White House Selectively Edits ABC Iraq Report: Deletes Criticisms Before Sending To Reporters
White House Selectively Edits ABC Iraq Report: Deletes Criticisms Before Sending To Reporters
On ABC World News with Charles Gibson last night, ABC National Security Correspondent Jonathan Karl filed a report about the recent decline in American troop casualties in Iraq. In the report, Karl noted that “violence in Iraq is down,” but added that “there has been almost no political progress on the national level”:
In fact, there’s been almost no political progress on the national level, and U.S. officials know military gains won’t mean much if the Iraqi government doesn’t get its act together, which is one reason the Pentagon doesn’t even want to use the word “winning.”
Watch it:
After the report aired, the White House sent the piece out in an official White House publication called “White House Iraq Update.” But, as Karl writes today, the White House edited his report before sending it out, making it look “like an unqualified declaration of success in Iraq.”
In the version sent out by the White House, all references to a lack of political progress were removed. Here is full segment that the White House did not want reporters to see:
O’HANLON: … and it doesn’t answer the questions about political progress.
KARL: In fact, there’s been almost no political progress on the national level, and U.S. officials know military gains won’t mean much if the Iraqi government doesn’t get its act together, which is one reason the Pentagon doesn’t even want to use the word “winning.”
[To Defense Secretary] You’re not ready to say we’re winning, that the surge is working –
ROBERT GATES [Defense Secretary]: (From tape.) I think — I think that those end up being loaded words. I think we have been very successful. We need to continue being successful.
KARL: Today, Defense Secretary Gates said that the reduction in violence would not have been possible without the surge of 30,000 additional troops into Iraq, but, Charlie, those troops are going home in the coming months, raising the question of whether the violence will go up when they leave.
GIBSON: Jonathan Karl tonight reporting from the Pentagon, thanks.
Contacted by ABC, the White House admitted to editing the negative aspects of the report and acknowledged that it was “inappropriate.”
“The White House understands your concern,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told ABC. “And the full text of your report will be released to the same distribution list so that recipients have a chance to see what the entire report was about.”
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31 Responses to “White House Selectively Edits ABC Iraq Report: Deletes Criticisms Before Sending To Reporters”
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What was inappropriate–the fact that the report was edited? or the fact that someone said something counter to the President’s “take” on things?
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pmNews reports have to be cleared by the White House ?
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pmAnd the beat goes on….I guess if you cannot get actual progress in your ill-fated invasion, you might as well ‘manufacture’ it.
Do you think this might get the MSM upset? Is the MSM finally going to find some self-respect? If this episode doesn’y change the relationship of the MSM with the WH, the the republic certainly is kaput. How can we believe anything anymore?
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 pmThe ministry of truth is caught with their hands in the cookie jar again
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 pmWhen is the press going to start calling these bastards on the lies, distortions and misrepresentations made by this administration. We know the Bush and his minions are nothing more than vile, disgusting scum. Our press is no better. The MSM either has been co opted by evil corporate interests or are the usual pants-wetters that have inhabited the MSM.
It is time to take action against these enemies of the state.
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:48 pmOT - Sorry - But CNN is reporting that the AG nomination might still happen - “Two Democrats say they will vote for Bush’s attorney general pick, virtually ensuring the nomination will move to the full Senate.”
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:49 pmThis stems from the fact that the current batch of conservatives running the government do not understand what the purpose of journalism is. Because they have told all their lives that the media is liberally biased (untrue), they have come to believe that journalism should be used to advance propaganda and that it has been advancing the propaganda of the left for years. The reason they are qwrong is that they believe that both sides of a stroy should be presented as factually correct and that the viewers should decide who’s telling the truth. This is wrong, of course. Journalism is about presenting the objective truth. just because the truth tends to make conservatives look bad does not mean it’s liberally biased. It simply means that the conservatives really are bad.
Conservatives can’t govern. Maybe they can run a business because they lack the empathy to care about the people their decisions affect (”strictly business”), but they cannot run a government. They have the wrong mind set for governance. They hate it and denounce it whenever they can. Why they would choose to be part of it baffles me.
