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Security

Former Bush Official Praises Nazis’ Respect For Laws Of War In Defending Gitmo

By Ben Armbruster on May 3, 2013 at 12:04 pm

Ari Fleischer

A former Bush White House official on Thursday made the case that Nazi Germany had adhered to the laws of war during World War II when defending the Bush administration’s decision to open the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects.

Nearly 60 percent of the detainees at Guantanamo are currently on hunger strike, in what experts and their lawyers say is a protest against their indefinite incarceration there. Amid the crisis, President Obama announced this week that he will renew his administration’s efforts to close the prison.

The events sparked a debate on CNN last night, prompting former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer to defend his former boss’s decision to open Gitmo to begin with. “We have it because these people did not even follow the law of war, let alone the rule of war,” he said, adding, “These people didn’t even wear a military uniform. They engaged in battle against America as terrorists, a violation of the laws of war. That’s why Guantanamo got invented.”

But most legal experts say detention practices at Gitmo violate international law.

“This country fought Adolf Hitler. And I don’t really believe that Osama bin Laden and his group are worse or more dangerous than Adolf Hitler,” CNN legal expert Jeffery Toobin countered Fleischer, adding, “We managed to defeat Adolf Hitler by following the rule of law.”

Backed in a corner, Fleischer then went a bit off the rail:

FLEISCHER: They [the Germans] followed the law of war. They wore uniforms and they fought us on battlefields. These people are fundamentally, totally by design different. And they need to be treated in a different extrajudicial system.

Watch the clip:

Apparently, according to Fleischer, in order to follow the laws of war, all one has to do is wear a uniform and fight the enemy on a grassy field. But of course the Germans committed countless brutal and vicious war crimes during World War II. We’re assuming Mr. Fleischer knows this, but it’s striking how low he’ll go to defend the Bush administration’s failed and discredited security policies.

NEWS FLASH

Ari Fleischer: Obama Will Endorse Marriage Equality After The Election | Former Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer predicted that President Obama will evolve towards full support for same-sex marriage after the election. During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night, Fleischer sought to explain Obama’s “flexibility” remark to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev by suggesting that he could change his mind on controversial issues. “After the election he’s going to be free to raise taxes on people, free to have more debt piled on the country,” he said. “I think he’s going to change his position on gay marriage, he’ll probably come out for it after the election.” Watch it:

Some recent reporting has suggested that Obama could endorse marriage equality before the presidential contest.

Politics

Ari Fleischer Admits He Personally Advised Komen CEO On Planned Parenthood

By Judd Legum on Feb 6, 2012 at 2:00 pm

On Friday, ThinkProgress exclusively reported that Ari Fleischer was involved in Komen’s strategy regarding Planned Parenthood. We revealed that, in December, Fleischer was retained by Komen to advise how to fill their top communications position, and he drilled candidates on how they would handle the Planned Parenthood issue.

Today, Ad Age further reveals that, throughout the controversy, Fleischer has personally advised Komen CEO Nancy Brinker on how to handle the Planned Parenthood issue:

Former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer, who had previously been brought in by Komen to assist with an executive search for a senior VP-communications, provided informal advice. “When Nancy called me, I gave her my two cents worth,” he said via email. Ogilvy is Komen’s corporate and issues firm on retainer and was helming the issue as of Feb. 3.

But on Friday, Fleischer told ThinkProgress he had no involvement in the crisis communications effort. In an email sent to ThinkProgress after the publication of our story, Fleischer claimed our entire report was “inaccurate,” “unfair,” and “simply false” because it created the implication that he was involved with Komen’s strategy in recent days. An excerpt from Fleischer’s email:

Interviewing people for a job in December, none of whom were hired, is entirely separate from helping guide Komen’s strategy in February. The problem is fundamental – you have misleadingly connected two unrelated events.

Today, ThinkProgress asked Fleischer to explain his email now that he’s acknowledged he personally advised Komen’s CEO on Planned Parenthood strategy in January and February. Fleischer now claims that he was not involved in strategy because he did not participate “in any meetings or on any conference calls.”

As for why he objected to ThinkProgress’ initial report — which now appears to have understated the true scope of his inovlvement — Fleischer said it failed to get the “emphasis right.”

