CBS Evening News (10/17/12) provides another example of corporate media’s through-the-looking-glass media “factchecking” of the Libya exchange at the second Obama/Romney debate (FAIR Media Advisory, 10/18/12). CBS‘s Jan Crawford set up the issue this way:
For weeks, Republicans have said the president’s reluctance to call the attacks terrorism is a sign his administration doesn’t have a competent national security policy. Last night, the president said he did call it an act of terror within 24 hours of the attacks. That is a new explanation, and it triggered a clash between the president, Romney and the debate moderator.
Note how the framing accepts the GOP’s version of reality: The “president’s reluctance to call the attacks terrorism” is presented as a fact that the Republicans are offering an interpretation of (that it’s a sign of incompetent policy), and the president’s now month-old remarks are identified as a “new explanation.”
CBS then played the debate exchange, followed by Obama’s actual Rose Garden statement (9/13/12):
No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation,
alter that character or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.
Then Crawford editorializes:
But with that statement, Mr. Obama didn’t directly say the Libya attack qualified as one of those acts of terror. Earlier in his remarks, he seemed to suggest the attacks instead were triggered by an anti-Muslim video.
FDR said the DATE would “live in infamy,” but he didn’t actually say the ATTACK was infamous.
It’s true that Obama didn’t say, “No act of terror, like the one in Benghazi, will ever shake the resolve of this great nation.” One might just as easily observe that Franklin Roosevelt did not begin his famous speech, “December 7, 1941—a date that will live in infamy because of the attack on Pearl Harbor.”
Perhaps Roosevelt was alluding to the assassination of Cicero on December 7, 43 BCE? Or Jesse James’ first bank robbery on December 7, 1869?
More than likely, though, Roosevelt expected us to assume that the date would live in infamy because of the Japanese attack, since that was the whole reason he was giving the speech in the first place.
The second part of that paragraph made the strangely common media argument that suggesting that the Benghazi violence was motivated by outrage over the Muhammad video (which is what the people who carried out the violence said when they were asked by the New York Times) implies that you think that the violence was not terrorism—as if terrorists can’t be outraged by a video, I guess. It’s not an argument that bears a lot of thinking about.
Here’s a thought experiment: Imagine that for some reason it was considered a political liability to have claimed that the Benghazi attack was terrorism. In the debate, Romney accuses Obama of having called it an “act of terror,” and Obama denies it. Do you think CBS Evening News, or anyone else, would be running segments explaining that while Obama used the phrase in his statement about the attack, he didn’t explicitly say he was talking about the attack in that sentence? That would be no more peculiar than the segment CBS actually ran.
Crawford concluded:
Now, many Republicans say they think that Romney missed a real opportunity last night to forcefully challenge Crowley and the president over what they say, Scott, is a new timeline that just doesn’t square with the facts.
She began with Republican spin and ended up with Republican spin. At least she’s consistent.
I think that the real TERROR that will live in infamy is the fact that the GOP House cut the money for security for those Americans working in Libya.
Why isn’t the president saying what the NY Times reported twice, FAIR knows, I know, why doesn’t he defend that was a connection to the video in Benghazi? He fired Shirley Sherrod at first. He caves to the right wing and corporate idocy with false equivalency. If today’s media covered the Monkey Trial, Scopes and Darrow would be “equal” to the delusions of WilliamJjennings Bryan and the Tennessee school board. Scopes was found guilty, creationism and a 6000 year old planet won a technical victory under the Tenn “law”. When madness reigns, there is no standard of common sense. On Friday’s Bill Maher the two conservatives proved how the right today(and yesterday at times) acts like infants. They want their bottle and will never ever stand for any disagreement. Our founders argued and insulted each other but they had reasoned discourse. They would weep at our Orwellian, Philip K. Dick country.
Really, it’s getting hard to mock the media. It feels unkind, like making fun of someone with a mental deficit.
A national campaign based on “act of terror” vs. “terrorism”? On “you didn’t build that [bridge or highway]”?
I recently made fun of the Miami Herald editorial board, which could barely decide whether to endorse a criminal Republican vs. a (heaven forfend!) partisan Democrat.
After much to-ing and fro-ing, they went with the partisan Democrat only because Spiro Agnew wasn’t running in the Republican slot.
This is the most foreign policy “debate” we’ve had in 4 years. “I said this”, “but did you say it this way?”, “no”, “well then you sympathize & want all Americans to die” Its actually really fucking embarrassing to think one is. “the leader” & the other wants to be…like schoolchildren.
the way things operate it seems strange that Pres. Obama even leans slightly to the left in cultural matters since he and Romney agree on foreign matters of the external imperial hegemon as it spreads like a blue, white and red contagion now getting to move into Africa after so long of being barred from it. The 4th Estate has been swallowed up by the govt which is ruled by the corporate state that underlies both. Those of us who disagree, are we in the minority yet?
