Couric Critiques Iraq War Run-Up Coverage

CBS News Anchor Calls White House Press Corps Performance "Embarrassing"

(CBS)  In a new book, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan charges that the White House press corps was too easy on the Bush administration in the run-up to the Iraq War. McClellan served as press secretary for nearly three years before leaving in 2006 and was a longtime aide to President Bush stretching back to their days in Texas.

The three network anchors were asked about those claims on CBS News' Early Show Wednesday morning, while promoting a special on cancer to air in September.

"I think it's a very legitimate allegation," said CBS News' Katie Couric. "I think it's one of the most embarrassing chapters in American journalism.

"And I think there was a sense of pressure from corporations who own where we work and from the government itself to really squash any kind of dissent or any kind of questioning of it," Couric added. "I think it was extremely subtle but very, very effective."

ABC News' Charles Gibson disagreed with Couric.

"I think that the media did a pretty good job of focusing and asking the questions," he said. "We were not given access to get into the country … to go along with the inspectors. But the questions were asked.

"It was just a drum beat from the government, and I think it's convenient now to blame the media, but I don't," he added.

NBC News' Brian Williams said it was the mood of the country after 9/11 that influenced the coverage.

"I think people have to remember the post-9/11 era and how that felt and what the president felt he was empowered to do, and that Colin Powell speech at the U.N.," he said.

Couric, however, countered Williams' assessment.

"Our responsibility is to sometimes go against the mood of the country," she said, "and ask the hard questions."

[riptide213]

SITREP

Americas All Volunteer Force is burnt out.

High speed low drag political objectives are overdriving an unsustainable military operational tempo.

Subtle subterfuges are quietly achieving a backdoor draft by stealth.

All enlistments incur an Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) legal obligation for 8 years of service commitment.

STOP LOSS.

In Lieu of Taskings.

Army 15 month combat tours. No limit on numbers of tours incurred.

Mandated block leave. Use it or lose it.

Current CINC not backing a better pay rise for his troops.

Potential CINC talking 5 to 100 years more of the same and not backing a better GI Bill without longer commitment strings attached.

VA staffers attempting to conceal and divert PTSD diagnosis.

The Good News is BOHICA SNAFU TARFU FUBAR. Hooah.

Just another Combat Groundhog Day in the box.

Record cases of PTSD, unless covered up by backroom number crunchers.

Cause and effect.

[hockeymanvt]

Ms Couric,

Thank you! For speaking the truth. I think we are ALL responsible for letting our country stray so far from its history and promise. I look forward to a revival of America as a MORAL leader in the world. By MORAL I am not talking about the token religious (usually Christian) pronouncements but rather a more inclusive quest for true freedom which often includes hearing the unvarnished and sometimes uncomfortable truth.
Please also use your new cancer cure campaign to pressure the government as well as individuals to support research. Think of what could be done with the $$$ squandered in Iraq.

[wdrussell1]

The media is as responsible for this debacle as Bush is.
They are the ones who passed off lies and half-truths as if they were gospel.
They are the ones who passed off propagandists as experts.
They are the ones who denied air time to anybody who had a different opinion.

It is time for a Teddy Roosevelt moment.
Time to bring out the big hammer and bust up the conglomerates.

[ramos937]

Couric is correct. It was the media''s job to ask the tough questions and it failed in that regard. One prime example is the NIE circulated prior to the invasion that was calculated to drum up support for the invasion in Congress. Those that actually read it voted againist the war - i.e. S. Reyes (D-TX). Those that did not read it voted for the war - i.e. Hilliary Clinton. The media failed to ask the obvious question of why the discrepancy. There were numerous other like examples.

[petesis]

Couric is right.

[inmiddlepa]

Bravo, Katie. Courage to say what needs to be said about the once-liberal corporate spin machine that network news has become. Balanced coverage is nearly impossible to find; viewers can cherry-pick whatever they want to hear - but Katie''s telling it like it is!

