Criticizing Chris Matthews + 4 “Top Reporters”

[johnkarls]

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On Chris Matthews’ Sunday Morning show on which he always interviews whom he calls “Four Top Reporters”, the ignorance of Chris and the “top reporters” is often truly amazing!!!

It’s bad enough that Chris Matthews asked the question yesterday whether Israel could attack Iran without U.S. cooperation and Katty Kay of the BBC immediately said they could NOT – and nobody challenged her assertion (while Chris Matthews, in fact, “bought” her erroneous assertion in his follow-up question)!!! Indeed, I have already criticized Tom Friedman in another posting in this section of our Bulletin Board for merely implying that this is true!!! Whether or not Katty Kay’s assertion and Tom Friedman’s implication are true, why does it serve the American interest to broadcast such a “fact” for the “propaganda mill” of “the Arab street”???

Moreover, Katty Kay does not appear to know what she is talking about, because she bases her assertion on her stated premise that Israel would have to fly over Iraq!!!

No, Katty, Israel would not have to fly over Iraq!!!

If you had been reading the news, you would know that (A) Israel has been “very publicly war gaming” attacks on Iran WITH EGYPTIAN COOPERATION (reference the Aug 31 Wall Street Journal editorial posted in the following section on this bulletin board = “Background Materials”), and (B) the “Gulf State Six” have publicly stated numerous times over the last two years that each of them will go nuclear if Iran achieves nuclear weapons (indeed, Hillary Clinton has proposed extending the U.S. “nuclear umbrella” to the Gulf State Six to induce them to refrain from developing their own nuclear weapons though it is unlikely that the Arabs are more gullible than Charles de Gaulle who pulled France out of NATO and developed French nuclear weapons because he did NOT trust America’s “nuclear umbrella”).

So where have these Israeli/Egyptian “war games” been taking place???

All one need recall is Map Reading 101 (or the story of Moses leading the Children of Israel across the Red Sea) and one would know that the bulk of the land between Israel/Egypt and Iran is – right across the Red Sea from Egypt – Saudi Arabia, one of the Gulf State Six that is so upset about Iran going nuclear and a vast, mostly-uninhabited desert of 2,149,690 square miles WHICH IS EIGHT TIMES THE SIZE OF TEXAS!!!

All one need remember is how the U.S. Marines under President Jimmy Carter in 1979 established their “base of operations” in the desert of Iran itself in their attempt to free American hostages at our Embassy in Tehran, to imagine what is going on with the Israeli-Egyptian “war games” against Iran.

Obviously, Israel and Egypt are establishing a “base of operations” in the vast Saudi desert, with Saudi Arabia “looking the other way” because of Saudi hostility to Iranian nuclear capabilities.

And Israel and Egypt are “war gaming” the establishment of a FORWARD BASE OF OPERATIONS from which would be launched the 500 commando raids that would hold each of the Iranian nuclear sites for a sufficient number of minutes for the commandos to descend the elevators to blow up the facilities.

Obviously, the FORWARD BASE for training purposes would also be in Saudi Arabia. Because the real FORWARD BASE (which would probably exist for no more than 24 hours) would be located, LIKE JIMMY CARTER’S 1979 BASE, INSIDE IRAN!!!

Publicly, Saudi Arabia only needs “deniability” and it would be extremely difficult to prove that Saudi Arabia knew what is happening and, besides, “the Arab street” will probably cite Tom Friedman and Katty Kay as “proof” that the Israeli planes flew over Iraq with American approval!!! Because, according to Katty, and Chris Matthews (whose follow-up question “bought” Katty’s erroneous premise) and the other 3 “top reporters” who failed to question Katty’s erroneous premise, the Israelis just had to fly over Iraq!!!


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Unofficial transcript (rather than wait for the official one) =

CHRIS MATTHEWS:

(first two issues in the “teaser” introduction omitted)

Finally, Israel’s Choice: If Iran doesn’t step back from its nuclear brink, would Israel choose to attack and could it without us.

