NBC’s Richard Engel has done some good reporting from Iraq. But scratch the reporter’s surface, and you find a political partisan eager to echo the anti-Bush party line. Witness his exchange with Ari Fleischer on Morning Joe today. Engel twisted the former Bush press secretary’s words, accusing him of alleging an Osama Bin Laden connection with Iraq. Fleischer had palpably said no such thing. The springboard was Fleischer’s citation of a 1998 OBL interview in which the terrorist boss said America was weak because it is unable to see through long wars. Fleischer went on to argue that America’s resolve will be tested should things go badly wrong in Iraq or Afghanistan, thus putting under pressure the arbitrary dates that have been set for US withdrawal from those countries. Engel jumped in to claim that Fleischer was claiming an OBL tie with Iraq. Even after Fleischer made explicitly clear he was alleging no such connection, Engel obdurately pressed his point. I’ll be back with a transcript, but in the meantime, view the video and observe as Engel does his best Olbermann-Maddow impression.
Original post:
Engel Falsely Accuses Fleischer Of Alleging Osama-Iraq Ties
