Sy Hersh is a tool

[Proud2BAmurkin]

The difference between part of the problem and part of the solution is an unwitting tool like Hersh who goes on Sunday talk shows weeks before an election to show us HOW SMART HE IS instead of communicating his concerns in private.

How many Repukes have you seen on Sunday talk shows since January fretting about Bush* being behind in the polls and pontificating on what he needs to do to "recover"?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. Did he talk about the child rape video from Abu Ghraib?

Please don't tell me that horror is going to be swept under the rug forever, with the guilty allowed to go on with their lives as though nothing had happened. Seymour Hersh did much good in the past for his work on the My Lai massacre, but he really bears responsibility if he knows something (or if he has something such as a copy of the tape) and does nothing to make the American people aware at every opportunity. These "radioactive" images of Abu Ghraib, as Rummy described them, the worst images from the prison abuse in Iraq have not been made public and I fear now that they never will.

[Cocoa]

2. he shouldn't have commented on the election

Is that his area of knowledge? No, he's been doing investigative reporting on Iraq, just talk about that.

But calling him a tool is too much, imo.

[wishlist]

3. He was awful this morning- I couldn't stand to watch it all

He was not helpful at all to totally discredit Kerry's stance on trying to get more international support by saying that there is no way Kerry can succeed in doing that since Bush has screwed things so badly. Instead of holding Bush accountable and suggesting that Kerry would have (and will) handled things differently, he just made it sound like Kerry had no credibility.

[GOPAgainstGW]

22. IT HURT BUT SEYS WAS 100% RIGHT ON KERRY THIS MORNING!

and remember Seymour will do anything to destroy Bush, and help the Democratic Party win this election. But he, as many other "heavy weight D.C. insiders" are very frustrated with Kerry's lack of concrete answers to the Bush caused Iraq disaster.

And to be fair, it is an extremely complex problem that really only Kerry is qualified to handle! But he has to show the American public how he is going to lead this Country out of our extremely serious Middle East problems and get Israel under control!

------------------------------
Beltway and Texas Republicans
Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc.
------------------------------
"Insider’s News”, Vol 1 - Kerry-Edwards Campaign Doing Well
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x748458
“Insider’s News” Vol 1.1 - Great Anti-Bush Sites
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x756409

[Kahuna]

4. He's a reporter and wants to remain objective. That's all.

How can you be mad at an honest reporter? Don't shoot the messenger. There are only a few weeks left till the election. We need to get our butts in gear, right now!

[Renew Deal]

5. You remind me of a guy named scaredamurikan

hmmmm

[DrFunkenstein]

6. From Seymour Hersh's "Did Bush Let Taliban & Al-Qaeda Escape?":

American intelligence officials and high-ranking military officers said that Pakistanis were indeed flown to safety, in a series of nighttime airlifts that were approved by the Bush Administration.

The Americans also said that what was supposed to be a limited evacuation apparently slipped out of control, and, as an unintended consequence, an unknown number of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters managed to join in the exodus.

"Dirt got through the screen," a senior intelligence official told me.

The Bush Administration may have done more than simply acquiesce in the rescue effort: at the height of the standoff, according to both a C.I.A. official and a military analyst who has worked with the Delta Force, the American commando unit that was destroying Taliban units on the ground, the Administration ordered the United States Central Command to set up a special air corridor to help insure the safety of the Pakistani rescue flights from Kunduz to the northwest corner of Pakistan, about two hundred miles away. The order left some members of the Delta Force deeply frustrated.

http://www.rense.com/general19/al.htm

[Doctor_J]

20. how many people

will read rense.com vs. the number who watch MTP?

[DrFunkenstein]

32. That's From The New Yorker

But you have a point, of course. Nothing in print gets anywhere near the audience of TV.

