Flush twice... it's a long way to Sally Quinn's place!

Pundit Pap
for April 25, 2004
Woodward Fallout: Bandar, Done That
Saudi envoy gets slapped around by Tim Russert at Iraqnam remains the top issue -- and yes, Bandar, we are in a banana republic!
by Jane Grice & Sherrie Gogerty Geeting

April 25, 2004 (apj.us) -- Tim Russert's pointed questions to Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the US, Bandar al-Sultan, dominated the Sunday post-pundit buzz. More on that below.

The continuing volatile situation in Iraqnam remained at the top of the Beltway Chatterati's agenda, but there was also passing mention of a few other issues this Sunday:

- There was passing discussion of the massive explosion a few days ago in Ryongchun, North Korea that left well over a hundred dead and thousands injured and homeless -- and Kim Jong-Il's rare plea for international assistance, but nobody observed that this is a telling betrayal of the tiny Stalinist fiefdom's inability to handle a disaster, a direct result of their mismanaged militarist culture and policy.

- Ultra-right-wing Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's proclamation that the Bush Administration was essentially OK with their decision to back off a promise not to rub out Palestinian strongman Yassir Arafat. There was some talk about Sharon having said that Arafat is presently not a target -- but again, nothing about the fact that the Bush Junta has enabled Sharon to drive another nail in the coffin of regional peace and stability.

Here's the fast rundown of what you missed.



This Week
Substance over spin!
Players: Boy wonder George "Steph" Stephanopoulos, stuffy old fogey George "Fwill" Will, UN envoy to Iraq Loqhtar Brahimi, Senators John Kyl (R) and Joe Biden (D-DE), and journalist Fareed Zakaria.

Steph surprised us this week with a very substantial interview with the Brahimi. Before the interview began, Steph played that notorious clip from Bush's bungled press conference in which he said he had no idea to whom we are turning over power in Iraq. (Remember when we had a President who could give an intelligent answer to a touchy question?)

Brahimi's main points:

• Iraq presents an unusually difficult problem with tight deadlines, but he supports a June 30 handover of power from the IGC to a new government and believes it to be possible

• Underscoring Iraq's diversity and instability, Brahimi said he needs more input from more Iraqis now to avert chaos down the line, especially approaching 2005 elections; it is essential that the new government must be made up of people who are "acceptable to the Iraqi people" with the "expertise" to run a nation; it could include a few current IGC members, but Brahimi hedged about (read: is against) Ahmed Chalabi

• Brahimi is very concerned about the possible ramifications of a siege in Fallujah; he feels Iraq's extremists want a siege, and a military solution is in fact no solution

• The situation in Najaf is far more complex that Moqtada al-Sadr says; again, sending in tanks would be the wrong move

• For the new Iraq government to be completely in charge, compromises must be made and flexibility is a necessity

• Ayatollah al-Sistani is highly respected, very well-read, educated and not interested in politics -- he does not even have an Iraqi passport, and wants to help Iraq; Brahimi does not think that al-Sistani wants an Iranian-style theocracy (it's clear that Brahimi feels al-Sistani a more credible leader than either Ahmed Chalabi or Moqtada al-Sadr)

• al-Sadr has the capacity to destabilize the situation in the entire nation

• An important element in stabilizing Iraq is the Palestinian situation; the Arab world is passionate about the Palestinian issue, and Israel's policy toward Palestine and Palestinians is wrong, repressive and brutal; Arabs believe that Americans as a whole give blanket support to Israel (and all of this is true -- but Brahimi gingerly avoided the issue of continued terrorist activity against Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, which must be addressed along with Israel's misguided provocations)

• Steph listed Brahimi's accomplishments -- South Africa, Lebanon, Haiti -- and asked if he feels like Sisyphus; Brahimi gave a gracious and modest answer.

We'd also like to note that Brahimi's daughter, Rym Brahimi, has just announced that she is engaged to Jordanian King Abdullah II's half brother, Prince Ali, and will resign her position as CNN correspondent. She's been one of the best -- and best-connected -- journalists in the region, and we will miss her terrific reporting, often under hazardous conditions, on CNN.