The Democrats talk about a split protest movement, with a violent faction, and the Republicans seem to want to see it as Cowboys and Indians. They are both half right. The administration is covering up, and the movement is being co-opted. That’s the whole point. This is KONY playing out again, and unlike FBI stings at home, there is nobody in the system powerful enough to shut them down.
Yes, in the debate Romney may have interpreted the Obama speech the day after the attacks wrong. But I don’t know how anyone can wrongly interpret what the Obama administration said in the following 2 weeks.
The following 2 weeks where the president and his legions blamed the youtube video. “U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi last week was not premeditated, directly contradicting top Libyan officials who say the attack was planned in advance.”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/ambassador-susan-rice-libya-attack-not-premeditated/
The following 2 weeks where the Obama administration asking Google to take the youtube video down? (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/white-house-asks-youtube-to-review-anti-muslim-movie/)
2 weeks are more important than one 4-word oblique reference to acts of terror.
No interpretation needed.
Why hasn’t Obama taken credit for the demise of Gaddafi? After all, he represented another target of a former U.S. President that was unsuccessfully pursued. How the heck did Reagan EVER get re-elected after the Beirut barracks bombing? Bringing in the battleship New Jersey seemed to do the trick. Has Obama got a battleship that he can send to the ‘troubled area’? *sheesh* ^..^
I don’t understand why President Obama’s followers have such an aversion to the truth.
“The United States is not just a Christian Nation.” Americans already knew that. Depending on your level of understanding, it was stated in the First Amendment of the UNITED STATES Constitution.
“[Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof] or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.
This country was founded on Christian Judeo beliefs in God and man’s inherent rights being bestowed on us by God, not man. The statement implies that he is awakening the rest of us to a long unknown or long suppressed fact. This is not a country where people are beheaded for slandering or disrespecting Jesus or God or Christianity.
The alleged You Tube Video wasn’t the reason for Benghazi. It was a planned “Terrorist Attack” to commemorate (9/11). Why did it take two months for the “spontaneous” protest if the You Tube video, which was posted originally in July, was the cause? The Republicans did not cause the lack of Security in Benghazi. Bumbling Bureaucrats with no concept of the real world did what was done. They were told and chose to ignore. The people needed were available and were withdrawn. Anyone remember a King named David, a loyal soldier named Uriah and a woman named Bathsheba?
The “We were never told” claim. Anytime an embassy is threatened it is included in the President’s daily intelligence briefing. Even without that, we had a large hand in removing Gaddafi from power and in his ultimate demise. The new government could hardly be considered stable. With or without Gaddafi, a large number of Libyans don’t like us. To hire “In Country” contractors for our security is inexcusable. It’s Stupid Squared. To not only fail to increase security, but remove a formidable protection force, who requested to stay, borders on criminal negligence. Of all the days of the year, it is unbelievable that security for the United States Ambassador, on 9/11/12 could be reduced to almost nothing. No, President Obama didn’t do this directly, but as one my favorite Presidents, Harry Truman said, “The Buck Stops Here.”
The Presidents job is not mollifying foreign powers, it’s to protect the interests and people of the United States. He failed and he lied about it. A lie by innuendo or omission is none the less a lie.
Hypocrisy abounds. Governor Romney should know, When You Run for President ‘Your Life Is an Open Book’. There’s no discussion needed on so obvious a specific statement which the total opposite of his own personal actions.
Governor Romney was right. Forty-Seven per cent of the people will vote for Barak Obama no matter what. “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups”-The Presidential election of 2008
It is clear that the attack in Libya was a terrorist attack, and that heavily armed and well trained attackers appeared to have prepared for an opportunity to attack U.S. interests. There was a significant network of al Qaeda affiliated groups and other terrorists in eastern Libya, some of whom have attacked western interests in the last few months.
Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaeda, released a video just before the attacks acknowledging and eulogizing the death of Abu Yahya al Libi and calling for terrorist attacks. al Libi was a Libyan who served as the second in command in al Qaeda under al Zawahiri and was a top leader in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. The U.S. killed al Libi in a drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan, in June 2012.
OUR EMBASSIES ARE U.S. SOIL – as such when they are encroached upon, it is EXACTLY THE SAME as crossing our borders ILLEGALLY !!!
If the murder of four American diplomats is not “an expression of hostility” it is difficult to know what would be.
OFF MY WALL
Let’s not forget that BO said about the SLAUGHTERING of four American “A BUMP IN THE ROAD”.
Let’s also not forget that he went to bed that night knowing that Americans would be slaughtered and that he made the decision to let it happen with the intent of covering it up to protect his political ambitions.