[lyonn]

33. Taliban were leaving Afganistan by the truck loads

I remember seeing truck loads of black turban men in large stake bedded trucks crossing the border to Pakistan on TV and remarked to my husband that, why did Bush give permission for them to leave, and the newscaster were stating the trucks were not being stopped and checked for wanted people. Hell, Osama could have been in one of them. It sure didn't make sense, yet they had some prisoners getting ready for Cuba??

[Domitan]

7. More of follies committed by some DU members

So Sy Hersh doesn't go all out in advocating the points cherished by some at DU...does that automatically make him a tool or a fool? He's done much valuable work to expose the Abu Ghraib horrors as well as that in Viet Nam. So what if he can't please everyone here on DU all the time???

Granted that his interview this morning at MTP was not his finest interview...and remember the time given to him was very limited. However, we'll just have to accept that our "heroes" don't always support Kerry or our Demo-points as strongly as we'd like.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

What good is he if he just helped possibility of more abu ghraibs today?

If he wants AWOL out of office, why is he on national television saying Kerry "has no plan" on Iraq? He's a tool.

[Domitan]

19. You're being narrowminded

I see many invaluable antiwar pundits who may not shill for Kerry. I don't always agree with some of their pessimism about Kerry, but I'm not going to call them a tool just because of that...like I'm not going to label some DUers who are still not fully sold on Kerry as Freepers.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

25. Don't you think timing matters

in other words, if you want Bush* out like Sy Hersh does don't you think you ought to shut up at a certain time if kvetching only reduces the chance of a Kerry win?

[Domitan]

30. What matters

is that a person stays true to himself.

[Raven]

8. You know, face, Kahuna is right.

Hersh honestly answered a question put to him. I hated to hear what he said, but I am forced to agree with him. We have no exit strategy from Iraq...Kerry has not presented a coherant, concrete plan. I had to agree with Hersh that just asking foreign countries to send in their troops is lame. I think we should all face the fact that we give reporters who side with us a big pass and we are all over someone like Hersh when he delivers a true, sincere opinion.

John Kerry relied heavily on his hero status during the DNC and it was not the magic bullet...he has not really put much skin on the bones of his proposals and it is hurting him. I am afraid that unless he does something, people will vote for the devil they know.

[G_j]

10. I agree

politics has trumped all else. Good or bad that is the way it is.
Hersh is a straight shooter. He is one of the people who exposed Kissinger. I'm sure he hopes Kerry wins, but as a reporter of integrity he must answer the question given to him as honestly as he can.

P.S. Would he have had the same answer about Kucinich? I doubt it.

[Kahuna]

11. The "devil they know" is the bush strategy. Why doesn't the

Kerry campaign get it? I've been saying it for several weeks. Their plan is to bloody Kerry so badly that voters will voters will vote for the devil they know. It works. It worked for Nixon and Bush 41. Our people are pathetic.

[jonnyblitz]

9. I would rather have an honest answer then some bullshit from

a party hack that isn't even true. I don't know why you people insist on having happy smoke blown up your asses all the time when constructive criticism is needed. geezuz.

And besides, I wasn't aware Sy Hersh was expected to be a spokesperson for the DEMS. the DEMS had a big hand in this CLUSTERFUCK to begin with.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

13. Time and place for kvetching about a plan isn't weeks before election

Especially since Kerry does have a plan

1) try to salvage Bush's disaster in Iraq

2) NOT invade Iran and commence the other 5 neocon wet dream wars

[G_j]

15. try to salvage Bush's disaster in Iraq

that is pretty nebulous, **not that I don't think he is far more qualified to try to salvage it.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

26. He fell into the "Bush is doing something, what will YOU do" trap

if our side can't avoid that, it's bad

[Slit Skirt]

12. hey part of this was the administration's pressure

on NBC...
so what does Russert do...instead of going through the book as he did with Bob Woodward one on one, when his book was coming out, russert brings on woodward...who has nothing to so with sy's book....WHY?

less attention to sy's book...a distraction....and it worked.....are you not talking politics rather than the sodomy and rape of small children......

once again the administration wins

because you are not talking about how this administration approved this torture.!!!!