Next up were Biden and Kyl, joined by Zakaria and Will.

- Biden said that going into a holy city (Fallujah) is an invitation to trouble, and it's more important to establish a legitimate-looking government

• Fareed Zakaria pointed out that guerillas invite massive retaliation because it creates public support, and this applies specifically to Fallujah; the way to win is to politically marginalize the militias; he predicted that if we go in, al-Sadr will be hiding in a holy shrine

• Biden said it is "virtually impossible" to take out Sadr and his military leaders "surgically" -- it would be like planning a military action against the Vatican

• The fantasy, said Zakaria, is that this is an insurgency by 2000 "deadenders"; popular support is the issue -- if we want to win, we have to undermine support for the guerillas, and there will be more anti-Americanism if we go in

• Old Fwill, delusional as he is, huffed that the only problem is troublemakers with RPGs

• Biden said issue one is indeed establishing security -- the problem is that your average Iraqi does not believe they can send their daughter to the market safely

• Kyl is worried that the US military's hands will be tied, but Zakaria said that the model is stopping crime, not a traditional military occupation. (This is a point Zakaria has made repeatedly and convincingly on ABC and CNN -- why is it that the Bushistas seem to favor policies that refuse to accept this fundamental fact?)

• Steph brought up the issue of too little money to finance our forces in Iraq and the need for a supplemental appropriation; Kyl said that the money is available, and if an appropriation bill for '05 is passed, things will be fine

• Biden replied with his own set of renegade talking points, first blasting Bush for not putting one penny in the '05 budget for Iraq, which he said sends the message to the rest of the world that we are going to cut and run -- and Biden then said that Brahimi is "President Bush's man, REPEAT, President Bush's man" and he needs the money; not much later, Biden said that somebody should tell the American people that the Iraq exercise will cost another $200 billion

• Zakaria said that "ambitious plans for nation building" cost money

• Biden said that if the US doesn't get this right, you'll see 2 or 3 governments in the region collapse -- we need to get this right

• Zakaria said that we cannot discount the idea that the road to Baghdad goes through Jerusalem; the anti-Israel dynamic, he said, feeds anti-Americanism, and Bush has failed to put two and two together and to defuse the Israeli-Palestinian mess

• Fwill foolishly said the two matters (Palestine and Iraq) are mutually exclusive

• Kyl correctly said that going after terrorists in one area -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Hamas leaders in Gaza -- undercuts their support elsewhere and it's "a war"; Zakaria said that we have failed to marginalize radicals and instead emboldened them and strengthened Hamas

Well, that was pretty depressing -- when you strip away the spin, everyone is in essence saying that the Bush boy is bungling Iraq and in a huge way.

Now, if only Biden could be allowed to convey that message on the evening news...

-- Jane Grice



Meat the Press
TIM SPROUTS A PAIR, DOES HIS JOB!
Holy Flaming Moses! Russert eviscerates a friend of the Bush Family -- a Saudi royal, at that!

For a minute, I though I had suddenly materialized in a parallel universe while watching Meet the Press. Tim Russert went on a tear -- at the expense of the entire Bush team. But first, he had a chat with Bob Woodward.

- Tim asked Bob if he'd learned anything since he wrote his new book "Plan of Attack" he wishes were in there? Yes, said Bob, he wished he'd detailed the original idea by Team Bush to "get rid" of only 1% of the Ba'athists and Saudi Prince Bandar's suggestion that everyone in the Iraqi Army be paid 3 months' worth of pay, which would have bought their loyalty and helped stabilize Iraq.

• Tim focused on a December 2001 meeting involving Gen. Tommy Franks during which Bush was briefed on a possible Iraq invasion; Bob said that in August and September 2002, Bush admitted that the US had not made the necessary diplomatic moves to ensure international cooperation.

