McCain Falsely Claims The Surge ‘Began The Anbar Awakening,’ But CBS Edits It Out
McCain Falsely Claims The Surge ‘Began The Anbar Awakening,’ But CBS Edits It Out
During an interview with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), CBS Evening News host Katie Couric noted that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said recently that “there might have been improved security [in Iraq] even without the surge” and asked McCain, “What’s your response to that?”
After first calling Obama’s claim “a false depiction of what actually happened,” McCain proceeded to falsely claim that the surge “began the Anbar awakening“:
McCAIN: I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history.
But in a puzzling move, the CBS Evening News did not actually televise McCain’s false claim tonight. As MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann reported, “CBS curiously, to say the least, left it on the edit room floor. It aired Katie Couric’s question, but in response, it inserted part of McCain’s answer to another question instead.”
CBS’s full interview with McCain (with video) appears online. CNN aired the portion that CBS edited out. Watch it:
In fact, the Sunni revolt against Al-Qaida in Iraq’s Anbar province — commonly referred to as “The Awakening” — “began” long before Bush even announced his “surge” policy in January 2007. As the New York Times noted in April 2007:
The turnabout began last September [2006], when a federation of tribes in the Ramadi area came together as the Anbar Salvation Council to oppose the fundamentalist militants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
But also, President Bush himself noted this fact in a speech to the Naval War College in June, 2007:
Last September [2006], Anbar was all over the news. It was held up as an example of America’s failure in Iraq. The papers cited a leaked intelligence report that was pessimistic about our prospects there. [...]
About the same time some folks were writing off Anbar, our troops were methodically clearing Anbar’s capital city of Ramadi of terrorists, and winning the trust of the local population. In parallel with these efforts, a group of tribal sheiks launched a movement called “The Awakening” — and began cooperating with American and Iraqi forces.
Spencer Ackerman notes that the colonel McCain cited is “now a one-star general” and had explained the “Awakening” to a reporter in September 2006 “before it even had a name.” “For McCain to say that the Anbar Awakening is the product of the surge is either a lie or professional malpractice,” added Ackerman.
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Damned liberal media!
Oh, wait…
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 pmSo this is how far the MSM has devolved. They are so low they have to protect McCain from his own brain. Which has become consistent with a dried up, whithered sponge.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 pm“awakening” my arse…..it would be better termed “enrichening”….its all about money… we’re bribing people to stop shooting at us, plain and simple….why more people in positions of authority who oppose this war arent pointing that out is wholly mystifying. if anyone suggested we pay mexicans one red cent to not try and jump the border, right wingers would have hystrionics. but making millionaires out of people who have our soldiers blood on their hands at taxpayer expense? A-OK….. we need to get some maimed soldiers up in front of congress when Betrayus is up there testifying and ask him to explain why people who inflicted injuries like the one of the soliders in front of him should be getting our taxpayer money…the fact no one in authority has seen fit to bring this up loudly and vocally I find extremely disheartenting…
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 pmMcCain’s people must be absolutely horrified at the very thought of this dullard debating Obama. McCain is one really old and tired sad song.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:53 pmThe tone of this lunatic is much more disturbing than the content of his rant. Anyone who watched that interview in its entirety and would still want to vote for him is insane. McCain is unfit for the presidency. He is mentally ill.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:55 pmBut, but, but McCain was a POW for 5 1/2 years 40 years ago! Of course that more than qualifies him to be president. That is if you’re comparing him to George Bush.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:58 pmOld John Boy should just stick to the jingoistic prattle….its the only chance he has.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 amWhy does he blink constantly like he does? Is there something wrong or is he just trying to jumpstart the ol’ brain?
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 amCouric has control of the editing. She’s dishonest and should be fired.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 amI guess we can’t believe even supposed live interviews by the media any more. This may be the most disturbing display yet.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:19 amIs there any remaining doubt that the MSM is complicit in the destruction of our, formerly, great nation? What’s next? A CGI clip of Obama wearing a “bomb vest” perhaps?
I wonder. Are the upcoming debates going to be edited to make it appear McPander Bear is competent?
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 amOnce again corporate media protecting their wealth… if they can cover up McCain’s insanity maybe he stands a chance and the across the board corporate greed/power will not be subjected to fair taxation and fair practices.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:25 amHello All!
