Petraeus' Fox "interview" - pure Pravda

Post by **Vympel** » 2007-09-11 11:34am

The whole production was such transparent propaganda that one doubts that Pravda would have been shameless enough to present it. Even the title of the program was creepy. Fox did not even bother to call it an "interview," but rather hailed it as a "Briefing for America."

The model for the entire hour was not a journalist asking questions of government leaders, but instead, a direct examination at a trial, where a friendly lawyer gently leads his own witness to present claims in the most persuasive manner possible, with the lawyer interrupting only to clarify the witness' statements and to provide helpful suggestions as to how the witness can make his case even more effectively.

Amazingly, the first ten minutes or so of the program consisted of Petraeus unilaterally presenting his case, uninterrupted, as to all the ways in which we have made Great Progress in Iraq since the Surge began. Fox News set up a huge flat screen television next to Petraeus, and already plugged into that screen were all of the U.S. military's own charts and graphs designed to visually depict Iraq as becoming better and safer since the Surge began.

Like a professor lecturing his class, Petraeus held a pointer, and had notes in front of him indicating the sequence of the screens. When he was done explaining one happy Good News screen, the next one popped up, and he proceeded that way -- with no challenge whatsoever -- to present his "Briefing for America." Hume sat by quietly and reverently, opening his mouth only to add information to make Petraeus' point clearer. The "interview" was engineered and scripted by the U.S. military, with Hume playing the role of Master of Ceremonies.

...

Both Petraeus and Hume repeatedly referred to the Enemy in Iraq as "Al Qaeda." The NYT/CBS poll yesterday revealed that 40% of Republicans in this country -- 40% -- still believe that Saddam personally planned the 9/11 attacks. With wretched, unchallenged propaganda like this being fed to them, is it any wonder why?

Obviously, Fox News is free to say whatever it wants, and to give the government as much of a platform as it wants. But the fact that other journalists would sit meekly by and quietly accept the announcement that Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker would grant an "exclusive interview" to a propaganda network -- and that they all continue to pretend that Brit Hume is a "journalist" -- is inexcusable.

I defy anyone to watch this hour-long program and identify anything at all that would be different if the interview had been conducted with a Soviet General by Pravda, or if the interview had been conducted by a U.S. military spokesman. There are no differences, except that -- with a Pravda interview or one conducted by one of Petraeus' subordinates -- the deceit would be less.

Yet our media class continues to treat Fox News, and especially Brit Hume, as some type of legitimate journalists. That says more about the state of our political press and the true role it plays than it does about Fox and Hume.

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A country with a functioning political press would never pretend that the pro-war, Bush-worshipping Hume could conduct an actual interview with Petraeus, let alone be the only journalist allowed to do so. And a government subject even to minimal levels of accountability would be too embarrassed, or at least deterred, from decreeing that its top general, burdened by a dubious record and making highly precarious claims about an ongoing war, would sit for a television interview with only one "journalist," and that journalist would be Brit Hume.

...

That hour-long "interview" last night with Petraeus and Crocker would fit quite comfortably on North Korean state television. It also now fits quite comfortably within the American media landscape.

I just love it how no one fucking says anything about this in public. As if everything is perfectly normal.

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2007-09-11 11:42am

Any comments by people who read Pravda's reports on the USSR's military campaign in Afghanistan? I'm curious if they're comparable to Fox News' presentation of Gen Petraeus' report.

Post by **K. A. Pital** » 2007-09-11 12:18pm

Any comments by people who read Pravda's reports on the USSR's military campaign in Afghanistan? I'm curious if they're comparable to Fox News' presentation of Gen Petraeus' report.

No. It just ignored that war. Rare news, obscurity.

But actually, what's surprising, in the middle of year 1980 academic G.A. Arbatov and "Pravda" political journalist Y.A. Zhukov managed to hold a personal audience with Brezhnew and personally try to convince him to pull out the Soviet contingent in Afghanistan.