• Tim focused on a news conference in which Franks lied outright about not having made Iraq war plans (by then, he had), then brought up the meeting on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002 at the White House concerning the WMD case; Bush (supposedly) dismissed the intelligence with the words "Nice try," but CIA Director George Tenet called the case a "Slam-dunk." Tim then ran a speech by Bush in which he said Iraq had WMDs according to US and foreign intelligence. Bob said that Tenet was merely reiterating what CIA intelligence indicated, and Bush should have asked someone like Robert Gates to review all the intelligence. Woodward: "The CIA made a mistake" and his book walks through the facts that support the assertion

• Tim and Bob discussed Powell having asked Bush what he going to do with the 25,000,000 people of Iraq -- people that he "owns"? Bob said it was also a question of what to do with bureaucrats and the security service -- and 3 months' pay would have likely solved the problem

• Tim and Bob tried their best to debunk the strong evidence that Bush is Cheney's sock puppet by talking a good game about Cheney's "deference" to Bush (as Bush himself would say, "Nice try")

• Tim and Bob dissected a PowerPoint presentation by Karl Rove on reelection strategy -- one which showed Bush using "bold leadership" using the Iraq war and so-called war on terrorism as the image-making theme

• Then Tim and Bob focused on the passage in which Bob said the Saudis were informed about the Iraq invasion before even Powell was told followed by Bush's promise to Bandar that "Saddam is toast." Bob said that it is important that Bandar asked for a second meeting to reaffirm the message -- then the Saudis "opened up [their] country to help the war." Tim said that Bandar had called Bob last week -- and Bob said that Tim should ask Bandar about it, as he stands by what he wrote.
_ Tim then ran a little of Bob's 60 Minutes interview last week in which Bob and Mike Wallace discussed the Saudi pledge to drop oil prices before Election Day. Tim asked Bob if this was a "political deal," and Bob naturally said no, supporting his view with facts that had little to do with the matter. (C'mon, Woodward, MTP is not watched by idiots!)

• Tim and Bob then took on Bush's "higher father" statement. Tim called it "powerful" (good Catholic that he is) -- but also said that it shows Bush thinks the Sky Being is on our side. Bob said it's more telling that Bush didn't consult with his dad whereas it would not surprise him if Kerry did.

• Tim's final question: how did Bob capture the exact dialogue? Bob said he asked the players, particularly Bush, what they said; there are also transcripts in some case. Where there are quotes, said Woodward, he used them.

After the break, Bandar. Tim fired up the grill from the get-go, though he started out easy, with a question about the eve of the Iraq war.

But then he put on the lead-lined gloves, asking if Woodward was right about Bandar's suggestion that $200 million would buy off Iraqi cooperation. Bandar, while he refused to say what he had discussed with BushCo, admitted that such a move might have worked.

Then Tim turned to the Saudi ambassador's conveyance of the kingdom's offer to drop oil prices before elections. Charles Schumer says his diplomatic credentials should be revoked. Tim asked him point blank if that's what he offered. Bandar said no -- but he looked rattled as he denied it, then tried to deflect by saying that Clinton had asked for Saudis to drop oil prices (without, of course, providing either context or situational facts). Bandar also tried to change the subject, saying that US prices are based on refinery capacity, adding that the Saudis would invest in US refineries.

Make a note of that. Since the beginning of last week, we've seen spots on CNN, MSNBC and some of the financial channels for Kingdom Holding Company (translation: the Saudi Royal Family). If you don't think they're trying to buy influence over whoever is going to occupy the Oval Office next January 21st, you've got another thing coming.

It also crossed our mind that one of the companies that Cheney might have met with in developing our "national energy policy" is the Kingdom Holding Company. Now wouldn't THAT be interesting.

Bandar seemed edgy after Tim asked him about where Saudi oil prices will be by the fall -- and said that lower prices would be good for the US. (Just like a second term of Chimpy McNimnutz, Bandar? Just asking...)

Tim then showed the photos of the Saudi 9/11 hijackers and repeated the claim of one Saudi official blaming "Zionists" for the attacks. Bandar denied that was the position of the Saudi government -- but also claimed that the attacks were done using Saudi hijackers to damage the US-Saudi relationship. (And that assertion certainly rings true, given Osama bin Laden's hatred for both the US and Saudi governments.)

