On Tuesday, an Associated Press article featured on MSNBC.com and briefly as a top headline on the popular internet homepage MSN.com was titled: "McCain linked to group in Iran-Contra case." The subtitle read: "Organization had ties to former Nazi collaborators, right-wing death squads." The article attacked a group founded by retired U.S. General John Singlaub: "The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe."
The AP appears to be getting its story tips from the Obama campaign, as Boston Globe deputy national political editor, Foon Rhee, reported: "The Obama camp today is sending around reports on Singlaub, founder of the US Council for World Freedom, which was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal during the mid-1980s and was criticized for supposed links to Nazi collaborators and right-wing death squads in Central America." The AP article justified reporting on the tenuous McCain connection by explaining: "McCain's ties are facing renewed scrutiny after his campaign criticized Barack Obama for his link to a former radical who engaged in violent acts 40 years ago."
In the article, General Singlaub is quoted and suggested that McCain had little or no involvement in the organization: "We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out. It looks good to have names on a letterhead who are well-known and appreciated. I don't recall talking to McCain at all on the work of the group." Despite that explanation, the AP still thought it appropriate to suggest an equivalence between McCain’s ties to such an organization and Obama’s ties to domestic terrorist Bill Ayers: "The renewed attention over McCain's association with Singlaub's group comes as McCain's campaign steps up criticism of Obama's dealings with William Ayers, a college professor who co-founded the Weather Underground and years later worked on education reform in Chicago alongside Obama."
—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
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Can you say...
October 7, 2008 - 16:01 ET by AgentAmerican...Obama Pandora's Box open!
Drill ANWAR
On the Mark
October 7, 2008 - 16:03 ET by allanfMcCains attacks must be packing a wallop if his media acolytes are tortting out this pablum. The Keating Five or General Singlaub will not much traction with the voters. In fact the Korean people owe General Singluab a thank you.
Funny
October 7, 2008 - 16:10 ET by 10ksnookerTry to help the good guys, as Reagan did, and the Democrats will attack every time.
What's the difference between Osama bin Laden and Barack Hussein Obama? Nothing they both have friends who blew up the Pentagon.
I wonder when we are going to get to Obama cousin Raila Odinga and the Communist Muslims in Kenya that Obama was working to get elected on the taxpayer dime in 2007? Is it no wonder Obama didn't have time to be in the Senate?
McCain should not back down
October 7, 2008 - 16:10 ET by c5thenThis is obviously what the Obama campaign and the media are attempring to force him to do. It's political blackmail. Obama's campaign must be run by the Soprano's.
"Dey bring up an old connection we don't like? We makes up an old connection dat dey ain't gonna like. Da media will play along and call his stuff lies and smears and refer to our stuff as questions and renewed scrut'ney." "Dis election is in da bag."
LEFT-WING DEATH SQUADS
October 7, 2008 - 16:14 ET by cocodrieA perfect name for NOW, Planned parenthood, and the Hussein-Obiden ticket. All three want to kill all the unborn babies they can.
Limbaugh doesn't call it the APO [AP-Obama] for nothing.
October 7, 2008 - 16:22 ET by wnaegeleSigh!
The AP is pathetic
October 7, 2008 - 20:05 ET by Captain KirockI saw this article this morning and started laughing. How lame is it for the AP to dig up stuff about the Contras and the Boland Amendment from 25 years ago to try to smear McCain?
The only question I had was whether the AP crafted this story itself to try to torpedo McCain's Ayers attacks or whether the AP was just printing Obama talking points. Now we know this came from the Obama camp & the AP merely parroted them.
Seems to me like the Ayers attacks has the Obama camp reeling.
This whole story....
October 7, 2008 - 16:47 ET by BadassBuckeyeis Obama's debate blocker. He makes this up, gets it printed on the day of the debate....why? So McCain is gunshy to bring up Obama's connections during the debate.
Once the debate passes...it will slowly trickle out that this stuff is not comletely true. The facts misrepresented. Its the age old communits/marxist strategy...and one the media uses alot...print first....retract later. Problem is no one remembers the retractions printed on the back page.