Hi, I’m Chris Matthews. Welcome to the show. Katty Kay covers Washington for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Bob Woodard is Associate Editor of the Washington Post. Elisabeth Bumiller covers the Pentagon for the New York Times. And Howard Fineman, a senior Washington correspondent at Newsweek.

(dialog on first two issues omitted)

CHRIS MATTHEWS:

When we come back, we’re going to take a look at another hot spot that makes the President stay up late at night. Iran – Israel has been insistent it will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. It will take action if necessary. Our question – will the U.S. help Israel attack Iran.

CHRIS MATTHEWS:

Welcome back. As if Afghanistan were not enough, now there’s Iran’s move to get nuclear weapons. If Iran does not respond to international pressure, Israel has made it clear it will not wait long. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the end of this year is the deadline for us to get it done peacefully.

President Obama was strong in his support while on the campaign trip to Israel last year –

(Video clip of President Obama on July 23, 2008: “The State of Israel faces determined enemies who seek its destruction. But it also has a friend and ally in the United States that will always stand by the people of Israel. Now I will take no options off the table in dealing with this potential Iranian threat.”)

CHRIS MATTHEWS:

How do you read that? Do we have a policy of supporting or not supporting Israel should they go to military means to stop that Iranian nuclear effort?

BOB WOODWARD

I think that general American policy is don’t do it because it won’t work. There are too Iranian facilities. They are, one was exposed recently. I believe there are others. They are buried in mountains. A military attack preemption may set it back months or a couple of years, but you don’t stop it and, of course, if we attack or if Israel or anyone attacks militarily, you inflame the Iranian public, you the leadership saying “see, everything we have told you about the Great Satan or about Israel is true.”

CHRIS MATTHEWS

What about Israel? How impatient are they?

ELISABH BUMILLER

They’re impatient but Obama’s tougher line on Iran recently is giving them a little bit of breathing space and I don’t think there’s and I don’t think Netanyahu really has this deadline of the end of the year, but people have been telling me that you know look for the spring. They again and I, Bob’s right, any kind of a strike could only put it back perhaps a couple years, but that’s something for Israel, you know, which can, a couple of years, you hear that all the time…

CHRIS MATTHEWS

Yeah, you hear that argument that it’s good for them, a couple years. Katty, this is the toughest question and it’s a technical question. Is there any way Israel could attack, effectively attack those sites in Iran, as we’ve said they’re all over the place, without us getting involved? I mean getting involved by giving them the OK.

KATTY KAY

Well, they’d have to fly over Iraq. The assumption is Iraq is a sovereign country so presumably would have to be asked for the rights but they’re not going to give it, so the perception is going to be that America has given them a free pass over Iraq. That’s going to cause huge complications around the Middle East.

CHRIS MATTHEWS

Well, could the Iraqis stop them from going over their country?

KATTY KAY

I don’t think the Iraqis have the military capability to stop them by themselves to go over their country but I can’t see the Americans letting Israeli jets take off and then suddenly doing something about it whilst they’re flying over Iraq. That (turning to Bob Woodard) doesn’t sound very plausible to me.

HOWARD FINEMAN

I’m not sure it’s going to get to that point the “canary in the coal mine” I always listen for in terms of American support for Israel is Senator Joe Lieberman and Joe Lieberman was very cautious in his comments picking up on the notion that Iran is diplomatically backed up on its heels right now. That we actually, and Obama has taken a tougher line and we actually have a chance to get things done diplomatically. I think the Israelis are hoping against that there’s some truth to that. Believe me, nobody was following the events in Geneva more closely than they because they, my sense is, that they understand the complications that Bob’s talking about better than anybody.

CHRIS MATTHEWS

When we come back, this is going to go on. This is a threat. “Scoops and Predictions” coming back right from the notebooks of these Top Reporters – “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know.” Be right back.

(remainder of program on other subjects)
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