I doubt any of FOX News reporters would do that.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2007-09-11 01:29pm

It's funny just how Soviet-like the Republikan Party has gotten over the years since the Soviet Union fell.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2007-09-11 03:12pm

At this point, I only believe it if I see the Secret stamped on the top.

Post by **weemadando** » 2007-09-11 04:40pm

40%. Forty fucking PERCENT?

Ewwwwwww. That's not a good stat.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2007-09-11 07:59pm

weemadando wrote:40%. Forty fucking PERCENT?

Ewwwwwww. That's not a good stat.

That's 40% of Republikans so you're talking about less than half of a minority to start off with. Just exposed the dedicated Kool-Aid drinkers is all.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2007-09-11 11:55pm

Gen. Betray Us did a lengthy interview with Hugh Huge Tits, a right-wing radio gasbag. When a left-leaning journalist tried to get an interview with the General, he was blown off.

Flagg · Post by **Flagg** » 2007-09-11 11:58pm

Elfdart wrote:Gen. Betray Us did a lengthy interview with Hugh Huge Tits, a right-wing radio gasbag. When a left-leaning journalist tried to get an interview with the General, he was blown off.

You think that pissant Oliver North wannabe was talking to anyone but the right wing in his script reading over the past 2 days?

No, this bullshit is aimed at keeping the Republibots in line for the next 16 months so they can keep this joke running until Bush can hand it off to his successor.

Post by **Coyote** » 2007-09-14 11:57am

The thing is, the surge is coinciding with Petraeus's new counter-insurgent policy, as well as the "get the Sunnis on our side" policy,and itis hard to tell which of all this is actually working. The surge is also seen as tacit admission that one of the biggest criticisms about the war --not enough troops-- was right all along.

Here's the biggest problem, and folks haven't really put it together-- the point of the surge, the counter-insurgency policy, and the co-opting of the Sunnis was all done for one over-arching reason: to let the Iraq government get its shit together. It hasn't happened. So the overall objective was failed, but the decision-makers are trumpeting the tactical successes and downplaying the strategic failure.

Petraeus is a smart guy, and a 4-star, etc, but let's not forget that he was placed in his position by Bush, who favors loyalty above all else, and is known for picking smarter people to lean on. He was Bush's boy from the start, if he wasn't he would never have been put in there. So it should not be surprising that he plays accopanyment to the trumpeting of the "success" while downplaying the loss at the end.

wautd · Post by **wautd** » 2007-09-14 12:39pm

Fox proves every day that propaganda works

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-09-14 02:09pm

The real question is not why he's echoing the words of his Commander in Chief or why FOXNews is worshipping the ground he walks on. It's why FOXNews' competitors lack the balls to point any of this out.

Flagg · Post by **Flagg** » 2007-09-14 03:42pm

Darth Wong wrote:The real question is not why he's echoing the words of his Commander in Chief or why FOXNews is worshipping the ground he walks on. It's why FOXNews' competitors lack the balls to point any of this out.

Olbermann does.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-09-14 03:46pm

Flagg wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:The real question is not why he's echoing the words of his Commander in Chief or why FOXNews is worshipping the ground he walks on. It's why FOXNews' competitors lack the balls to point any of this out.
Olbermann does.

And his ratings are reflecting what a good move it is to skewer Fixed News.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-09-14 03:46pm

Oh fuck, wtf is with me and url tags that refuse to work on long links!?

Phillip Hone · Post by **Phillip Hone** » 2007-09-14 05:47pm

Darth Wong wrote:The real question is not why he's echoing the words of his Commander in Chief or why FOXNews is worshipping the ground he walks on. It's why FOXNews' competitors lack the balls to point any of this out.

Not sure if it should be considered a FOXnews competitor, but the Daily Show did do a segment where they played clips of Bush talking about Iraq, and then played clips of Petraeus saying almost the exact same thing.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-09-14 06:08pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Oh fuck, wtf is with me and url tags that refuse to work on long links!?

Stop linking to Google search results?

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2007-09-14 06:58pm

next on Fox, the minute of Hate

followed by an investigative report on allegations that the NBC Peacock is Gay, or that the CBS eye is really the eye of Sauron.