Tim then turned to the events of September 13th, 2001, and specifically what Craig Unger, author of "House of Bush, House of Saud" called the "security breach" of allowing the bin Laden family to leave the US despite an air traffic lockdown. Tim said 140 Saudis were allowed to leave. Bandar denied discussing the matter with Bush before the evacuation -- and, sounding panicked, then claimed that the FBI helped coordinate the exodus. Bandar also not only claimed that the FBI did not want to talk to anyone on those flights but also asserted the agency ensured that all the people on the flights were not suspects.

(This typical "All is well, there's nothing to see here, just move along" pap was delivered with just enough panic in Bandar's voice that we couldn't help but think that Bandar and a number of Saudi royals must have something to hide. And Tim wasn't over toying with Bandar about that crucial day!)

Tim said that Bandar was "almost a member of the Bush family" (talk about guilt by association! ouch!) before repeating that Saudis were allowed to fly, and one key FBI official said he had not even been in the loop about it. Tim hammered Bandar about how these 140 Saudis got permission to leave the country. Bandar (sounding angry and even more cornered than he had when Russert first asked about the subject) said many of these people were kids or college students -- and said that he had talked to the FBI. "It is not true that they were flying when Americans were not flying..." (Hold it -- didn't domestic flights resume the next day, on September 14, 2004?) "Where are we, in a banana republic?..." (Yes, Bandar, we are -- as long as your pals the Bushes remain in power.) "Read what the 9-11 commission says about it."

(Right, Bandar -- as opposed to what Craig Unger writes about it.)

Tim said that a federal investigation has isolated some $27 million in transactions between Saudis and terrorism suspects. Bandar dismissively said it would make a great movie before claiming that the Saudis are not concerned about the money from or to these accounts (sorry, Bandar, we don't buy that one at all -- you and your royal pals are scared Bushless that tangible ties between royals and Islamist killers will eventually surface), and said that one thing that "disappoints me" is that the FBI told him that the two top people affiliated with these "charities" are, according to the FBI, no longer suspects. (Huh? That was a non-sequitur if we ever heard one.) Tim read part of a transcript in which an investigator said the money was going to Al Qaeda and another treasury official has blasted the Saudis for raising funds for suicide bombers. Bandar tried to blame the US for not being prepared for 9/11, and retorted by claiming that another expert who issued a report saying the crackdown on charities has worked. (Tim should have asked Bandar which "expert" he referred to -- and then asked him about his wife's generosity to organizations tied to terrorist activities. It was a huge missed chance to see Bandar reach critical mass.)

Tim cut to the issue of Americans being skeptical about Saudi motives, specifically citing continuing anti-Americanism, intolerance, and anti-Semitism as part of the official Saudi curriculum, teachings also spread through madrassas. Bandar claimed that "this is not the reality" and that "the law has changed" -- a classic non-denial denial. Bandar tried to shout Russert down, again saying that if it's true, Saudis would hate Americans. He then rattled off statistics on some sort of "official" recent review of the Saudi curriculum: 85% of material acceptable, 10% questionable, 5% unacceptable, and the nation is aggressive about educational reform.

Tim then attacked the Saudi press, citing a WaPo article stating that US-Saudi relations show signs of stress, in part over reformers thrown into Saudi jail. Bandar was rattled and was visibly fidgety, demanding that Tim "let" him respond -- and instead of commenting on anti-US sentiment, attacked Muslim-bashing Evangelicals in the US. 91% of Saudis, he claimed, said they are "for" America.

Then, Tim unleashed his final money question: Who is more popular in Saudi Arabia -- Osama or Bush?

Bandar's voice was not only noticeably angry -- he was stammering and sputtering like George W. Bush as he avoided an answer. "We never took this poll!"

(We wonder why -- could it be that Osama is more popular than Little George in the Saudi street? Why might that be, Bandar? Is it because members of your family are coddling bigot Wahabi clerics whose idea of religion is whipping the populace into an anti-US, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-Jew, anti-Christain frenzy using fear, lies and the subversion of a religion?)