Fleischer, who retains a host of influential political and sports clients, makes his money as head of a private consulting company which markets itself as being able to “successfully deal with the media.” Fleischer appears motivated to minimize his connection to the Komen Foundation at a time when they suffered what is widely regarded as one of the biggest public relations disasters of all time.

As a fierce partisan and longtime critic of Planned Parenthood, Fleischer’s involvement also complicates Komen’s efforts to restore their reputation as an apolitical cancer charity.

NEWS FLASH

UPDATE: Komen confirms continued involvement of Ari Fleischer on Planned Parenthood strategy | Yesterday, ThinkProgress exclusively reported Ari Fleischer’s involvement — dating back at least to December — with the Komen Foundation, including issues related to Planned Parenthood. Tonight, the Washington Post reports that Komen is now publicly confirming that Fleischer, a prominent right-wing pundit and former press secretary for George W. Bush, will help “on crisis communications” related to Planned Parenthood. Komen stressed that Fleischer, who is a long-time critic of Planned Parenthood, “had nothing to do with the funding decision.”

Update

The Washington Post updated their story with the following: “Fleischer said Saturday night that he had not been asked but that if he could help, perhaps he would.” Separately, Fleischer confirmed to ThinkProgress that he is in regular contact with Komen CEO Nancy Brinker and she had sought his counsel on the Planned Parenthood issue.

Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Ari Fleischer Secretly Involved In Komen Strategy On Planned Parenthood

By Judd Legum on Feb 3, 2012 at 4:55 pm

Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, was secretly involved in the Komen Foundation’s strategy regarding Planned Parenthood. Fleischer personally interviewed candidates for the position of “Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations” at Komen last December. According to a source with first-hand knowledge, Fleischer drilled prospective candidates during their interviews on how they would handle the controversy about Komen’s relationship with Planned Parenthood.

Fleischer’s relationship with Komen and the Planned Parenthood controversy was previously undisclosed. He confirmed to ThinkProgress his recent role in filling a key communication position at Komen. Fleischer stressed, however, another communications firm (Ogilvy PR) was retained by Komen to deal with crisis communications over the last few days and he has not been involved.

In November, Komen advertised for a top level communications position in Roll Call. Promising applicants received a call from Fleischer. The advertisement is no longer posted on the Roll Call website, but a portion is accessible via Google:

According to a source, during at least one interview, Planned Parenthood was a major topic of conversation. Fleischer indicated that he had discussed the Planned Parenthood issue with Komen’s CEO, Nancy Brinker, and that she was at her wits end about how to proceed. Fleischer described himself as a longtime friend of Brinker.

Fleischer confirmed to ThinkProgress that he would receive a fee from Komen when the search is complete. Fleischer did not specify the amount of his fee but said it would be “substantially below the normal placement fee charged by executive search companies” because “they’re a charity I believe in.”

Fleischer’s high-level involvement with Komen further complicates its image as an apolitical cancer charity. Fleischer is a prominent partisan commentator and a longtime critic of Planned Parenthood. In his book, Taking Heat, Fleischer criticized Planned Parenthood as a partisan, ideological organization that receives undeserved positive coverage in the press. In 2001, Fleischer said that the Clinton administration verged too far to the left on family planning efforts because “if Planned Parenthood wanted it, the previous administration favored it.”

Update

A copy of the full listing for the position Fleischer was working to fill for Komen is still available here.

Update

Ari Fleischer admits he personally advised Komen CEO on Planned Parenthood

Security

Bush-Era Iraq War Architects Emerge To Demand ‘Credit’ For Iraq War ‘Success’

By Faiz Shakir on Sep 1, 2010 at 10:50 am

hadleywoopsIn April 2006, ThinkProgress produced a report titled “The Architects of War: Where Are They Now?” We wrote at the time, “a review of the key planners of the conflict reveals that they have been rewarded — not blamed — for their incompetence.” Referencing our report in July 2007, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote, “To read that summary is to be awed by the comprehensiveness and generosity of the neocon welfare system.”

Flash forward to today, and the answer to our original question of the Iraq war architects — “where are they now?” — can be answered quite simply: They’re on your TV screens, in your radio, and in your newspapers — shamelessly demanding credit for the work they’ve done.