Nice Insight
October 7, 2008 - 17:05 ET by ConservativeMissourianBuckeye, you are right on the money. Obama's trying to get attention away from his own connections and cast some blame on McCain. The intent is to merely dig up dirt...fast. No need to fact check. You see, Obama must realize that his campaign's accusations will not prove themselves entirely true over time; yet, from his perspective, accuracy is no biggie in this time of desperation. He couldn't care less! His chief purpose, as Buckeye mentioned, is to throw those doubts regarding McCain into the pre-debate chaos of news--the retractions on the back page will come later when no one notices.
Nice Insight
October 7, 2008 - 17:05 ET by ConservativeMissourianBuckeye, you are right on the money. Obama's trying to get attention away from his own connections and cast some blame on McCain. The intent is to merely dig up dirt...fast. No need to fact check. You see, Obama must realize that his campaign's accusations will not prove themselves entirely true over time; yet, from his perspective, accuracy is no biggie in this time of desperation. He couldn't care less! His chief purpose, as Buckeye mentioned, is to throw those doubts regarding McCain into the pre-debate chaos of news--the retractions on the back page will come later when no one notices.
I think not. McCain has a
October 7, 2008 - 17:07 ET by ThisnThatI think not. McCain has a whole boatload of researchers that can provide him with the facts.
Besides, if McCain backs down now, Sarah Barracuda will rip him apart. No way she's going to be out there attacking while McCain is allowed to shrink back. Notice how he's upped his specific points in the past couple of days? That's Sarah's doing.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Either McCain believes in
October 7, 2008 - 17:20 ET by BuffNBoneEither McCain believes in what he does, or he doesn't. Push comes to shove he can't prove a negative. Faced with the 2 v 1 fight he's in (Dems + Media) holding anything in reserve just doesn't make sense.
If there is some microscopic connection then I'd say fess up to it.
I think most Americans would rather have the bad guys taken out elsewhere than within our borders. Equating the killing of, or trying to kill, Americans on U.S. soil with actions (even covert) to neutralize them before harm can be done in the homeland seems like a good thing.
"Fighters are fun but bombers make policy"
Do you think there's a difference?
October 7, 2008 - 19:17 ET by IamTinmanDo you really think there's a difference between the AP and the Obama campaign?
If Barack was standing over a body with a smoking gun in his hand, AP would be claiming self defense before they even interviewed him.
This story is so thin that even the usually far left Boston Globe didn't want to soil themselves with it
The Bimbo Eruption
October 7, 2008 - 19:32 ET by celatorThe Bimbo Eruption smackdown phenomenon used to cover up Clinton's notorious randy behavior is very much like what is happening with Obama's campaign.
In Obama's case, it's a Truth Eruption smackdown, as more citizens learn Obama's true background. That's what Obama's "truth squads" are all about: destroy all those who dare to tell the real story about Obama, as in the article above. We get it.
The major media report only half the news. Why are they surprised they have only half the potential audience?
I get tired of quotes from AP
October 8, 2008 - 20:46 ET by TheHistorianRepublicans, especially conservatives, need to quit buying any information from this source. Bankruptcy is the only way to get their attention.
"What experience and history teach is
this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history,
or acted on principles deduced from it."
G. W. F. Hegel
McCain charges
October 14, 2008 - 11:41 ET by east tennessee johnFirst it was his affair as reported in the NYT. Not true. Then it was the Keating 5, shouldn't have been charged according to Democrat lead counsel, Bob Bennett, completely exonorated along with John Glenn,now this from APO. Let's hear Barack the Marxist deny ANY OF THE CHARGES AND CLAIMS REGARDING AYERS OR ACORN and his relationships with these known radicals with the same clean bill McCain has . "When I met him I thought he had been rehabilitated" Yeah Barack, he quit making bombs, he's still a marxist-leninist. Of course, it takes one to know one, doesn't it?