Bandar added that over 90% of Saudis "do not hate America" (right -- they merely loathe us). Bandar again brought up Sen. Schumer -- insulting him by by saying Schumer's nicer in private than on TV -- and denying that Saudi Arabia made "a deal with the devil."

Tim looked quietly satisfied as he cut to the commercial. He had succeeded in making Bandar look too cozy with the Bush Boy -- and, by extension, Bush too close to a regime which is working against the interest of the US and its own region's peace and stability.

Has Tim canceled his deal with the Devil, and decided to get tough with all comers? We think not -- even though he was less blatantly vicious with Kerry last week, Tim has a very long distance to go before he can even come close to gaining a reputation for fair toughness.

We'll be watching.

-- Jane Grice



FAUX News Sunday
Sherrie G Survives FAUX News Sunday!
Does Chris Wallace Want a Gig so Badly He'll do ANYTHING for face time? Short answer: Yes!

Q. Why does the wind blow towards the Fox News Channel?
A. It doesn't. The Fox News Channel sucks.

FAUX News Sunday didn't show up on the West Coast until 2 this afternoon. Unfortunately, in order to avoid missing it, I spent the day watching the FAUX News Channel.

I can now confirm that it is possible to type and gag at the same time.

We began with Chris Wallace informing Ahmed Chalabi, putative power player in the new Iraqi Governing Council, that everyone is saying he is out, and asking if he had heard the news. Chalabi, who is the lapdog of Rumsfeld, Cheney and particularly Paul Wolfowitz, said no, he hadn't heard it, and neither has anyone else in Iraq. He is virulently against permitting any members of the Ba'ath party to take part in any of the reconstruction of Iraq.

(Just as an aside, when my spell-check didn't like Rumsfeld, it suggested I replace it with "Rusted". I was seriously tempted!)

We moved right along, after wishing Chalabi good luck (he's gonna really need it) to Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT4), who would be a lot easier to take if he would remove that broomstick he seems always to be sitting on. What do you know -- it seems there was some dirty trickery going on with the arms for food program. And holy cow, how hard is it to believe THIS: Kofi Annan's son, who coincidentally had a highly placed position within the program, may have been one of the guys involved in the kickbacks that seem to be endemic throughout the whole program. Sahys'll get back to us when he is further along in his investigation of the whole mess. Yup - Congressman Shays just radiates disapproval. Pity we can't all view the world through his prissy little glasses.

Well, no, it actually isn't.

Wallace next presided over what would have been a great episode of "Point/Counterpoint" on Saturday Night Live back in the days of Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd -- a rather feisty exchange between Marc Racicot, Chairman of Bush/Cheney '04, and New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen of Kerry '04. I really did wait to hear "Jeanne, you ignorant slut..." Well, one thing about dating yourself, you don't have to dress your best.

These people really seem to dislike each other more than they dislike each other's candidate, which makes for great debate.

Racicot made all the usual comments regarding flipflopping and Kerry's snooty attitude. I would have come back with, "Well, isn't letting Saddam's old party back into the government of Iraq kinda flipflopping?" But Jeanne was a better man than I am, Gunga Din. The one time she did get exercised what when Racicot tried to make hay out of Kerry's war record, when she said hey, okay, we can compare war records on both our guys..." and he immediately got defensive and said they would have debates on a schedule to be approved later...

Incidentally, the Kerry military situation got a LOT of play on FAUX today, and surprisingly Kerry came out better than he started. Some guy on FAUX News Channel's 9:00am PST show reduced The Moonie Times star Liz Trotta to stuttering when she reported breathlessly that Kerry had attended meetings of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War where other members advocated assassinating pro-war politicians. The host said, "Well, so what? You know what the country was like back then, it wasn't Kerry saying it, he was just there when it was said. What's the big deal?" She looked at him like he had just grown a second head and said, "But, but, but..." It was great. I bet the dude in the anchor chair is jobhunting this week, though.

So, we moved along to the panel discussion. Unfortunately, Brit Humorless was off somewhere pulling the wings off flies, but Fred Barnes, Bill Kristol, Ceci Connolly and Juan Williams were there and it was an interesting little episode.