I am a long time lurker, first time poster.
It just goes to show, honesty and accuracy are just popular opinion.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:32 amHello TWG.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:38 amI too, am a regular “lurker”-P
Only recently began posting. I think this is a great blog.
I will be sending an email to CBS in the morning. Useless? Probably. But it makes me feel better anyway. This is what I have so far. I’m open to suggestions and encourage everyone to send a similar email. Feel free to use any, or all, of mine.
To: Ombudsman CBS News New York
Dan Rather was forced out, for failing to research a source, despite his long-term success. Ms. Couric has relegated your “news” broadcast to a permanent third place and has now committed the cardinal sin of journalism. She manipulated information, she had in hand, and deliberately misled her viewers. She’s damaged goods.
Nothing short of her immediate dismissal and an apology from the highest level of your company will regain the trust you once enjoyed.
Sincerely, etc.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:42 amKeep on talking about the “surge” McDope. Most of America has no idea what you are talking about.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 amNo night is complete without our resident racist sh!tstain. Thax for reminding me why I don’t suffer fools.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 amTanqy, I keep telling you — it’s “Terrorist Fist jab”.
Jeezus. if you’re going to troll, try to troll with some self-respect at least.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 am“CBS curiously, to say the least, left it on the edit room floor. It aired Katie Couric’s question, but in response, it inserted part of McCain’s answer to another question instead.”
Wow. That’s Fox Noise-worthy. Katie needs to spend more time with the family.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 amNothing like a good cut ‘n paste interview to cover up someone’s lies/gross misunderstanding of basic facts.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 amThat brilliant Tanquer, you’re proud of your racism. Don’t you have to go iron your white robe, maybe burn a cross or two.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:55 amPoliticians put their foot in their mouth on a regular basis. Gaffes happen. Sometimes it may be the result of long hours on the campaign trail, sometimes because they simply can’t keep their facts straight and sometimes because they can’t keep their lies straight. Sometimes it’s simply because they do not understand the facts.
The Couric interview gets even more interesting as McCain tries to distance himself from the numerous failed Iraq policies under the Bush administration:
“McCain: The fact is we had four years of failed policy. We were losing. We were losing the war in Iraq. The consequences of failure and defeat of the United States of America in the first major conflict since 9/11 would have had devastating impacts throughout the region and the world.”
You have to ask, why would you support a president responsible for four years of failure.
“no one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have.” [John McCain, 03/28/08)
“The fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.” [John McCain, 06/19/05]
“I am proud of this president’s strategy in Iraq.” [John McCain, upon receiving endorsement from President Bush, 02/13/08]
Quotes are a living history of our thought processes, how well we think, what we think and when we think it. Even Carly can’t change that fact:
“To say that John McCain was aligned with President Bush on the prosecution of the war in Iraq is to change history.” [Carly Fiorina, McCain Campaign Advisor, 07/13/08]
Couric/McCain Interview:
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:14 amhttp://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4284432n%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22%3E
McCain, or more likely one of his people who caught the mistake (lie?), probably forced the edit. Either that, or Katie wanted to spare poor gramps the embarrassment. “He has good days and bad days..” But they screwed up and left it in the transcript. Oops!
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:57 amWow CBS actually manipulated an interview to cover up yet another of McCains foreign policy gaffes. Disgusting
And McCain complains of medias coverage of Obama while MSM acts as his personal propaganda machine
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:02 ammcchimpy isn’t up on the basic facts of foreign policy. Even when reminded he still insist on telling lies.
The “surge worked” because they paid the Sunnis tons of cash.
mcchimpy’s can’t get facts right and his talking points are lies. Did see that stupidass grin of his when he said something about Sen. Obama would rather win an election instead of chimpy’s war? mcchimpy better watch out with that lying tongue twister.
what a joke
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:07 amCBS lie when they edited mcchimpys vid. to answer one question then splice in a different answer. It’s like some comedy ConanO skit. I wouldn’t believe them if my life counted on it.
This is just bad journalism.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 ampete Says:
Is there any remaining doubt that the MSM is complicit in the destruction of our, formerly, great nation? What’s next? A CGI clip of Obama wearing a “bomb vest” perhaps?
