Maybe Bush's stock is going down, because all the networks are piling on? Did you ever think of that?
1) Network reporters complained again Thursday morning about
how President Bush hadn't apologized during his Wednesday sessions
with Arab TV networks and after Bush did say, during an afternoon
appearance with Jordan's King Abdullah, he's "sorry for the
humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation
suffered by their families," that development led the evening
newscasts.
But not all were satisfied. Dan Rather teased the May 6 CBS
Evening News: "Tonight, new photographic evidence of Iraqi
prisoner abuse. President Bush finally apologizes, but will he
fire Defense Secretary Rumsfeld?"
Just as on Wednesday night, on Thursday night ABC, CBS and NBC
all devoted four to five stories each to the prisoner abuse and
calls for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign, but only
NBC's Chip Reid noted "a backlash from many conservative
Republicans" as he highlighted how "conservative talk show host
Rush Limbaugh is now leading the charge in accusing the media and
Democrats of hyping the Iraqi abuse story."
"APOLOGY" appeared over a shot of Bush in Rose garden as Peter
Jennings teased: "On World News Tonight, President Bush says he is
sorry that Iraqi prisoners were abused and humiliated...."
Jennings opened the broadcast: "Good evening. We begin tonight
with an apology, from President Bush today, for the 'abuse' and
the 'humiliation' -- those were the President's words -- that
Iraqi prisoners suffered at the hands of U.S. soldiers. A great
many people have been waiting, and some have certainly been
hoping, that Mr. Bush would say just that."
From the White House, Terry Moran maintained that Bush's
interviews with Arab TV were "not well received, so today he tried
again." Noting how a "chorus of Democrats said Rumsfeld must go,"
Moran contended, "The big question: What did Rumsfeld know and
when did he know it?"
Following Moran, Jennings gave credibility to a ridiculous
publicity stunt: "This story resonates in so many ways. Just to
emphasize how worked up the Democrats are on Capitol Hill,
Congressman Charles Rangel of New York has filed articles of
impeachment against the Secretary of Defense for his conduct of
the war in Iraq and his handling of the prisoner abuse at Abu
Ghraib."
Next, Martha Raddatz showed the new picture given to the
Washington Post and how charges are going to be filed against the
soldiers in them, followed by Jonathan Karl on how the
International Committee of the Red Cross had warned of problems at
the Iraqi prison and how Human Rights Watch has cited abuses in
Afghanistan too. Finally, Kate Snow profiled the accused soldiers.
On the CBS Evening News, after the tease from Dan Rather
quoted above, David Martin covered the new photos, questions if
DOD heeded warnings from the International Committee of the Red
Cross and whether Rumsfeld's policies enabled the abuse since
Iraqi prisoners were not accorded POW status.
John Roberts, at the White House, explained how Bush's apology
was "meant to mop up a foreign policy disaster." Roberts
explained: "The President's appearances yesterday on Arab TV, in
which he did not apologize, were a glaring miscalculation that
only annoyed the Arab street. By today even the First Lady was
with the program."
Laura Bush: "Very sorry that Iraqi prisoners were humiliated
at the hands of Americans."
Roberts moved on to Democrats in Congress attacking Rumsfeld
and how one Congressman "even filed article of impeachment against
him."
Next, Thalia Assuras profiled the accused soldiers, starting
with some soundbites from the mother of PFC Lindie England, who
claimed her daughter was just following orders. Assuras noted that
Lindie is pregnant, back in the U.S. and involved with another
accused soldier.
Tom Brokaw teased the NBC Nightly News: "Damage control: The
President apologizes for prisoner abuse in Iraq and says Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld stays."
Brokaw declared that "this is a full-blown crisis for the
White House," before Nora O'Donnell ran through Bush saying "I'm
sorry," how he's displeased with Rumsfeld, and how John Kerry
demanded that Rumsfeld must go ("As President, I won't be the last
to know what's going on in my command.")
From the Pentagon, Jim Miklaszewski showed the new pictures
and, over a shot of "Resign, Rumsfeld" on the cover of The
Economist magazine, asserted: "Pressure is building on Secretary
Rumsfeld to step down. Tomorrow's edition of the highly-respected
international news weekly, The Economist, calls on Rumsfeld to
resign."