Chris started off by asking Freddie about the Chalabi episode that began the show. Fred responded that, well, it had never been the intent of the US to just hand over the reins to the very temporary Governing Council, and apparently in fact they weren't going to, but he had no idea who would be taking over. He asked rhetorically who was going to decide on the new government: Brahimi? Bremer?

Ceci Connolly said that they had better decide because there were only eight or ten weeks left; when Chris pointed out that there are exactly 66 days left she sounded amazed. She pointed out that there had been 900 American troops injured this month alone, not to mention the ones killed. Obviously there is going to be a disaster on June 30, which Billy Kristol really didn't disagree with. He said that we would be able to muddle through if we had security, which we don't. He said it wouldn't matter what anybody thought if the security situation wasn't taken care of, the country would fall apart. His recommendations? Show more force, do as he has been arguing for over the last eight month, send a bunch more troops.

Juan Williams, who is really a contortionist when it comes to presenting his views, began by saying that we could not send more troops or get more forceful because we would be inflaming the nationalist sentiments of the Iraqis, and then said that if we DON'T get more forceful and DON'T send more troops, we will be giving the message to the insurrectionists that our efforts are diminishing and that they can force us to leave.

Fred suggested that maybe we should do as Chalabi wanted and purge them all (he did not, however, suggest we let Allah sort em out). He said we cannot establish security in Iraq if we permit Fallujah to be the sanctuary of the opposition, disregarding the commonly held view that if Americans alienate both the Shiites and the Sunnis, we will be forcing them into an alliance which we will not be able to overcome without a bloodbath.

Next we were treated to a discussion of the Pentagon hysteria over the photos of flag-draped coffins being returned to the United States. This section was accompanied by several of the photos.

Bill Kristol said he had no problem with a respectful and tasteful photograph, and stated that it was a lot less damaging than front-page pictures of American mercen -- uh, American contractors burned to death and hung, charred and smoking, from bridges. Fred Barnes, on the other hand, was highly irate and said it was just another example of the left-wing media condescension, acting as though Americans didn't know this was happening, of course they know it's happening, we don't need to see these pictures, this is just accusing the government of trying to control images... The others immediately jumped him. Juan Williams in particular said that this WAS the government trying to control the images of war, and it all went back to the pictures of bodies coming home from Vietnam. He said that all these discussions about the privacy of the families was nonsense, the government won't even allow the FAMILIES to come to Dover to watch the return of the remains.

Connolly pointed out that the American public has every right to see photos, and they should also see the President attending more funerals and consoling the families.

Fred whined that these were private matters and didn't need to be presented to the public. When Juan said that the President had no problem using the World Trade Center photos for political use, Fred said that the World Trade Center was fair to use because after all it was a national issue. Ceci looked at him and said, "The war ISN'T????" Fred, bless his heart, had the good grace to shut up for the remainder of the segment.

Former football star Pat Tillman, who wanted to be viewed as just another American soldier and never sought recognition, is being enshrined on FAUX. They have a screen reading "DEATH OF A HERO" and sad music that plays every ten minutes or so when they want to point out yet again that this extremely reticent and decent man needs to be remembered every ten minutes or so, which is precisely what Sgt. Tillman never wanted to happen. Chris Wallace had the decency to point out that this is something Tillman never wanted and would protest vigorously against, wanting every single dead soldier to be treated with the respect he is receiving.

I really, honestly intended to watch the entire show, but at about this point Chris went to the mailbag. First up was somebody named Rutkowski, who wrote a letter furiously excoriating the press for the treatment Bushwah received at his recent press conference. She had never, ever, EVER seen a sitting president asked such arrogant and insulting question as Gutless Wonder Boy had to endure. One wonders precisely where Ms. Rutkowski was during the Clinton Administration. Anyway, that did me in. My kid came in to inform me that when I start screaming at the television, it is time to change the channel.

Thanks, Aaron.

Geeze, I can't wait till next week.

-- Sherrie Gogerty Geeting