On today’s BradCast, the UK releasing a damning report on former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, underscoring facts revealed by the Downing Street Memo in 2005, and former Fox ‘News’ anchor files suit against Roger Ailes for sexual harassment.
Today’s release of the 2.6 million word Chilcot Report in the UK — the result of an exhaustive seven year investigation into then British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 2003 decision to go to war in Iraq — opens up many old wounds, not the least of which is a painful reminder that those of us shouting about the ‘Downing Street Memo’ back in 2005 — the leaked memo citing the head of British intelligence charging the George W. Bush administration was “fixing” the “intelligence and facts…around the policy” of invading Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein no matter what — were right then and still right today.
“I have a real love-hate relationship with talking about Tony Blair, and what he did to make this war happen,” The Intercept’s Jon Schwarz, who writes about exactly that today, tells me on today’s program. “On the one hand, it’s fascinating. It’s such a story of self-deceit, of deception of others, of unbearable sanctimonious, all in the service of a gigantic catastrophe and crime. So on the one hand, it’s fascinating. On the other hand, it’s horrifying. I feel great joy and agony discussing it again 13 years after it happened.”
We discuss the details of the Chilcot Report today, how the mainstream corporate media ignored the Downing Street Memo back in 2005 (“It was front-page news in many places on Earth. It was not front-page news in the United States.”), and whether or not there has been any real accountability or lessons learned ever since, by either politicians or corporate media alike.
Also on today’s program (speaking of lessons unlearned): Obama announces he will leave 8.400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan upon leaving office, and Gretchen Carlson, recently terminated by Fox “News”, sues Roger Ailes, the Rightwing propaganda channel’s boss, over disturbing claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.
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I was listening to an interview with Steven Erlanger, London bureau chief for the New York Times on PRI’s “The World” today, and he said he was surprised there isn’t more anger with Americans about the most disastrous military blunder in history. He just can’t figure out why Americans aren’t upset while the British are just so chronically pissed off about it. He just hasn’t a clue why that is. He’s simply racking his brain.
Maybe the host of the show should have helped him remember all the reporting that went on in the United States with all the worldwide peace marches and demonstrations way back in 2003. I’m sure the New York Times had on their front pages stories about ordinary people and how they felt about the lie that was the impending Iraq invasion.
Yeah, to this day, I’m sure the corporate media, like the NYT, has been doing scads of soul searching and journalistic penance as they second-guessed their efforts to keep Americans apprised of the Bush administration’s governmental malfeasance and downright criminality during that time. And now, just like then, the corporate media has for sure been yelling at the top of their lungs in their editorials and interviews that we need several thorough criminal investigations on how and why the Iraq invasion and occupation, with its legacy of endless death and destruction was foisted upon us all.
In the meantime, Steven Erlanger, London bureau chief of the New York Times, can’t for the life of him figure out why Americans aren’t upset about the worst strategic blunder in history.
Hear! Hear!
In September of 2005, I got to ask our congressman, Jim Matheson what he thought about the Downing Street memo controversy and he told me wasn’t aware of the bills that were around, trying to do something. He made the point that the Democrats couldn’t do anything about holding hearings because they didn’t have the majority.
A lot of people in the audience knew what I was talking about.
I wish I had had the chance to ask the same question after the Democrats took over all three branches in 2008 and did nothing.
I made a short recording of the exchange.
Well done, Larry, and good point about the Democrats. I’m sick of the SOS Democrats with their Blue Dogs, Yellow Dogs, Liebermans and Manchins and how they just can’t bring themselves to upset the apple cart. Sick of it.
Sick of Lyndon Johnson keeping quiet when Nixon sabotaged the Paris Peace Talks, sick of Bill Clinton refusing to take the Iran-Contra Scandal all the way to the top, sick of Al Gore rolling over when he actually won the election, sick of John Kerry rolling over when Ohio was stolen out from under us, sick of Obama doing the wrong thing after Wall Street crashed our economy and our lives, and sick of the Democratic establishment so afraid of calling election fraud that they are willing to have every one of our otherwise legitimate elections taken from us.
So sick of it, in fact, that I became part of the group of Bernie Sanders supporters who have worked so hard to get him elected. Now we are faced with trying to keep the evil of the two lessers out of office while we relentlessly push Hillary to work for the people, while working to elect a Brand New Congress in 2018.
Jim Spriggs:
You’re on it! I’m 64, and I thought we might actually get a president this time, who would tell us the truth again. Looks like it’s going to take a bit longer. 🙁
Rabid consumerism isn’t ever going to work. Carter has been trashed ever since he said that.