I wonder. Are the upcoming debates going to be edited to make it appear McPander Bear is competent?
Gosh I hope not, I had enough of chimpy and his earpiece. Seems like the only ones whining are the repugs.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 amTanqueray Says:
Zooey Says:
Wow. That’s Fox Noise-worthy. Katie needs to spend more time with the family.
That’s for sure, don’t send a woman to do a mans job, get back in the kitchen and take care of those kids.
See, we do agree on something.
Go Barry(fist-tap)me and you bro. (I think he left his baby momma home with the kids on his most important trip too)
your silly, infantile rattle isn’t making a dent anywhere. you like looking like a jackass. Why?
Oh yeah, have you located your mother yet? Hint: look on the corners and dark allies.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 amJuly 23rd, 2008 at 4:44 am
Our scumbag media is increasingly exposed as the corporate mouthpiece that it is. When the MSM were the sole gatekeepers of the
propagandanews, they didn’t have to be so seemless.With the advent of the internet and citizen journalists, the doddering MSM is laid bare as little different than Pravda, all the while exhorting Americans to keep up the fiction that they are ‘free’ and informed. (No wonder the corporations want desperately to control and regulate the internets…)
“News Anchor” takes on a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:00 amI bet the debates will have a 30 second McCain safe delay:
MCCAIN: Iran is training al Qaeda terrorists crossing the Iraq-Pakistan border.
*CBS rewinds and cuts to prerecorded footage of Obama looking confused while Lieberman rushes on the stage and whispers in McCains ear. CBS cuts back to McCain for the official McCain statement.
MCCAIN: Iran is training extremists crossing the Iraq-Iran border.
2 minutes later..
MCCAIN: The surge was successful and made way for the Anbar awakening.
*CBS rewinds and cuts to prerecorded footage of Obama looking confused while Lieberman rushes on the stage and whispers in McCains ear. CBS cuts back to McCain for the official McCain statement.
MCCAIN: The surge was successful.
2 minutes later discussing foreign trade..
MCCAIN: Funny fact, we export huge amounts of cigarettes to Iran. Maybe thats a way to kill them hehehe.
*CBS rewinds and cuts to prerecorded footage of Obama looking confused while Cindy McCain rush the stage and pokes her husband in the back. CBS cuts back to McCain for the official McCain statement.
MCCAIN: The marketplace works.
*2 minutes later discussing lobbyists in Washington..
MCCAIN: Uh..uhm.. eh.. uhm ah.. the the..
*CBS rewinds and cuts to prerecorded footage of Obama looking confused while men wearing Fox News jackets rush the stage kidnapping McCain replacing the original with a more lifelike McCain wax-dummy. CBS cuts back to McCain for the official McCain statement.
MCCAIN: ….
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:50 amThis is McCain’s brain .
And this is McCain’s brain on CBS .
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 amLeni Reifenstahl and Goebbels are laughing from Hell. “Ach, mein Fuehrer…if veed only had digital!!!!”
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 amCBS along with the rest of the corporate media is in the tank for McCain. They are willing to do whatever is necessary to prop up his tenuous grasp of the facts. The corporate media is not an honest representative of the 4th Estate but rather representatives of a status quo that insures their continued profits.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:47 amThe MSM may be willing assistants propping up McCain, but in the end he will be his own worst enemy. This will become painfully evident during the most-watched debates EVER with McCain’s 100th “the surge worked” rant.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 amThis doesn’t seem to be a matter of McSame being an idiot.
At this point, unless he has a severe neurological disease, it sounds more like he is simply a liar. He can lie all he wants about “history” and most will never catch the lies. But they will paint the rosy picture he wants. And help to get him elected.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 am“pete Says:
I will be sending an email to CBS in the morning. Useless? Probably. But it makes me feel better anyway. This is what I have so far. I’m open to suggestions and encourage everyone to send a similar email. Feel free to use any, or all, of mine.
To: Ombudsman CBS News New York
Dan Rather was forced out, for failing to research a source, despite his long-term success. Ms. Couric has relegated your “news” broadcast to a permanent third place and has now committed the cardinal sin of journalism. She manipulated information, she had in hand, and deliberately misled her viewers. She’s damaged goods.