For example, consider former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Doug Feith. According to the Pentagon Inspector General’s office, Feith delivered a briefing to the White House in 2002 that “undercut the Intelligence Community” and “did draw conclusions that were not fully supported by the available intelligence.” What is he doing now? In an interview with NPR yesterday, he blasted Obama for not properly crediting the “success” of Iraq:

He didn’t say America is more secure. And that’s the kind of statement that could help explain to the American people why we need to persevere and do all the things that he’s pledging to do in the future. … And then he also, in January of 2007, just when the surge was getting underway, proposed legislation that would have ended the war in March of 2008. And had that legislation succeeded, it would have prevented the success that he celebrated in his speech tonight.

Another example: former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who took blame for allowing President Bush to make the false claim in his 2003 State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to purchase uranium from Africa to build a nuclear weapon. What is he doing now? In an interview with the New York Times, Hadley demanded Bush be given “credit” for Iraq:

“I thought I owed it to the former president that somewhere out there somebody gives him some credit and points out that he’s the one actually that started withdrawing U.S. troops and he’s the one that set up the framework for both a long term relationship with Iraq and a December, 30 2011 end date,” Mr. Hadley said in an interview.

And there’s also former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, who conceded the case for invading Iraq was determined based on what could be easily sold to the public. “For bureaucratic reasons we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason everyone could agree on,” he said. In an op-ed in the New York Times this Monday, Wolfowitz was more magnanimous about sharing “credit” with U.S. soldiers, Iraqi forces, and the Iraqi people. Wolfowitz, who incorrectly predicted Iraq’s reconstruction would be paid for with Iraq’s oil, urged Obama to maintain “a long-term commitment, albeit at greatly reduced cost and risk.”

And on your TV sets, you’ll frequently see Ari Fleischer — the prominent pre-war mouthpiece who said Iraq would “shoulder much of the burden” for reconstruction, who said the Iraqis would “rejoice,” and who claimed that there was no chance “of losing the peace.” On both CNN and MSNBC over the last 24 hours, Fleischer has bemoaned that Bush isn’t being given enough credit for ending the war in Iraq. Watch it:


Update

Check out our Iraq War Timeline here.

Politics

Ari Fleischer quits PR job for Tiger Woods because his legacy was so bad it harmed Tiger’s rehabilitation.

By Amanda Terkel on Mar 22, 2010 at 10:52 am

Earlier this month, the New York Post reported that Tiger Woods had hired former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer to help plot his strategy for returning to golf. Since his time as President Bush’s top spinmeister, Fleischer has become a consultant for the sports industry, advising Mark McGwire and the Green Bay Packers. Woods gave his first interviews since his scandals to the Golf Channel and ESPN yesterday, limiting the chats “to an almost impossible-to-maneuver five minutes.” Fleischer, however, wasn’t by Woods’ side during these interviews:

Meanwhile, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer acknowledged in an e-mail to the AP that he had been working for Woods and had decided to withdraw.

The AP gives no reason for Fleischer’s departure, but FoxSports reports that Fleischer “fell on his sword because he felt he was becoming the story“: “Fleischer’s legacy, whether fairly or not, remains propagating Bush/Cheney myths — like Saddam Hussein attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001 — which Americans don’t want to hear. Having him in behind the curtain gave the impression Woods had something to hide, and that words were being fed to him.”

Politics

Tiger Woods hires Ari Fleischer.

By Amanda Terkel on Mar 11, 2010 at 12:22 pm

President Bush and Ari Fleischer The New York Post reports that golfer Tiger Woods has hired former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer to help repair his public image:

Two sources in the golf community have told The Post that Ari Fleischer, the former presidential advisor to George W. Bush and the man who was brought in to help repair the steroid-shattered image of Mark McGwire, has been huddling with Woods, plotting a strategy for his return to golf — at the Arnold Palmer Invitational starting March 25 at Bay Hill in Orlando.

“They were in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks,” one source told The Post.

Since his time as President Bush’s top spinmeister, Fleischer has become a consultant for the sports industry. Fleischer has advised Mark McGwire on his return to baseball and public admission about using steroids, the Green Bay Packers on “how to deal with the fallout from their breakup with Brett Favre” in 2008, and “college football’s BCS on how to repair an image that has been ridiculed.” Unclear whether Fleischer’s advice to Woods will include the Brit Hume suggestion to convert to Christianity.

