Confusion on Today: Brokaw Says US Had 'No Allies' in Iraq After Lauer Calls Blair 'War Ally'

Photo of Geoffrey Dickens.
By Geoffrey Dickens (Bio | Archive)
December 7, 2006 - 15:10 ET

It seems Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw can't get their story straight. On this morning's Today show Brokaw falsely stated the U.S. went to war in Iraq without allies but apparently this was news to Matt Lauer as he opened the show identifying British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a "war ally." Appearing live from Pearl Harbor, Brokaw comparing World War II to the current action in Iraq declared: "The irony of course is that we're trying to get out of one war in which we had no allies..." But in the same hour Today host Lauer opened the program this way:

"Good morning the study is finished, now comes the test. President Bush meets this morning with his war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a day after that scathing report from the Iraq Study Group."

Interestingly enough Lauer, who appeared with Brokaw in his segment, didn’t bother to correct the elder sage of NBC News.

The following discussion came after a Brokaw report on veterans commemorating the attack on Pearl Harbor during the 7am half hour of the December 7th, Today show:

Matt Lauer: "Tom I have just about 30 seconds left. The Iraq Study Group, let me just ask you, I mean nine months in the making, so much anticipation, so many high hopes. What did you make of the report that you've seen so far?"

Tom Brokaw: "Well I, I've been talking to them before they got to the final conclusion and they were frustrated. They knew that there were no easy answers. The irony of course is that we're trying to get out of one war in which we had no allies and things have not been going well since an early military victory on the eve of this war which began when it was built on alliances and sacrifices at home so there are great contrasts between those two wars and I think that the 9/11 commission, the commission now that has been studying Iraq does give the President some cover but it in many ways it has taken it out of his hands, politically, despite what he says."

Lauer: "Alright Tom, Tom Brokaw in Pearl Harbor for us this morning."

Later on during her 9am news update, Natalie Morales did Lauer one better as she called Blair a "steadfast ally."

Natalie Morales: "A meeting today between President Bush and his steadfast ally in the Iraq War, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The White House visit comes a day after the Iraq Study Group issued blunt recommendations on how to move forward in Iraq saying time is running out. Blair who was interviewed by the group is pushing for its recommendations on Iraq to be put into place as early as January."

So for the record Brokaw just got outvoted 2 to 1, on his own network, on the question of whether or not the U.S. has allies in the Iraq war. I wonder if the former NBC Nightly News anchor will issue a retraction any time soon?

—Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.


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Brokaw says.......the commiss

December 7, 2006 - 15:38 ET by bigtimer

Brokaw says...

....the commission now that has been studying Iraq does give the President some cover but it in many ways it has taken it out of his hands, politically, despite what he says."

Oh really Tommy....hmmmm....wonder if you listened to the President and the press conference he had this morning with Blair... I imagine by the time you report next you will have spun this information too into how it will fit you and your ilk's agenda....you blathering know nothing blowhard. You pathetic excuse for a man...you leftist pig.

"Once the coffers of the federal government are opened to the public, there will be no shutting them again." - Grover Cleveland

Matt Lauer

December 7, 2006 - 15:49 ET by chinesearithmetic

So many high hopes, Matt Lauer? Do we get a rubber tree plant analogy, too?

YO, Tom Blowhard you forgot

December 7, 2006 - 16:05 ET by james789

YO, Tom Blowhard you forgot about these countries, United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, Poland, Romania, Denmark, El Salvador, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Latvia, Albania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Mongoli, Lithuania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Fiji, Hungary, Nicaragua, Spain, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, Tonga, Portugal, Singapore, Norway, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Japan, Italy.

Lets see now if my math is correct, that makes 40 different countries that were part of the coalition that went into Iraq with the United States, of these countries, as of November 25th 2006, the first 23 countries listed STILL HAD SOME TROOPS IN IRAQ.

NOW, this is interesting because up till December 1941, there were only 28 "ALLIED" Nations standing with America against the AXIS powers.

The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price,
peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of
soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life. Theodore Roosevelt

...all together now...to the

December 7, 2006 - 16:59 ET by TruthMonger

...all together now...to the MSM these countries ARE NOBODIES! Their contributions and sacrifices to the WOT and the successful ousting of Hussein MEAN NOTHING TO THE MSM!

...AND THEIR LIBERAL CO-SONSPIRATORS I MIGHT ADD...

Now James, When Tom Brokeback

December 8, 2006 - 10:20 ET by Jerry

Now James, When Tom Brokeback says we didn't have any allies, you have to look at it from his perspective.  To him, allies would be N.Korea, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, the Taliban, etc.  You know.... allies of the left.

When asked if he went to war with Iraq  to derail the impeachment vote:  “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

Iraq

December 8, 2006 - 12:37 ET by pbanks7

Thank you! My first thought when I read Broke-awwww's words was, "Where can I get a list of all of these invisible allies?"

Repeat a lie often enough....

  Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.

let me see.  "we have n

December 7, 2006 - 16:42 ET by buddyc

let me see.  "we have not allies" but we me with "our ally".  its the liberals. accurancy and facts are not important. 

