade a stepped-up nuke program for food and other guarantees). Roh also downplayed disagreements between South Korea and the US.

(Well, then, that's the picture: Roh is basically downplaying Kim's nuke program and encouraging the US and China to act: "We're not going to make an issue of Kim's nuke program -- it's China's and America's problem." It may well encourage China to make quiet diplomatic moves -- but will it encourage an administration almost adamant on disengagement to move? We'll see.)

Steph's next guests were former ambassador Gregg and Prof. Roh. Gregg said that he hopes that President Roh's claim that North Korea is exaggerating is in fact justified (and yes, he was a tad skeptical) -- and there is a window of opportunity to get talks started with Kim. Prof. Roh said that the US and South Korea must be on the same page and set the same objectives concerning North Korea -- Seoul must "pick up the pace"(i.e. get engaged and not rely on allies and neighbors) and Washington must not allow electoral politics to interfere with the pace of talks (i.e. the Texas Dauphin had best not rush all sides to an agreement). Gregg said that every nation in the region opposes Kim having the bomb -- and that alone is reason enough for the US and North Korea to "exchange opinions." Prof. Roh said that both Washington and Seoul must remain patient on the path to negotiations (translation: don't do anything to provoke the mercurial Kim and don't rush).

George Will was away this weekend, but there was a better reason to turn off the round table: has-been Newt Gingrich was filling in for him.

Oh, well -- at least we waited to tune out until after they talked a little about the latest Iraq gaffe: apparently, the US missed the chance to capture Saddam Hussein's chief of security and possibly Saddam himself by a matter of 24 hours.

-- Jane Grice

Defeat the Prez
"But... but... but... that Saddam was a torturer!"
Players: host Tim Russert; Deputy Secretary of Perpetual War Paul Wolfowitz; Sens. Dick Shelby (R-AL) and Bob Graham (D-FL and prez-wannabe; Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Porter Goss (R-FL)

Not two seconds after the program introduction, Tim immediately confronted Paul "Wolfie" Wolfowitz with the uptick in violence against Americans in Iraq after the killing of Uday and Qusay Hussein (five dead in 24 hours). Wolfie assiduously avoided discussion of the increasing death toll, instead trying to put the focus on the overthrow of the tyrannical Saddam Hussein.

We noticed a strange, gleeful glint in Tim's eye. He'd picked up on the vehemence of Wolfie's "We were goddamn justified in overthrowing that evil tyrant" spin, a bullet point Wolfie had deployed awfully early in the interview -- and we could tell we were in for some real fun.

We were not disappointed.

Tim thereupon smacked Wolfie around over that ill-conceived "mission accomplished" banner that had been prominently pinned across the aircraft carrier from which "Top Bum" Bush Jr. had declared an end to "major combat operations" against Saddam's inept armed forces. Wolfie was stupid enough to step right into the brown sauce, spinning the "mission accomplished" banner as saying the mission of the pilots on the carrier had been accomplished. (You mean Rove wasn't trying to send a message to the America people that "We won and we kicked his ass real good"?) And Wolfie again began talking about Iraq having been under a "criminal regime" (as if we don't know it -- and as if overthrowing a tin-pot tyrant somehow makes the bungled postwar planning forgivable). Tim said Gen. Tommy Franks had predicted that Saddam would be "captured" in 60 days -- when will he be captured? (And note that Tim is saying "captured" as opposed to "offed with a half dozen missiles in a showdown with a US force 100 times the size of his bodyguard entourage"). Wolfie complimented Franks before again turning to how evil Saddam was and calling Saddam, his kids and his top echelon of accomplices "rapists, torturers and murderers" (no duh, Wolfie).

Tim then quoted part of a Friday Boston Globe in which Sen. Dick Lugar slammed the sloppy planning for postwar Iraq and and the high cost of stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq. Wolfie tried to excuse himself and Little George as he whined on about the complexity of planning a postwar operation (oh, yes, Paulie War-nuts -- it's just too complicated to deal with, so it's better to skip it entirely and assume you can stabilize Iraq with "Operation Seat of Our Pants" -- which has quickly morphed into "Operation Hoist on Our Own Petard").