Related Posts

Politics

Bachmann: ‘I have no reason to doubt that [Obama] wasn’t born in the United States.’

By Matt Corley on Oct 7, 2009 at 10:41 am

On CNN’s Larry King Live last night, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was asked if she agreed with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that birthers are “crazy.” “That’s a non-issue,” replied Bachmann. “In my district, it’s a flat out non-issue.” King and guest James Carville pressed Bachmann to answer the question, but she continued to dodge it by saying her constituents just wanted to know “where are the jobs?” Eventually, King put her on the spot and she voiced support for the birthers:

KING: Congresswoman, I am — Congresswoman, the only thing was the question was simple — do you believe the birthers? Forget the district, forget the jobs for a moment. Do you believe President Obama was born in the United States?

BACHMANN: I have no reason to doubt that he wasn’t born in the United States. I have none. The only place that this issue comes up is on the left. You don’t hear people on the right bringing this issue up.

Bachmann appears to have misspoke though (she intended to say she has no reason to doubt Obama “was born” in the US). Later in the interview, when asked if she believed that Obama was “born somewhere else,” she replied, “The president has shown his birth certificate.” Watch it:

In the same segment, former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer tried to compare birthers to Democrats who thought President Bush didn’t win Florida in 2000. “There were many people who called him illegitimate and said that he lost Florida despite there being no evidence of that being the case,” said Fleischer.

Security

Fleischer Claims ‘Substantial Reform Movement In Iran’ Is ‘Because Of George W. Bush’s Tough Policies’

By Ben Armbruster on Jun 15, 2009 at 9:56 am

ari-fleischer-webThe Washington Post’s Al Kamen reports this morning that former Bush flack Ari Fleischer emailed fellow Post reporter Glenn Kessler before any results had been issued in Iran’s hotly-contested presidential election to give credit to his former boss for the “reformists’ surge” there. “[O]ne of the reasons there is a substantial reform movement in Iran — particularly among its young people — is because of George W. Bush’s tough policies,” Fleischer wrote. He continued:

“A big push for reform is because of the desire of Iranians to get out from sanctions, to put an end to the country’s international ostracism,” Fleischer wrote and, most interestingly, “because Shiites in particular see Shiites in Iraq having more freedoms than they do. Bush’s tough policies have helped give rise to the reformists and I think we’re witnessing that today.” [...]

So “I think it’s fair to say the George Bush’s Freedom Agenda planted seeds that have started to grow in the Middle East,” Fleischer concluded.

Aside from the fact that Fleischer’s claim cannot really ever be verified (a tactic former Bush administration officials use when defending their failed policies), it’s clear that Iran’s power in the region has grown significantly in the region since 2001 — a point one wonders if Fleischer will also give Bush credit for.

The Shiites’ “freedom” in Iraq has actually emboldened Iran’s standing and created a key new ally in the region. Iran has emerged as the chief beneficiary of Bush’s fool’s errand in Iraq. As journalist Robert Dreyfuss noted, “Washington’s decision to topple Saddam’s government has put in place a ruling elite that is far closer to Iran than it is to the United States.” But also, Iran’s nuclear program has progressed greatly during the Bush years. Despite his “tough” policies, Iran has inched closer to a nuclear weapon, raising the possibility of greater instability in the region and even perhaps a new war.

It is also worth noting that hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became Iran’s president in 2005 (during Bush’s presidency), supplanting a former moderate who held the office. In fact, reformers there said at the time that they wanted the Bush administration to tone down the harsh rhetoric:

“You are harmful for us. We try to tell politicians in Washington, D.C., please don’t do anything in favor of reform or to promote democracy in Iran. Because in 100% of the cases, it benefits the right wing,” said Saeed Leylaz, a business consultant and advocate of economic reform and greater dialogue with the West.

Steve Benen notes of Flesicher, “[W]hat’s a ‘veteran spinmeister’ to do? Tell reporters on Friday that before anyone looks favorably on the current American leadership, it’s more important to extol the previous American leadership — you know, the one who was widely reviled throughout the Middle East.”

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