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:50 pmHas it ever occured to anyone that the Iraq people do not want American style democracy?
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:51 pmPropaganda 101 -
1. Have the Media be owned by supporters of GW666.
2. Censor any news that the Government doesn’t want you to know.
3. Play endless clips of Britney, OJ, puppies and kittens over and over again.
Buck Fush
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:55 pm8. — Oh come now, Bush knows that Iraq American style democracy because God told him they do. (/snark off)
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:58 pmbush’s ministry of propaganda must be a hive of activity!
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:00 pmso much to do! how do they keep up?
“White House Selectively Edits ABC Iraq Report: Deletes Criticisms Before Sending To Reporters”
Ah duh… Gee, Ya Think???? Nothing knew about the covering up by the White House.
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:00 pmWhat?!? No trolls here trying to derail the thread with off-topic garbage?
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:06 pmHas it ever occured to anyone that the Iraq people do not want American style democracy?
Comment by chomot — November 2, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
You mean they wouldn’t want a corrupt system controlled by corporate interests in which continual campaigning and pandering to the base is more important than long-term policy and the will of the people?
What’s not to love? Those silly Iraqis don’t know what they’re missing!
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:08 pmBush is taking his cue directly from Joseph Goebbels. That TRUTH IS THE ENEMY.
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:13 pmDidn’t the Bushies just hold a fake news conference last week?
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:23 pmNo pattern here!
“I’d rather ask forgiveness than permissionâ€
A favorite old Texas saying.
They know that none of these “news†organizations is going to run a retraction, therefore their entire psyops mission was a complete success, all sanctioned by the appearance of an ABC News authority.
ABC is doing its part for this Fascist Dictatorship.
Comment by plunger — November 2, 2007 @ 5:16 pm
Read it again (link to “innappropriate). It was ABC that CALLED it. It wasn’t ABC that edited the report, but some unidentified NSC staffer.
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:30 pm“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when
everything the American public believes is false.â€
– William Casey, CIA Director (from first staff meeting, 1981)
Comment by plunger — November 2, 2007 @ 5:28 pm
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:34 pmWho to blame, the “media” or the government? You know, I have always questioned the existence of a “free press” especially when current events allow the Govt to invoke varying levels of censorship for “national security” reasons. It is virtually impossible to distinguish between “protecting state secrets” and protecting the guilty”.
As for broadcast news, the FCC has the final say on EVERY word and image. Sure, a network may choose from a wide array of “acceptable” info and images but, the list of possibilities must be cleared by the FCC.
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:59 pmJust days after revelations of fake FEMA press conferences and the altering of a CDC report to Congress, the Bush disinformation machine is at it again. As ThinkProgress reports, the White House redistributed to reporters an edited version of an ABC story in the hopes of painting a picture of unvarnished progress in Iraq. Apparently, deleting damaging references to the stillborn political process in Iraq is all in a day’s work for a White House committed to helping President Bush “catapult the propaganda.”
For the details, see:
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:59 pm“Edited ABC Iraq Story Latest White House PR Fraud.”
Read it again (link to “innappropriate). It was ABC that CALLED it. It wasn’t ABC that edited the report, but some unidentified NSC staffer.
Comment by impeachcheneythenbush — November 2, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
I read it very carefully, and if you want to believe that ABC is an innocent victim in this charade, you go right ahead. I’ve been keeping track of their collusion:
Comment by plunger — November 2, 2007 @ 5:32 pm
I’m NOT saying that the media doesn’t play into these peoples’ hands. All I’m saying is that in THIS PARTICULAR case, it was ABC that pointed out the editing that had occurred.
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:08 pmVote for ThinkProgress for best liberal blog –
http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-liberal-blog-1.php
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:13 pmthis should scare any democratically minded person:
Plan Would Ease Limits on Media Owners
By STEPHEN LABATON
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 — The head of the Federal Communications Commission has circulated an ambitious plan to relax the decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city.
Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the commission, wants to repeal the rule in the next two months — a plan that, if successful, would be a big victory for some executives of media conglomerates.
[…]
.