In Brokows defense, he is get

December 7, 2006 - 16:49 ET by bassndude

In Brokows defense, he is getting on in years, and his mind is not what it used to be. And perhaps he was pulling a Miles O'Brien. You know, its a lot of work to make an idiot of yourself on the air.

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

They can't even keep their li

December 7, 2006 - 16:56 ET by Dave R

They can't even keep their lies straight. For someone who supposedly retired, Lockjaw sure does seem to pop up a lot.

They must not have had enough

December 7, 2006 - 19:01 ET by mattm

They must not have had enough time to rehearse their "show" prior to air time. 

Mr. President [Clinton] why have our allies retreated?

December 7, 2006 - 19:13 ET by Gary Hall

Mr. President [Clinton] why have our allies retreated?

From memory lane - only the media doesn't remember.

QUESTION: Mr. President, why do you think that only Britain is supporting our move? Or why have the allies all retreated from any support?

CLINTON: Well, I believe that -- first of all, you have to ask them their position -- but I believe that we have historically, at least in recent history, taken the lead in matters like this. And I think this was our responsibility at this time.

I talked to quite a large number of our allies, and I am satisfied with their response and I believe that we will be able to go forward with this mission, and I think others feel that at this time there may be, for their own domestic purposes, some limits on how much they can do.

But I think it's important to move now.

--

Any more questions? yea, didn't think so.

Oops - bonus stab for Tom Brokaw! Speaking of partisan bias. (my bold)

Senator Robert Byrd on Unilateral action in Iraq on September 6, 1996:

“To those who would doubt the necessity of the actions by the president, one should pose the question as to what the consequences would be in the face of American inaction. First, clearly, no other country would take the lead. The signature of the current era is such that response to aggression will not be taken up by other powers in the absence of American leadership, unfortunately. This was the case in the invasion of Kuwait. It was the case in Bosnia when, after several years of Western inaction in the face of ethnic atrocities in Bosnia, only the United States, only the United States, could bring about a credible, effective implementation of peace in that sorry part of Europe. . . . It is American leadership which is decisive to the peace in these regions, and I commend President Clinton for his decisive action. It was necessary to weaken the Iraqi leader's ability to intimidate his neighbors, and to make it clear that he will pay a price for his aggression.”

OMG, I bow to your excellent

December 8, 2006 - 01:26 ET by Indiana Joe

OMG, I bow to your excellent research abilities, Gary. Where do you FIND this wonderful stuff? And why isn't this OUT THERE???

Okay, that last part was rhetorical, but a GOOD answer would be more than welcome....

Not to criticize AT ALL, but citations would be MOST appreciated! I want to find these pearls myself!

Indiana Joe

December 8, 2006 - 13:22 ET by Gary Hall

All bowing aside - LOL - Those two excerpts: Well the first one was the WH transcript from a Clinton press meeting. I snatched it about 4 years ago - and just saved it. I have to admit - I did not keep the date - but I believe it was just before one of  Iraqi bombings by Bill Clinton (I like to refer to them as spankings - like from an angry untalented dad - unskilled in the parenting department - Bomb them when they're bad children, but no real plan or vision as to how to end the mess).  September 3, 1996 WAIS Document Retrieval

The Byrd excerpt was from a speech he gave on the Senate floor - about the same time - over the same bombing (spanking of Saddam).  Can't find a link in the moment. The point, here of course, is that Byrd became the wise voice of the left anti-war movment (under Bush) because of his anti-war, anti-unlateral speeches, while he portrayed just the opposite view in support of Clinton's unilateral war actions - in spite of the fact that Byrd did not like Clinton one bit.

I don't feel either were taken out of context. Of course the implications for the bias of the media is a given - as well as the bias of Byrd.

Remember - it's all about the media - Carter, Mandela, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore - actually they are all somewhat consistent - It's the media that decides that views that go against the Democrats (who the media supports) are not to be fed to the public ( I note here - This NATO action - was a Clinton action - period):

............"I also condemn NATO for taking action outside of the United Nations and doing precisely what Milosevic is doing. Killing civilians, destroying the infrastructures of the country. Destroying bridges and all of the structures, which are important for the development of the country. I pointed out to President Boris Yeltsin that we must strongly condemn any country or group of countries that take action of this nature outside of the United Nations."

President Nelson Mandela, at a press conference in Budapest on May 3, 1999

Jimmy Carter – On Kosovo, New York Times, May 27, 1999

"[Our attack] has been counterproductive, and our destruction of civilian life has now become senseless and excessively brutal... The American-led force has expanded targets to inhabited areas and resorted to the use of anti-personnel cluster bombs. The result has been damage to hospitals, offices and residences of a half-dozen ambassadors, and the killing of innocent civilians... [Our] insistence on the use of cluster bombs, designed to kill or maim humans, is condemned almost universally and brings discredit to our nation."

Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, said: "NATO's unprovoked attack is a blatant violation of every precept of international law." The historian Michael Bliss said NATO's action was "ill-considered and reckless."