Tim then needled Wolfie about Lugar's assertion that the war planners had been "naive" about the resources needed to control Iraq after the war (you could see Wolfie starting to glare -- he was visibly enraged that "their" boy Russert seems now to have turned on the Department of Defense to the point where Rumsfeld may commission a deck of NBC News "enemies of the regime" playing cards) -- and then jumped down Wolfowitz' throat about criticizing Gen. Shinseki when in fact he had Wolfie himself underestimated the number of troops needed to stabilize postwar Iraq. You could see Wolfie's discomfort, but he managed to keep his voice calm as he said that debating the issue is "not productive (translation: it makes us look bad, so get off the goddamn subject, Russert) -- and that the estimates were "not wildly different" (of course, that's dependent on what the meaning of "wildly divergent" is).

Wolfie then tried to push his other big spin point: it is time to enlist Iraqis in the defense of their national and infrastructure. But it got knocked aside as Tim made it clear he was not through applying the big spank as he then brought up Wolfie's assertions that Iraq had WMDs, was supporting terrorism, and Saddam abused Iraq's citizens. Tim then undermined Wolfie's constant reminders about what an awful, awful human being Saddam is by pointing out that this last point alone is not enough to justify military action, and then dashed the first two points -- and even mentioned that Wolfie had said point three is not sufficient justification for war. Wolfie claimed that the justification was based on WMDs and Iraq's alleged nuclear program. So Tim jumped all over Wolfie using comments from a National Intelligence Estimate that said that there was insufficient evidence to show an ongoing nuclear program in Iraq. Wolfie's response? He unconvincingly parsed certain words in the estimate Tim quoted before saying that preemptive war is justified.

Finally, Tim quoted Rep. Porter Goss saying that there's no sign of a massive WMD program -- let alone weapons. Wolfie tried in vain to use Big Time Dick's recent speech to the American Enterprise Institute claiming that Iraq had WMD programs and claiming a president would be negligent not to act. (Oh, we see -- diplomacy is not an acceptable means of acting in Smirk World)

Tim suggested that the problem could have been solved without war. Wolfie talked about Khobar Towers -- and Tim jumped in: is Iraq tied to that attack? Wolfie slipped, answering, "Oh, yes" before suddenly realizing he'd made a boo-boo and saying, "No, no" -- and then slipped right back into his song and dance about how horrible Saddam was.

Tim said that former CIA director John Deutsch has told Congress that a failure to find WMDs would mean that there's been a "massive intelligence failure" (Tim underscored those three words -- knowing full well they'd be kicked around in the next segment and that they've been turning up with increasing frequency on the cable news outlets) and that there would have been no justification for war. The best Wolfie could do was say that the CIA under Deutsch thought those weapons were there, then groused about Deutsch talking about intelligence failures and mentioning that Saddam had kids tortured. Tim said that if WMDs are not located, the administration should admit that there was an intelligence failure. Wolfie talked about training Iraq's civilian police force and a woman who had talked to police recruits about being tortured by Saddam and Uday. "Think about it, Tim."

And in a follow-up, Wolfie was so stupid to claim that if the government had decided to go after Osama bin Laden to prevent Sept. 11, 2001, people would say, "You don't have proof!" This gave Tim a chance to slap Wolfie over the fact that things are not going well in Afghanistan.

Will our troops be going into Liberia? Wolfie gave no specific answer but suggested they'd be prepared to help evacuate Charles Taylor.

Tim reminded Wolfie that there is a second commission looking into the 9/11/01 failures, and Tom Kean has blasted the Department of Defense for obstructing the investigation. Will DOD take steps cooperate? Wolfie claimed they have -- and they will.

(We don't believe him.)

Tim did manage to preempt Wolfie from being able to use a spin point he had made on FAUX News Sunday: "The nature of terrorism is that intelligence about terrorism is murky.... I think the lesson of 9/11 is that if you're not prepared to act on the basis of murky intelligence, then you're going to have to act after the fact, and after the fact now means after horrendous things have happened to this country."

It would've been fun to see Tim jump right down his throat about the nature of all that murky, selective "intelligence" about Iraq allegedly trying to buy uranium in Africa. That was pretty damn murky, along with all that intelligence that showed Iraq sitting on as much as 500 tons of chemical weapons. Tim would also have had a field day about all the "horrendous things have happened to this country" since our preemptive invasion of Iraq: mounting casualties, massive expenditures, and greatly reduced international prestige and trust.