[j_flood]

I agree - Couric is right - Gibson is a company man all the way. To this day I often wonder if Iraq would have been invaded if it happened closer in history to the end of Viet Nam. Iraq was an oil-based conflict - and one man''s revenge for Saddam''s threat to kill his father. From what I read of McClellan''s book Bush lived in a ''dream world'' allowing him to press on regardless. To his shame, poor Colin Powell will regret his speech at the UN as part of a bogus effort to send US troops to war. As a warrior he more than anyone at the top knew the consequences. But it will ultimately be Bush''s war - lock, stock and all barrels!

[docpeter-2009]

RE: jflood wrote,"To his shame, poor Colin Powell will regret his speech at the UN as part of a bogus effort to send US troops to war."

I agree. Unfortunately. I watched Colin''s speach to the UN for war. If anyone else did, did it occur to you that he was showing photos taken two weeks apart that showed trucks present at the facility and two weeks later the trucks were gone. This PROVES NOTHING, except that in the intervening two weeks the trucks were moved.

Unfortunately, the American public in post 911 was all to eager to pursue any war in that area that was labeled "terrorist".

It was the attack and war started by Bush, one in retaliation for a "hit contract" placed "on my daddy" -he mentioned this in a news confrence prior to war as being a reason to hate Sadam- that led to my quitting the RNC. I no longer blindly support any political party.

[docpeter-2009]

As an aside note to my previous post, I would have voted for Colin Powell. I still would vote for Colin Powell to be Pres., if he would have decided to run. I think he would make a better "first black president" than Barack.

I also would trust him, especially as a retired General, to get us out of Iraq. He would have a better clue, at least, than what appears to be our alternative choices.

[likeitis5050]

They can start by asking the hard questions NOW with this campaign. We have candidates who aren''t being handed the tough stuff right now. Will we wait until further damage is done before we look back and say, "Hmmm...really shouldn''t have been so caught up in the star dust...it was just the mood of the times...fainting...panting...a big ol'' love fest for someone no one really knew anything about...wow...dropped the ball completely on this one!" Ya think?

[jerr11]

Both Williams and Gibson are still trying to cover their butts!

Go Couric go!

[republic1776]

Ms Couric,
Worry about your ratings at rock botttom.
Libral Walter Cronkite, could teach you a trick or two.

[jerr11]

I would have voted for Colin Powell... I also would trust him, especially as a retired General,

Posted by docpeter at 10:21 AM : May 28, 2008



You must be kidding!

This was the man who went in front of the world in the UN and LIED about Saddam''s WMD!!!

[summarex]

Yeah right
Now it begins to dawn on them that they didn''t do their job. And we''re supposed to believe they didn''t know they were acting like the ministry of propaganda all along. This is nothing more than a bunch of self serving nonsense from a band of presstitutes.

[xlib]

Perky little katie, sure let''s all listen to her. Sure, the msm controls all, get a grip!

[floydzeppl]

Couric is correct. The WH Press Corps were a bunch of bubble gum question-asking sissies.

[jo531-2009]

Why is it that "we" are all responsible for letting our country stray? Remember the mood after 9/11/01. Those, who spoke up were labeled unpatriotic. It was unpleasant and even dangerous for those, who disagreed.

You agreed with the president or you were unpatriotic. Remember then? Beginning with the first week of Bush''s presidency, Congressmen found they were in or out. Out meant no power, no voice, no meetings, no communication.

Let''s not blame the media. They are paid employees. As Couric said so discretely, it is the media corporations that censor our news. This is nothing new. It just got worse. What did other countries tell us? "What are you doing? Are you crazy? No, we won''t support you."

[floydzeppl]

Posted by Jo531 at 10:50 AM : May 28, 2008
-----------

Well said, and all true.

[gopsoccermom]

Too easy on Bush? OMG! I cant believe it!

Katie''s assessment was spot on. Admittedly, I have not been a great fan of her news broadcasting abilities; but her comments (at least on this subject), adds to her credentials. I plan to watch her more often!!!

