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John Nichols on CBS-Niger story, Jeff Ruch on EPA gag order
CounterSpin (10/1/04-10/7/04)
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You've certainly heard all about CBS's now-infamous report about George W. Bush's National Guard service; the dubious documents that were part of that 60 Minutes report have been covered ad nauseum by the rest of the press. But CBS has just decided to kill a critical story about the Bush administration's justification for war in Iraq. Why isn't this decision getting any ink? CounterSpin will talk it over with John Nichols of The Nation magazine.
Also on the show: The public relies on the press to illuminate the workings of government, but for the Bush administration, it seems silence is golden. In the latest example, an official of the Environmental Protection Agency has directed staff not to even talk to the press. We'll hear about that gag order, among other concerns from Jeff Ruch, executive director of the group PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
LINKS:
CBS: No News, Just Stenography, by John Nichols (The Nation, 9/28/04)
EPA Issues Pre-Election Gag Order to Staff (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, 9/22/04)
Also on the show: The public relies on the press to illuminate the workings of government, but for the Bush administration, it seems silence is golden. In the latest example, an official of the Environmental Protection Agency has directed staff not to even talk to the press. We'll hear about that gag order, among other concerns from Jeff Ruch, executive director of the group PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
LINKS:
CBS: No News, Just Stenography, by John Nichols (The Nation, 9/28/04)
EPA Issues Pre-Election Gag Order to Staff (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, 9/22/04)
When U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan declared that he thought the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was illegal (BBC, 9/15/04), CNN's Lou Dobbs was outraged, calling it "another incredible outburst by Kofi Annan" (9/16/04). But Dobbs and his CNN reporters neglected to pursue the most important aspect of the story: Was Annan right?
Annan told the BBC that the war was "not in conformity with the Security Council, with the U.N. Charter." When asked, "It was illegal?," Annan replied: "Yes, if you wish," adding: "I have indicated it is not in conformity with the U.N. Charter; from our point of view and from the Charter point of view, it was illegal."
This did not sit well with Dobbs, whose September 16 report began: "Outrage and anger today after an astonishing statement about Iraq by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. Annan said the United States=led invasion of Iraq was illegal."
Dobbs reported that "U.S. allies Britain and Australia immediately rejected Annan's assertion. President Bush said he has no regrets about ordering the invasion." CNN correspondent Kitty Pilgrim's segment quoted the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., the Australian prime minister, a representative from the conservative Hoover Institute and Edward Walker from the Middle East Institute, who said, "I don't understand quite what he means by legal."
Annan told the BBC that the war was "not in conformity with the Security Council, with the U.N. Charter." When asked, "It was illegal?," Annan replied: "Yes, if you wish," adding: "I have indicated it is not in conformity with the U.N. Charter; from our point of view and from the Charter point of view, it was illegal."
This did not sit well with Dobbs, whose September 16 report began: "Outrage and anger today after an astonishing statement about Iraq by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. Annan said the United States=led invasion of Iraq was illegal."
Dobbs reported that "U.S. allies Britain and Australia immediately rejected Annan's assertion. President Bush said he has no regrets about ordering the invasion." CNN correspondent Kitty Pilgrim's segment quoted the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., the Australian prime minister, a representative from the conservative Hoover Institute and Edward Walker from the Middle East Institute, who said, "I don't understand quite what he means by legal."
See FAIR's Archives for more
on:
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Iraq Occupation
War and Militarism
George W. Bush
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