Nothing short of her immediate dismissal and an apology from the highest level of your company will regain the trust you once enjoyed.
Sincerely, etc.”
Also, mention that sponsers of CBS will be boycotted in the same way sponsers of Michael Wiener(AKA Savage)are boycotted and that you will be more than happy to spread the word for them.
When you threaten the money supply their ears perk up and they start to listen otherwise, they have no incentive to change.
Additionally, send a real letter, not an email. I write to my govenment employees and when they get a real letter they have to respond.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:26 amJohn McCain is just confused. It happens a lot lately and seems to be on the increase.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:31 amMr. Evil Says:
So this is how far the MSM has devolved. They are so low they have to protect McCain from his own brain. Which has become consistent with a dried up, whithered sponge.
now that’s some funny $hit.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:40 amI guess no one need to read “1984″ anymore – we are seeing the live version
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:00 amNot only are we bribing people not to shoot at us, we are paying and giving weapons to the very folks that less than a year ago, were laying out IEDs by the roadsides, and shooting at our troops.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 amgalmud Says:
men wearing Fox News jackets rush the stage kidnapping McCain replacing the original with a more lifelike McCain wax-dummy.
“more lifelike”…..that is freakin hilarious :)~
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 amit’s a google!
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 amObama would be pilloried relentlessly if he made the statements McCain has made this week alone. Where are the charges of political naivety and inexperience for McCain?
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 amSo who owns CBS? “Viacom owns CBS. Yes, the very same Viacom that was a prime beneficiary of White House pressure to allow a single media conglomerate to own enough television news outlets to reach 39 percent of the nation.” http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0206-04.htm
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 amJohn McCain: “GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU DARN KIDS!“
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 amWTF CBS?!?!?
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 amWhile it was heartening to CNN actually report on McCain’s “lie or professional malpractice”, it’s still so frustrating that CNN & other networks have not reported on his many other mistakes & lies. He has made so many of them about Iraq & the mideast.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:38 amAside from the liberal blogosphere – where in the msm is this gaffe being reported?
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 amThis surpasses a simple “misspeak.”
satirev Says:
CBS may try to protect McCrazy from his own brain but he’ll be up there floundering like a frog in biology class during the debates where Obama will handily make mincemeat of him, fillet him, gut him, and place his sorry, elder a$$ on the grill.
I thought the same thing about the Bush/Gore debates. Remember how that turned out for us? We have to pray to the gods that Gore’s debate prep team is banned from the state when Obama gets ready for his.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 amI don’t know which is more disturbing. That a man who could be our next president is an idiot who believes whatever’s convenient for him (and we already have one of those) or that the national media are such enablers for deceit and lunacy.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 amThis is easy actually. The largest sector of advertising revenue for media companies is political advertising. The tighter the margin between the two candidates, the more advertising is bought. Keeping McCain afloat in a down economy is a “bottom line” decision.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amAnother presidential election and once more the MSM aiding and abetting the republican candidate.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:19 pmNow you know how we elected an idiot twice…the media made him out to be smart by the editing.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:22 pmOur modern media at work: Incompetents selling stool softener to the incontinent.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:05 pmThis is the same John McCain who has claimed that the recent drop in crude oil prices is because of Bush’s announcement to end the current executive ban on drilling for oil. Never mind that oil actually went up by $1.50 before plunging on bad economic data then plunging more on excessive inventory. Bush’s order changes nothing because of a little thing called the law. I guess when desperation is the last arrow in the quiver, you shoot it wildly to show that you are doing something, even when you are not.
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January 20th, 2009 at 9:16 amIf 72 year old McCain wins the presidency, he will need to re-instate the draft so that the military is large enough to fight all the wars that he keeps talking about. This increase in military size will escalate our deficit and oil prices will soar which will only further damage our economy. McCain is STUPID. He graduated 5th from the bottom of his class and his second wife’s money financed his political career.
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January 21st, 2009 at 8:14 amtatil
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January 21st, 2009 at 6:49 pmOur avant-garde media at work: Incompetents affairs stool softener to the incontinent. Free Online Advertising
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:42 amKeep on talking about the surge McDope. Most of America has no idea what you are talking about. tatilhotel
January 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pmObama would be pilloried relentlessly if he made the statements McCain has made this week alone.
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