And one of my all time favortites: "What's the point of having this superb military you're always talking about if we can't use it?" Sec. Madeline Albright

Geez, Gary. If I could afford

December 8, 2006 - 14:44 ET by Indiana Joe

Geez, Gary. If I could afford to have a professional research department, the top job would be yours! Name your price! (Okay, that's enough... don't want to give you TOO big a head, LOL!)

Then we'd start up the "counter-media" machine!!!

A guy can dream, can't he? ...     ;^)

Thanks again,
IJ

(btw, that link just took me to a blank page...tried several times....no biggie, you cited it for me.)

I know we must fight the good

December 8, 2006 - 06:22 ET by liberal_bug_zapper

I know we must fight the good fight, and continue to expose the Liberals for who they are.... but I seriously think it may be a losing battle. I mean, for us here, all of this is telling us what we already know...

Liberals are liars. Liberals cannot tell the truth unless it supports their ideology. Liberals will do anything and say anything to grab or retain power. They will always vote for their side no matter what... as long as they gain power.

I just feel like we're losing since the vast majority of the media I see around the world does not reflect my view. It is just a little disheartening.

Why we fight!

December 8, 2006 - 06:36 ET by Jack Bauer

Who better than the great Rudyard Kipling to buck up your spirits.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

Proud member of the all-powerful and vast

militarist/industrialist/capitalist/zionist-bagelist complex

Great poem, JB. Helps the spi

December 8, 2006 - 09:23 ET by Indiana Joe

Great poem, JB. Helps the spirits, no doubt.

But only until the next reminder that we're shouting into a hurricane, sad to say....

I-Joe... maybe shouting int

December 8, 2006 - 09:48 ET by Jack Bauer

I-Joe... maybe shouting into a Hurricane at the moment.

But when the next Islamo-fascist attack comes on US soil (as it will); and when it's 9/11 times 100 (as the rats are trying for), then at least those of us with our eyes open and brains engaged will have clear consciences that we spoke the truth, while others appeased, lied and obfuscated.

What a terrible price to pay to be proved right though.

Proud member of the all-powerful and vast
militarist/industrialist/capitalist/zionist-bagelist complex

"Terrible price," i

December 8, 2006 - 10:59 ET by Indiana Joe

"Terrible price," indeed, Jack.

Kind of makes me feel like the LIBS, hoping for another attack after 9/11 to prove that Bush's "homeland security" moves weren't effective....

But you're sadly right. It will take something that apocalyptic to wake this country up. Just can't really bring myself to "hope" for it....as I'm sure YOU don't either.

But now, they seem to be more "infiltrating" our culture, like what seems to be working SO WELL for them in Europe. That may be the scariest part. One day waking up and finding, as Pogo famously said, "We have met the enemy, and they is US!" 

And, we may already BE there!     

War on Terror

December 8, 2006 - 12:52 ET by pbanks7

I agree that they will blame Bush for the ineffective homeland security they have fought so hard to water down.

Unfortunately, I predict there will be a concensus in the media that BUSH CAUSED THE ATTACK BECAUSE OF HIS IMPERIALIST [sic] POLICIES.

  Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.

Jack poem

December 8, 2006 - 13:36 ET by misterbill

Jack - I love poetry and I truly enjoy this one from Kipling. Thank you.

 

PS a couple of lines

December 8, 2006 - 13:38 ET by misterbill

 Here's a couple of lines for our appeasement folks:

 

And if all those about you, deride you and your name;

Then hold your ground friend, Keep playing until end game;

For one day your fellow citizens, will be bloodied and badly hurt,

'Cause they mocked and didn't listen, and treated you like dirt.

When the day comes, and it's coming, they'll all stand in a crowd;

And weeping, look at the sky, to see a terrible mushroom cloud,

And they'll jostle and they'll panic, Each other they will push,

To get themselves to safety, wishing they had listened to GW Bush

misterbill,Original? If so, m

December 8, 2006 - 14:23 ET by Indiana Joe

misterbill,

Original? If so, many kudos! If not, I'd like the author. I c&p'd it, just for my own edification....     ;^)

Thanks!

misterb...You did it again! I

December 8, 2006 - 14:36 ET by bigtimer

misterb...

You did it again! I have saved your poem! Well stated, I am afraid it will end up being a fact given the way we are going in this country with our group of 'hide our head in the sand' leftists, along with the enemy within and without who care only for their own agenda and gratification at any-one's expense.

Thanks!

"Once the coffers of the federal government are opened to the public, there will be no shutting them again." - Grover Cleveland

Mister Bill... no probs my

December 8, 2006 - 13:43 ET by Jack Bauer

Mister Bill... no probs my man..

For some reason I left off the final line from Kipling's "IF"...

which reads, as we all know..

And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!

Proud member of the all-powerful and vast
militarist/industrialist/capitalist/zionist-bagelist complex

I THOUGHT that was the last l

December 8, 2006 - 14:21 ET by Indiana Joe

I THOUGHT that was the last line... not nearly familiar enough with Kipling to have known it was THAT poem, but I KNEW it was a Kipling line.

And sure thought it was building to that....