Chip Reid next highlighted Democratic attacks on Rumsfeld,
running soundbites from Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Senator Tom
Harkin, and insisting that "even some Republicans are frustrated,"
naturally citing John McCain. Reid suggested Rumsfeld would get
"brutal" questioning Friday from Senators in both parties.
Reid then went where no other broadcast network reporter has
gone: "Now, a backlash from many conservative Republicans. Today,
during debate in the House on a resolution to condemn the Iraqi
abuse, some Republicans also condemned the Democrats, accusing
them of using the issue to score political points against the Bush
administration."
Tom DeLay, Majority Leader: "The Democrat leadership has
decided to take a political position and is undermining our troops
in the field."
Reid: "And conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is now
leading the charge in accusing the media and Democrats of hyping
the Iraqi abuse story."
Audio from Limbaugh's Web site of him on his radio show, with
text on screen: "They're not pictures of violence. They're not
pictures of death. They are not pictures of horror. I am not going
to join the chorus of people who aren't even thinking, who are
just reacting with emotions."
Finally, Andrea Mitchell took up how special operations forces
may also have abused prisoners in Iraq and how an Afghan died in
CIA custody.
Thursday morning on ABC's Good Morning America, Claire
Shipman, in studio with Charles Gibson, had insisted: "Eyebrows
are being raised at the fact he never actually apologized."
Shipman did, however, add that White House officials said "this
was on purpose. They don't feel it's appropriate for the President
himself to actually apologize."
Over on CBS's The Early Show, Bill Plante used the same
language as he had the night before: "In the interviews, the
President deplored what happened but he didn't make any outright
apology."
A few minutes later, MRC analyst Brian Boyd noticed, Rene
Syler pressed Senator John McCain: "I want to talk to you about
the actions of the president yesterday. He appeared on Arab
television. He said the images were abhorrent but he did not
apologize. He did not come out and say he was sorry, although,
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice did along with two top
generals. Should the president have actually uttered the words
'I'm sorry'?"
Several hours later, Syler got her wish.
On NBC's Today, Dawna Friesen, the MRC's Geoff Dickens
observed, emphasized how in the Arab TV interviews Bush had
offered "no apology for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, but
assurances the soldiers involved don't reflect America's values."
She countered: "In Baghdad there was cynicism. 'The soldiers
do represent the Americans,' this man says, 'so I think we should
blame all of America's military. I hope they leave the country
soon.' This Iraqi journalist says people are growing increasingly
impatient."
Saad Al Hassani, Iraqi journalist: "The schism that the, the,
the division in between the American forces in Iraq and, and the
Iraqi people, themselves, started to, to, to be bigger and bigger
everyday."
Friesen: "In Cairo the President's words appeared to have
little impact."
Woman: "It hurts that it actually did happen but, I mean, his
apology or his speeches are not gonna make anything better."
Friesen: "This Arab language newspaper editor says Bush's
reputation in the Middle East is in shreds."
Abdel Bari Atwan, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, editor: "I said in my
front page editorial this morning, President Bush is the greatest
liar of our modern history. He lied about weapon [sic] of mass
destruction, he lied about democracy in Iraq."
Friesen: "These latest pictures of abuse by U.S. soldiers will
make salvaging America's and the President's reputation even
harder. For Today, Dawn Friesen, NBC News, London."
Earlier coverage. The May 6 CyberAlert recounted: The All the
networks on Wednesday night stressed how, in his interviews with
two Arab-language TV networks, President Bush did not apologize
for the treatment of some Iraqi prisoners. "But while the
President denounced the abuse of Iraqi prisoners," ABC's Terry
Moran noted, "he pointedly did not apologize for it." CBS's
Bill Plante emphasized how "President Bush deplored the abuses,
but stopped short of an outright apology." On CNN's NewsNight,
John King pointed out how "the President did not use the words
'I'm sorry' or apologize in any way." Three times in under two
minutes NBC Nightly News viewers heard about the lack of an
apology. CBS's Plante claimed the situation "threatens to spin out
of control" as he ran an expert soundbite about how the war in
Iraq is now lost, but NBC's David Gregory directed viewers to an
expert who saw Arab hypocrisy since Arabs "have been silent about
torture throughout Arab prisons." See:
mediaresearch.org |
