Laura Ingraham and Greg Gutfeld had some fun Thursday evening bashing NBC foreign correspondent Richard Engel for absurd comments he made on the “Today” show this week. As NewsBusters reported Tuesday, Engel that morning told NBC’s Ann Curry: If there had been no invasion Saddam would still be in power. He was probably getting more moderate. He was being welcomed into the, into, by, by a lot of European countries, he was being welcomed in Eastern Europe in particular. He was heading in a, in a direction of accommodation. On Thursday’s “O’Reilly Factor,” substitute host Ingraham and guest Gutfeld had a field day with what the former labeled “The Dumbest Things of the Week” (video follows with transcript and commentary): LAURA INGRAHAM: In the “Back of the Book” segment tonight, “The Dumbest Things of the Week.” Is NBC News making excuses for Saddam Hussein? Regardless of your thoughts on Iraq, one thing most people agree on is that getting rid of Saddam was a good thing. But some are wondering if NBC’s chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engle, doesn’t miss the good old days when Saddam was still around. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICHARD ENGLE, NBC CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: If there had been no invasion, Saddam would still be in power. He was probably getting more moderate. He was being welcomed into the — into — by a lot of European countries. He was being welcomed in Eastern Europe, in particular. He was heading in a direction of accommodation. The sanctions regime that was holding him in place was starting to fail. So, I think it would be somewhat of a basket case, but it would be — Iran would be a lot more contained. (END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Joining us now from New York is Greg Gutfeld, host of “Red Eye” and the author of “The Bible of Unspeakable Truths.” So Greg, as far as I can tell, Saddam was on the verge of having his own reality show. GREG GUTFELD, HOST, “RED EYE”: I mean, you have to figure out he said he would be more moderate. You have to ask him, what does he mean by moderate? Was he talking about alcohol intake? Was he going to cut back on his booze? Or was he going to only gas half as many Kurds or tell his sons they could only rape women every other weekend? Pr maybe he was becoming more environmentally friendly and was going to use renewable car batteries when he electrocuted his citizens. So we need — we need to give specifics on what he meant by moderation. INGRAHAM: I think he was clearly going green, Greg. He was making inroads with Eastern Europe. I don’t know what countries in Eastern Europe? Poland? Old Czechoslovakia? What countries was he getting close to? I just don’t recall that. GUTFELD: He does have a point, though. He said that, if we didn’t have the war, Saddam would be more accommodating, which is true because you are more accommodating when you are not dead. It’s really hard to buy somebody dinner when you’re dead. So, in effect, he’s actually correct by accident. INGRAHAM: Well, Iran — Iran might not have been the problem it is today, but the idea that he — it was going to be Saddam the milquetoast if we didn’t invade. I just — I was desperately looking to follow that logic. But you know, when NBC is involved, Greg, all bets are off. All bets are off. GUTFELD: Yes. Can’t stomach victory. You’ve got a war that you’ve won. Enjoy it. INGRAHAM: Winning is not fun. We’re supposed to be America on our knees, begging for mercy all the time. You don’t understand that. We need to apologize, Greg. Get used to it. GUTFELD: I am. Believe me. I’m married. To give readers an idea just how absurd Engel’s comments were, even the liberal Mediaite found this segment to its liking. Now that’s saying something.
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Laura Ingraham and Greg Gutfeld Rip Richard Engel’s Silly Saddam Remarks
