Bill O'Reilly's opening talking points on his show tonight went after President Obama's claim that the intelligence community underestimated and did not adequately communicate the dangers of ISIS/ISIL in Iraq and Syria with both barrels.
As documented in several NewsBusters posts in the 48-plus hours since Obama's Sunday night "60 Minutes" interview, the rest of the press has been mostly working furiously to downplay the intelligence community's outrage at being thrown under the bus. O'Reilly's no-holds-barred analysis assessment, as seen in the video which follows the jump, is a stark contrast to what has been seen on other broadcast networks:
Transcript of most of the video (bolds are mine):
... there is deep anger among some working in the CIA, DIA, and other American intelligence agencies. That's because the President told 60 minutes that it was an intelligence failure, not his fault, that ISIS grew into a monster.
... So at this point, President Obama has not taken any responsibility for the botched intelligence on ISIS, and that has led to some "evaluations."
(After showing clips from November 2013 of testimony by the State Department's Brett McGurk)
... That means that the president had to know that the State Department at least believed ISIS was a major threat.
(After playing audio from February 2014 of testimony by then-DIA Director Lt. Genl. Michael Flynn)
... So again, President Obama had to know a terror threat was brewing. Yet the President did, nothing.
Talking Points believe President Obama doesn't want to engage (in) the war on terror in general. Yes, he'll order drone strikes and some special forces activity. But he does not want the USA to launch major offenses against terror groups.
Therefore, the President looks away, hoping that a situation like ISIS in Syria will go away. Now, Pres. Obama is paying a price for his passive approach to the jihad, as the beheadings of two Americans by the ISIS savages has awakened the public in America.
The anti-terror situation overall is bleak.
For decades, Pakistan has undermined Afghanistan and America by harboring the Taliban. We all know that. President Obama even knows it. For decades, Iran has funded Hezbollah and trained a variety of Shia terrorists on Iranian soil. President Obama - well aware. The Al Qaeda leader, (Ayman) Al-Zawahiri is still at large. Where is he? Some country is harboring him.
But again, the pro-terrorist nations around the world do not fear the United States.
I mean, what did we do to Pakistan when they harbored bin Laden all those years? Nothing.
And when the Pakistanis Imprisoned the man who helped bring bin Laden down, Doctor Shakil Afridi, Obama again did nothing. The doctor still languishes in prison to this day.
So President Obama's resume on terrorism is about as weak as you can get.
Note that O'Reilly is also partially criticizing the Bush and Clinton administrations when he makes his "for decades" assertions.
Hard-hitting analyses by the likes of O'Reilly and other Fox hosts go a long way towards explaining why, in news learned earlier today, Fox is outdrawing not only all other cable news networks, but all cable channels, period.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