FCC chairman offers ownership plan
By JOHN DUNBAR, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 17, 8:39 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is proposing a plan that would wrap up by the end of the year the long-running debate over how many media properties a company should be allowed to own in a single market.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s proposal would allow for public comment on the proposed rules in mid-November and a commission vote on Dec. 18.
[…]
http://news.yahoo.com/ s/ ap/ 20071018/ ap_on_go_ot/ media_ownership;_ylt=AnZ.rZY_l9763zRsqFj4tHKyFz4D
.
but, we all know the corporatists have no desire for a democracy…
…
this is a repost from 10/18… the yahoo link won’t work, but a search on the googlenews will get you more …
this is scary shit.
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:17 pm.
Comment by impeachcheneythenbush — November 2, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
You can’t stop the plunger juggernaut. “Pluggernaut”? I wonder if he (NOTE: If he were a COMMON troll I would refer to him as “it”.) is familiar with the expression, “Man has dominated the world through diversification and adaptability. Specialization only works for insects”.
I don’t think that his experience, and education, have led him to the widely held belief that concentrating on a single issue, to the exclusion of others, is a recipe for disaster.
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:26 pmNot a personal attack. I’m pointing out that you concentrate on, and belabor, a single idea from a single perspective. There is a huge difference between “facts” and “conclusions”. You constantly spout the same conclusion derived from, often unrelated, facts. It’s kinda like trying to study evolution while holding the fixed idea that “God created everything just as it is”.
It is no more accurate to say that “Israel is behind everything” than it is to say, “Asians can’t drive”. Don’t worry. You do display reasoning ability. When your education has led you to wisdom you will get my point. Keep on reading.
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:35 pmURGENT: Per CNN, “Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles Schumer of New York announced they would support the retired federal judge from New York just hours after the chairman of the Judiciary Committee announced his opposition to the nominee.
Feinstein and Schumer are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to vote on the Mukasey nomination Tuesday.”
http://www.cnn.com/ 2007/ POLITICS/ 11/ 02/ leahy.mukasey/ index.html
Please contact their offices and ask them NOT to support him. I emailed both, and they do accept emails, even though I’m not in either of their states.
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:10 pmabc+disney=magical kingdom of righty bullsh*t
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:06 pmIt’s moments like this which keep me thinking that perhaps 1984 = The (Unofficial) Bush Administration Playbook…
War Is Peace (yep — got that one covered)…
Freedom is Slavery (that one’s proving a bit more difficult)…
Ignorance is Strength (making strides forward)…
If the White House acknowledges that editing the ABC Iraq Report for content was “inappropriate”, then why in the hell was it allowed to happen in the first place?!? I can’t swallow the idea that it was just one “overzealous staffer” acting entirely on his/her own — someone must have approved it. However, this does nothing to change the fact that censoring the report is inappropriate because it’s unethical — not just because they happened to get caught this time. Does anyone here honestly believe that this will stop the White House from trying to do this again, or that the person/people responsible will be fired? Not a chance — in fact, he/she/they will probably get a promotion.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:18 pmThis is what the Bush White House is doing with more and more frequency. They abuse their power of authority, and when they get caught, they say it was an aberration and they apologize. By then, it’s too late, but they have said they’re sorry and that’s supposed to make it all right.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:44 pmThe creep of their censorship, their propaganda, and the zeal of their supporters is insidious and dangerous to American democracy.
This administration has made it a practice to overreach with their iron fist and the practice is increasing. Apparently no one in the congress has the courage to call a spade a spade and expose the White House for what they are - a growing fascist government.
Contacted by ABC, the White House admitted to editing the negative aspects of the report and acknowledged that it was “inappropriate.â€
Yep, inappropriate — and we’ll do it again, if we damn well feel like it.
Contemptuously yours,
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:05 amBushCo
Folks,
it went to coment #17 untill some one likened this action to one that Gobbels would do for the for the Nazis.
That was the first thought I had.
Its hard to believe that in America, Our goverment “with a small g” should resort to this when it didn’t work very well for the Germans, 75 years ago.
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:40 pm