[ajaxtheleast]

Phoneys. They didn''t merely "fail'' to
ask the hard questions.

They colluded in not asking the hard Q''s.

Some of us can "see" a liar as he is
lieing. It''s not a science it''s
some insight that is either in or
not in an individual. "Physiognomics"
is the name they give it.

A great example is Bush in uttering
the last few words in his explaining
the "aluminum tubes from Africa".
His eyes abandon their direct focus on
the camera and drift up and to
his right and off into the distance
along with a fading voice inflection.

I said at the time that if the media
would run that thing over and over again
We''d all see a really bad liar in action.

What we have here now is a tiny pang
of conscience motivating a "critique."

The big three elected Bush and enabled
the Iraq war.

Critique all you want.

It wont bring anybody back to life.

Yur doin a heck of a job, phoneys.

[concorde5]

I knew from the beginning that we should not invade Iraq. When I spoke out people accused me of being a terrorist for not supporting the Iraq war.

We should never be afraid to question and challenge our government when we think it is wrong. Our news organizations failed us. Our politicians failed us. And finally we failed ourselves by getting caught up in the war frenzy that took over the country after 911.

We should never make these mistakes again.

[jjp735i]

"corporations who own where we work and from the government itself to really squash any kind of dissent or any kind of questioning of it," Couric added"

It is true. We all know it. They were too afraid of being kept out of the White House press room. (humm I just posted that same remark 5 minutes ago some were else). Just goes to show you, the media was no better at telling us the truth than Bush was.

[chriscello-2009]

What was the real reason the three anchors came on the show this morning? To come together and promote cancer awareness. They could have given that more attention instead, they beat a dead horse. What a shame.

[firstsai]

I haven''t been a fan of Katie Couric...I thought she was too "perky," and just another talking head. She spoke at my graduation at OU in 2006. Her indictment of the media is telling and I hope she follows up on this. The only way to fix these problems, is to come clean before the guilty leave the scene of the crime.

ABC especially has been and continues to be a cheer leader for the right. George Will and Kokie Roberts, and of course the 2 on the debate.

[Michael Arnold]

So now they all want to clean up their images? Never. The MSM turned their heads to the obvious and are now responsible for the murder of thousands of Iraqis and 4000+ American soldiers, and that''s a fact. McClelland now wants to cash in on his own lies. He should be jailed for life for his actions. I would invoke the word "shame" but none of them have any.

[chastn]

Couric is correct. The news media is pathetic; are they all trying to become fox news(less)?

There are no more journalists, they all are just talking heads -and empty ones at that. To be fair, all the network/cable news heads were afraid of being slimed by the admin and being called unpatriotic, so they pressed their "people" to follow the admin line/lies (weren''t there 935 in just 2 years?) None of the anchors had the courage to even try to get the truth to the American people.

Maybe that''s it ... none of these talking heads has the Courage to stand up for the truth and this country. They''re more interested in jewelry (flag pins). And they should be embarrassed and deeply ashamed.

[secundus2]

The media certainly latched on to the slogan "Weapons of Mass Destruction." This was about as helpful in understanding the issues of Saddam''s Iraq as "Remember the Maine" in Hearst''s newspapers in the run-up to the Spanish-American War.

[minnick8-2009]

It is a documented fact that Saddam Huessin used weapons of mass destruction to kill 50,000 of his own people. The reason no weapons were found by the inspectors was because Saddam had moved them by then to Syria.

[wdrussell1]

Don''t you love people like minnick? The fact that they couldn''t find any is proof that they exist.
With logic like that I bet he answers those e-mails from Nigeria.

[neoconrcrazy]

Saddam had moved them by then to Syria.

Posted by minnick8


that''s a darned lie dude - wasn''t syria, he moved them chile and everyone knows it! Boy, are you outta touch....

