Schieffer Mocks NSA Hadley on Iraq War Stance

With an ever-increasing discussion that the Iraq surge is working, the old guard in the MSM is frantic to deride the administration’s war effort. This scenario played out in Bob Schieiffer’s interview of National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on Sunday’s Face the Nation.

During the interview, Hadley stated the administration’s familiar position that it would give the surge a chance to succeed, at least until September’s assessment from General David Patreaus. A clearly perturbed Schieffer snapped, “With all due respect, [the Bush administration] set out this policy and it’s not working.” When Hadley disagreed, Schieffer responded, “I understand that’s your position,” and further commented that he wasn’t sure he agreed with Hadley. Further prodding Hadley to retreat from his position, Schieffer said, “I will give you a chance because we have to end this.” Hadley didn’t oblige.

Schieffer continued his attack in the subsequent interview with Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander. Schieffer mocked Hadley for his position that the “strategy is working,” and with a smirk on his face, sarcastically remarked that Hadley “thinks Iraq will look a lot different in September.”

Interestingly, Alexander twice commented that Democratic Nevada Senator Harry Reid had obstructed bi-partisan efforts for legislation on the Iraq war, comments which were summarily ignored by Schieffer.

Given their reporting to this point, the MSM are committed to the notion of failure in Iraq, and you have to wonder if any set of circumstances could now constitute "success" in Iraq from the media's point of view.

With the facts (and the future) being irrelevant, Schieffer has apparently already judged the surge to be a failure.