Following the break, the co-chairs of the Congressional inquiry were Tim's guests. Tim quoted one CIA official stating that only a small group took Osama seriously -- and the rest of the agency seemed to be dismissive of their efforts. Graham called it a "massive intelligence failure." (What'd we tell you?) Shelby said that the report exposed massive shortcomings in the intelligence community. Goss said the report is a good road map to reform. Pelosi said that FBI agents tracking two people who turned out to be Sept. 11th hijackers failed to inform even others in their agency about the men they were tracking, and that the FBI and CIA are starting to work together -- but not as much as they should. There is a continuing need for improved communications and a further restructuring of the intelligence community. Tim pointed out that certain "facts" about these Al Qaeda cells, including social isolation, seemed not to be true. Graham said that it is obvious that there was insufficient attention paid to Al Qaeda -- and he believes they are still operating in the US.

Tim turned to the "censored" portions of the report discussing financial support to Al Qaeda -- and (predictably) mentioned the Saudis. Shelby said he could not name names or nations -- but follow the money (translation: it's the Saudis)! Tim: who's doing it? Shelby: I can't say, and the pages are being classified for the wrong reason -- the American people need to know. Tim then pointed to a NY Times report that said the missing pages discuss Saudi complicity -- and a Saudi spokesperson has even denounced that part of the report for being used to "malign" Saudi Arabia. Goss said that an active investigation is underway, and he believes the pages will be declassified once that investigation is complete. Tim said that Saudi money went to the hijackers -- why not mention it in the report? Pelosi pointed out that it took over half a year to get a declassified report out -- and the White House was blocking release of the report, putting their reputations above informing the public and the families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.

Tim then turned to a portion of the report that detailed the executive branch having blocked the release of data from the Presidential Daily Briefings, and then mentioned the declassification of parts of a National Intelligence Estimate so Dick Cheney could use it in a speech. Tim pointed out that there seems to be a double standard. Graham and Shelby agreed that declassifications are not common -- but Shelby would not assent to the possibility that there is politicization. Goss discussed (unconvincingly) balancing the need for the public to know against the need to protect national security. Pelosi said in effect that the administration is not releasing minutes of national security briefings -- and if there is to be a complete investigation, NSC records must be made available so Congress can do its job. Goss tried in vain to defend Smirk by saying that this is not accepted practice.

Tim turned to Iraq; Shelby conceded that we'll be stuck there for years, and we're losing kids there, but deferred to Rumsfeld (translation: that's not my decision to screw up, thank goodness). Goss claimed that the Saddam regime was engaged in "denial and deception" -- citing some old centrifuge parts found under a rose bush. (Why no mention of the fact that these parts were old and possibly useless?) Pelosi pressed the point that there was insufficient cause to go to war -- and there was no intelligence pointing to the whereabouts of any such weapons, and what intelligence exists points to the administration having been wrong.. So should we go to the UN? Pelosi said yes -- the postwar planning was a disaster, and internationalizing the situation would improve the situation.

Tim then turned to the issue of impeachment and Graham having contrasted Clinton's love life to Smirk's war lust, and the new standards established by the House under Clinton practically mandating impeachment. Graham said that there will be no impeachment with the GOP in charge -- but the American people can in effect impeach and remove Smirk in November, 2004. Graham then jumped all over Smirk for concealing the real cost -- in lives and money -- of going to war in Iraq without spelling out the consequences. Tim tried to chide Graham for suggesting impeachment, but Graham emphatically returned to his pint. Shelby, who looked a little sheepish, was reduced to using Rove's mandatory depiction of Junior McHappycrack's "leadership and courage." -- and predicted we will win the peace; the war, he said, was justified.

You could tell that not even Shelby believed what he was saying at that point -- and you couldn't help but sense that these key Congressional Republicans have a serious case of buyer's remorse over the former Texas governor and his circle of incompetents.

-- Morrie Friendly

Morrie Friendly gave up a career as a political consultant to become a management consultant and pseudonymous travel guide author. He retains close ties to top players in both the Democratic and Republican parties and lives with his dogs Dirksen and Fang in Georgetown.