[ov442]

Couric is right, the other two are pandering to their industry to defend themselves. THe media in a way is one of the most important institutions in our nation regarding our constitutional law.
It is THEIR JOB to go find out what terrible things our government is doing and expose them. Period.
Its their job to bring attention to major issues and point out why we as citizens should be interested, or are affected.

[jaygshaw]

It is not sufficient to "ask questions", but rather it is necessary for the preservation of our nation to seek answers and this is where our media has failed to secure the information that is seemingly unavailable from our government ("by and for the people"). The difficulty I have is that we seemingly have a populace that does not wish to educate themselves (on almost any topic.) The failures will have consequences far beyond the years I have left.

[demslie]

"Couric Critiques Iraq War Run-Up Coverage". Half the stories that CBS (Communist Broadcast System) is posting are old news published for one purpose. To change the subject from O''Bama and give the Angry Democrats something else to scream about. Does anyone really care what Couric says? Even CBS is looking for a way to fire her because of the lowest ratings in network news. Like all Democrats Couric hates Bush, The War, Capitalism, Religion, White People, Rich People The Military, The American Flag and all Republicans. Boy, there is a "Fair and Balanced" place to get a "Critique". But Democrats are liars and cheats so, this is the type of administration we could expect from the one who is being protected here, O''Bama.

[missingamerica]

"ABC News'' Charles Gibson disagreed with Couric."

Well, duh.

Try this for an experiment: Wait until some sort of controversy arises with either McCain, Obama, or Clinton.

Then, record all three (NBC, ABC, and CBS) networks'' coverage on the evening news.

Then, compare the three...lollll...NBC and CBS are relatively unbiased...but ABC?

Snicker...is like ABC lives just to the left of Fox''s house....that stephanopoulos/gibson abortion of a debate wasn''t a fluke...

[secundus2]

There were serious issues about Saddam''s weapons. It was his obligation to account for their disposal and he could not or would not, defying UN ultimatum after UN ultimatum. I agree completely.

But in the mind of the public because of the media and the pro-war rhetoric the phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was allowed to become a way to stir up fear about anthrax in your mailbox and sarin gas in Iraqi rockets meant for Israel. The real issues about weapons got obscured by the propaganda. The issues surrounding Iran''s weapons are being handled much more carefully.

Have the media learned anything? No, they haven''t. Their coverage now is dominated by anti-war slogans at a time when the military situation in Iraq is vastly improved (the quarter from Jan-March showed casualties reduced by about a half from the same period in the previous year).

The media believe that we are all too dumb to understand anything but tiny sound-bites that can serve as rallying cries.

[ron4691]

Sorry folks, but the media jumped on the war bandwagon from the start. Who asked, "What does Iraq have to do with 9-11?" Who asked, "Why was the bin Laden family the first to fly after 9-11?" And I now ask, "What does Iran have to do with mostly Sunni terrorist?" I%u2019m not blind to Hamas, but the new propaganda sound a lot like the last time and nobody in the media is pointing this out.

[greatdrivew]

Posted by ibsteve2u at 12:55 PM : May 28, 2008

"ABC News'' Charles Gibson disagreed with Couric."

Well, duh.

Try this for an experiment: Wait until some sort of controversy arises with either McCain, Obama, or Clinton.

Then, record all three (NBC, ABC, and CBS) networks'' coverage on the evening news.

Then, compare the three...lollll...NBC and CBS are relatively unbiased...but ABC?

Snicker...is like ABC lives just to the left of Fox''s house....that stephanopoulos/gibson abortion of a debate wasn''t a fluke...

*******

I agree.

[feelfree4u]

Re: "Our responsibility is to sometimes go against the mood of the country," she said, "and ask the hard questions."

That''s a good one Katie!

There is no doubt whatsoever, that Western Corporate media tools, including Ms. Couric, are DEEPLY complicit in the fraud-based Bush regime War of Terror.