[Proud2BAmurkin]

14. "He doesn't have a plan to clean up Bush's Iraq shitstorm"

Why in the hell would our side take that position?

[WilliamPitt]

16. Oh fa chrissake

:eyes:

[madfloridian]

17. Sy Hersh spoke from his heart and his soul today.

He was most impressive. This is scary to me, how some people here denigrate any person who criticizes Kerry.

He was not bashing, he was expressing sincere concern.

We are in a hell of mess in Iraq....Hersh was correct in being concerned.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

24. I was careful to say UNWITTING tool

It has nothing to do with his sincerity.

Why would anybody concerned about the numerous disasters of this administration go on national TV and kvetch about Kerry's "plan" for cleaing up Bush's Iraq shitstorm?

"What is Kerry's plan" is the wrong question and it's a ROVE/MEDIA question not a real one. Sy fell in to the trap and it was sad.

[madfloridian]

28. No, you are so wrong.

I have seen Helen Thomas trashed here if she dared say a word about Kerry. I have seen other reporters who say anything about Kerry treated the same way. I listened to him, and he was not doing what you are saying.

[Armstead]

18. He is right....unfortunately

He is the furtherst thing from a media whore as possible.

And in this case, he is absolutely correct. Kerry has no real plan -- he just came up with SOMETHING to try and distinguish himself from Bush on this issue, when he supported the same damn stupid policy. It's political karma, coming back to bite Kerry on the butt.

Hersh is also right that by going into Iraq in the first place we walked into quicksand that neither Kerry or Bush can get us out of.

Face it, both Kerry and Bush fuked up big time. Hersh is just telling it like it is.

[Cha]

21. Well, Hopefully..Kerry has just about wrapped

up a Plan for Iraq and can bring it out for everyone to chew on.

[Doctor_J]

23. i thought his "troops home in 4 years"

was a major gaffe. WTF kind of voters are going to run to the polls for that??

[JohnnyCougar]

27. He's being smart. He's making himself look more politically neutral

before the release of his book. If he goes on the news shows blathering on about how Kerry is the next coming of Christ, how many independents are going to listen to him? More likely swing voters won't even read his book if he appears biased! If you are a swing voter, and you see someone on the news with a balanced, objective opinion, not only are you more inclined to buy his book, but you are more inclined to believe it when you read it.

Hersh is a smart person...he's on our side. He is preparing himself for the impending charachter assasination he will face as soon as his book comes out. You don't wanna look like a shill for Kerry right before Rove tries to make you look like a shill for Kerry!

Calm down...the book will be damning enough.

[pbg]

29. John Kerry has no plan on Iraq

...because there is not a SINGLE, SOLITARY person on this PLANET who has a CLUE about what Iraq is going to look like next January.

Iraq is not a stable situation. Anything could happen between now and then. And any leader who would talk about a specific plan when things are changing daily is dishonest or an idiot.

I am convinced that our military presence is a complete disaster. I'm also convinced that an immediate withdrawal would very likely precipitate a Kurdish secession and a Turkish intervention, as well as 100,000 Iranian troops coming over the border into Iraq.

Faced with the Korean War, all Eisenhower said was "I will go to Korea." And that was a much stabler situation.

[KoKo]

31. The Vietnamese survived better without us...so will the Iraqi's. Bring

our troops home, admit a failure and work to revamp our who government..throwing out Kissinger, Baker, Saudi's, Bushes, PNAC, Gingrich and most of the Senate and House. It will take awhile but the money saved can be spent on Homeland Defense while we get our "house in order."

Simplistic? Yeah...Difficult to impossible...yeah...

Will our Courts be clogged with trials for Treason and High Crimes and MisDeameanors...yeah.

But, if we don't bite the bullet now...it will be hell to pay for all of us down the road. We haven't seen anything yet of what the repercussions of the adventures of the "Cold Warriors who won't Die" have in store for us if we DON'T do this NOW!