Such has certainly been the case as newspapers, magazines, and television programs have gushed over former Vice President Al Gore and his new book “Assault on Reason.”
Fortunately, feeling that it doesn’t owe anyone such unwarranted sycophancy, Fox News “Special Report” on Tuesday chose to look at some of the statements made in Gore’s book, and see whether they pass the smell test.
Anchor Brit Hume set the segment up (video available here):
Former Vice President Al Gore's new book is out and in it he takes President Bush to task for his conduct in the war in Iraq. Not only that, but Gore claims to unmask what he says are the false reasons the president gave for getting into the war in the first place. But do Gore's allegations hold up under scrutiny? Chief Washington correspondent Jim Angle provides some.
A video clip of White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was aired:
I don't know if they're going to do a reprinting of the book to try to get the facts straight.
That set up the following:
JIM ANGLE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Gore is most critical about the decision to invade Iraq, which he calls not only tragic, but absurd.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the worst strategic mistake in the whole history of United States of America.
ANGLE: Though back in 2000, when Gore was running for the presidency, he argued that "as long as Saddam stays in power, there can be no comprehensive peace for the people of Israel or the Middle East. We have made clear it is our policy to see Saddam Hussein gone."
And he went on to say, there was no doubt Saddam was still trying to amass weapons of mass destruction. But in the most recent book he seems to argue the opposite in criticizing President Bush saying he offered "forged evidence that Hussein was seeking to develop atomic bombs." It is not clear which evidence Gore is referring to, because the Clinton administration certainly believed the same thing when it launched bombing raids on Iraq in 1998.
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.
How delicious. But that was just the beginning, for Angle then set his sights on another canard:
Gore also accuses President Bush and other officials of what he calls a big flamboyant lie for suggesting there was some connection between Iraq and al Qaeda. "As we know now," he writes," there was absolutely no connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein." But in his own recent book, former CIA Director George Tenet talked about a decade of contacts. Saddam had no control over the terrorists, but did offer some training.
GEORGE TENET, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: This fellow that we captured, Ibn Sheikh al Libbi, who was an al Qaeda senior operation trainer, told us that they may have acquired some chemical training from the Iraqis. We believe that.
Strike two.
Finally, Angle presented a marvelously inconvenient truth about another of Gore’s contentions:
Gore also asserts that if President Bush and Vice President Cheney actually believed in a linkage between Saddam and al Qaeda, "that would make them genuinely unfit to lead our nation," a standard that could hurt one of the current Democratic presidential candidates, who offered a similar judgment about Saddam.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: He has also given aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.
Strike three, you’re out.
In reality, the title of Gore’s book is quite fitting, although not for the reasons he and his sycophant devotees in the media believe.
What follows is a full transcript of this segment.
BRIT HUME, ANCHOR: Former Vice President Al Gore's new book is out and in it he takes President Bush to task for his conduct in the war in Iraq. Not only that, but Gore claims to unmask what he says are the false reasons the president gave for getting into the war in the first place. But do Gore's allegations hold up under scrutiny? Chief Washington correspondent Jim Angle provides some.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ANGLE, FOX NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is back, at least on the bookshelves, if not in the presidential race. In his new book "The Assault on Reason," Al Gore delivers a broad attack on the Bush administration on every conceivable issue, in a way that prompted this observation from the White House.
SNOW: I don't know if they're going to do a reprinting of the book to try to get the facts straight.
ANGLE: Gore is most critical about the decision to invade Iraq, which he calls not only tragic, but absurd.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the worst strategic mistake in the whole history of United States of America.
ANGLE: Though back in 2000, when Gore was running for the presidency, he argued that "as long as Saddam stays in power, there can be no comprehensive peace for the people of Israel or the Middle East. We have made clear it is our policy to see Saddam Hussein gone."
And he went on to say, there was no doubt Saddam was still trying to amass weapons of mass destruction. But in the most recent book he seems to argue the opposite in criticizing President Bush saying he offered "forged evidence that Hussein was seeking to develop atomic bombs." It is not clear which evidence Gore is referring to, because the Clinton administration certainly believed the same thing when it launched bombing raids on Iraq in 1998.
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.
ANGLE: Gore also accuses President Bush and other officials of what he calls a big flamboyant lie for suggesting there was some connection between Iraq and al Qaeda. "As we know now," he writes," there was absolutely no connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein." But in his own recent book, former CIA Director George Tenet talked about a decade of contacts. Saddam had no control over the terrorists, but did offer some training.
GEORGE TENET, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: This fellow that we captured, Ibn Sheikh al Libbi, who was an al Qaeda senior operation trainer, told us that they may have acquired some chemical training from the Iraqis. We believe that.
ANGLE: Gore also asserts that if President Bush and Vice President Cheney actually believed in a linkage between Saddam and al Qaeda, "that would make them genuinely unfit to lead our nation," a standard that could hurt one of the current Democratic presidential candidates, who offered a similar judgment about Saddam.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: He has also given aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.
ANGLE: There is no suggestion in the book that Al Gore is even toying with the idea of running for president, even though some eight websites are campaigning to draft him, and 70,000 Democrats have signed a petition to encourage him. But if he did decide to run, a book blasting the Bush administration would not hurt him a bit.
In Washington, Jim Angle, Fox News.