[theanchores]

Actually, I think Couric had it wrong. The press actually did a very good job covering the lead-up to the Iraq war; their most embarrassing moments have been their incredibly awful coverage of Katrina and its aftermath (some of those narratives have never been recanted and corrected) and their slobbering coverage of Barack Obama, of whom no negatives may be reported.

American Journalists have plenty to be embarrassed about. The lead-up to Iraq is not really one of them.

[zorar-2009]

NBC,ABC,CBS..puppets for the regime and corporate bottom line profits..the "Truth" what''s that got to do with anything

[elkc]

There''s a world of difference when watching election coverage from the "Big Three". No the right questions, journalism with a backbone, and objective reporting were not a part of the coverage, national news anchors were too cozy with, in reporting on "how to destroy two countries with a republican party in control under one Texan. After 9/11 the word was "there will be blood" in retaliation for the attacks. Bush used the deaths, injuries and destroyed lives of that brutal day as a catalyst to scream the word "charge" on his way in to the oil laden land that had for so long been just out of the Bush Families reach. The media hampered by public opinion polls that ruled ad agencies which poured money in to sponsorships making your nightly news possible were cornered into the puppet show where the administration clearly said "you''ll report what we tell you." You either followed suit or you followed Rather!

[jon2012-2009]

Couric is right. The media failed in its role as a watchdog for democracy and failed so badly. But the media is only one pillar in our system of society. More important is an educated citizenry. When John Kerry was swiftboated based on hearsay and anecdotal testimony, it not only spoke of the lengths to which Republicans will go to distort the truth but the ease with which ordinary Americans, even some Democrats, can be manipulated by propaganda. It was almost beyond belief to see that these people don''t understand such basic concepts as burden of proof and, in a debate, which side is charged with this burden. The swiftboat attacks were paid advertising in an election, not a neutral news release in the media, for crying out loud. So blame the media. But blame the level of intelligence and education in this country that has allowed Bush to claim the White House twice and leave a trail of disasters.

[jn122736]

Couric might need to be careful, remember what happened to Dan Rather?

Also, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, a hard-line and vocal critic of The Bush administration%u2019s plans for the Iraq fiasco, was killed when his plane crashed in October 2005 (his pilots, supposedly, slowed down too fast and just flew the plane into the ground).

Anthrax was delivered to Democrats, but not to republicans.

Americans were being frightened with attack alerts (red, orange, etc), Mushroom clouds, WMD%u2019s.

I have no doubt that journalists were afraid of loosing their jobs, or worse.

Of course this is just another conspiracy theory, but, those are just a small fraction of the unexplained %u201C%u201Dcoincidences%u201D%u201D over the past 8 years.

[stn_sage]

I don''t care for Katie Couric as a broadcast news journalist, but of Williams, Gibson, and herself---at least, SHE''S telling the truth! I respect her for that!

Gibson and Williams never made a major effort to ask the ''tough questions'' of Bush/Cheney or their staff!
They were content to ''go along'' and not ''rock the boat''! Why should they?! They get nice, fat paychecks, they didn''t want to get labelled ''troublemakers''!

No, Charlie and Brian! You let America down! Maybe now that Bush will soon be out of office, as more and more scandals become known, then it will become convenient for you to do your job! And you''ll get off your a$$es and report on the investigations etcetera.

[tracker161]

Same tired old mea culpa following a well established script. See the documentary "War Made Easy" available on youtube and elsewhere that can be googled.

[getcentered]

Yes.....there was and still is a propaganda war coming from the White House and other complacent Republicans dogs.......also known as Rovians.

Please......Republicans disgust me.

[getcentered]

GreatDriveW

Me too......I think ABC and FOX are now in collusion.

[gwagener]

I don''t blame the media or the politicians too much for falling into lock step. The people were acting irrationally out of fear and feeling weak and helpless. Bush ofered a way to feel safe and powerful by lashing out at a presumed weak enemy. The public would have protested and boycotted any network that dared to say the story does not make sense, if Saddam has WMD''s, it mkes no sense to give them to terrorists in the hope that they might attack the US.