flashback: Michael Hastings calls out a General to his face
he had already gotten General McChrystal fired.
Now here he's calling General Petraeus a liar on TV. And when yet another general defends Petraeus, Hastings calls him out for war profiteering, to his face.
I remember Cenk talking about this, points out how confused Kimmitt looks, thinking "what's going on? I thought I was on CNN where they just worship at my feet..."
KIMMITT: It's simple. To suggest that he was not successful in Iraq belies the facts. I was there three days ago. I've been in Baghdad for the last two weeks. It is a much different place than it was when David Petraeus took over there. There is calm. There is --
(CROSS TALK)
HASTINGS: -- Lying to the American people every day. In 2006, he said there was progress in Iraq. I was in Iraq there, man. Don't try to spin. You guys are letting him spin.
MORGAN: Let him have his say, please.
HASTINGS: OK.
KIMMITT: Listen, I was over there as a private businessman. I have been going in there for the last nine years, both in uniform and as a State Department official, now as a private individual. And to suggest that Iraq today is the same Iraq that David Petraeus saw when he walked in the door just demonstrates that Michael hasn't been there. And unfortunately it doesn't make the story for him so I can't help him.
HASTINGS: I spent more time in Iraq than you have, man. Come on. Let's be honest, David Petraeus fueled an Iraqi civil war that the Shiites won. We installed a radical Islamist government in Iraq.
I'm glad the general was able to make money of his service now that he's out there, and he can go and get contracts and do business in Iraq. Great. I'm glad American capitalism can get something back from the trillions of dollars and thousands of lives.