Random Michael Moore Deceits [#50]

the Taliban got away

"Having finished talking about pipelines, Moore then says, "Oh, and the Taliban? Uh, they mostly got away. As did Osama bin Laden and most of al Qaeda." This is nonsense. The Taliban were overthrown and then their leadership and foot soldiers were killed, captured, or dispersed into the countryside. It would obviously have been better to kill or capture those that were dispersed (including the top leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar) but the notion that these people simply "got away" ignores the fact that they have been deposed from power, their regime dismantled, and a free government burgeoning toward democratic elections put in its place. (Some of the accomplishments of the coalition in Afghanistan are listed here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/afghanistan/). As for "most of Al Qaeda" getting away, over two thirds of the organization's leadership has been captured or killed since the 9/11 attacks (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/07/24/cia_official_says_agents_have_infiltrated_al_qaeda/).

Moore then implicitly criticizes the Bush Administration for not yet capturing Osama bin Laden, showing a video clip of Bush saying "Terror is bigger than one person. And he's just-he's-he's a-he's a person who's now been marginalized, so, I-I don't know where he is, nor-and I just don't spend that much time on it, Kelly, to be honest with ya." This is a clever bit of editing, designed to chop Bush's statement to pieces to make it seem senseless. The clip is from a presidential news conference on March 13, 2002, and the exchange which Moore cut up was this (with the sentences Moore included marked in italics):

"Kelly Wallace, CNN: Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive? Final part-deep in your heart, don't you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won't really eliminate the threat of.

President George W. Bush: Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is-really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission. Terror is bigger than one person. And he's just-he's a person who's now been marginalized. His network, his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match. He is-as I mentioned in my speech, I do mention the fact that this is a fellow who is willing to commit youngsters to their death and he, himself, tries to hide-if, in fact, he's hiding at all. So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. I'm more worried about making sure that our soldiers are well-supplied; that the strategy is clear; that the coalition is strong; that when we find enemy bunched up like we did in Shahikot Mountains, that the military has all the support it needs to go in and do the job, which they did. And there will be other battles in Afghanistan. There's going to be other struggles like Shahikot, and I'm just as confident about the outcome of those future battles as I was about Shahikot, where our soldiers are performing brilliantly. We're tough, we're strong, they're well-equipped. We have a good strategy. We are showing the world we know how to fight a guerrilla war with conventional means.

Kelly Wallace: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

President Bush: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I-I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban. But once we set out the policy and started executing the plan, he became-we shoved him out more and more on the margins. He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore. And if we-excuse me for a minute-and if we find a training camp, we'll take care of it. Either we will or our friends will. That's one of the things-part of the new phase that's becoming apparent to the American people is that we're working closely with other governments to deny sanctuary, or training, or a place to hide, or a place to raise money. And we've got more work to do. See, that's the thing the American people have got to understand, that we've only been at this six months. This is going to be a long struggle. I keep saying that; I don't know whether you all believe me or not. But time will show you that it's going to take a long time to achieve this objective. And I can assure you, I am not going to blink. And I'm not going to get tired. Because I know what is at stake. And history has called us to action, and I am going to seize this moment for the good of the world, for peace in the world and for freedom. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html)"

It is certainly not too much to say that Moore, by his editing, has stretched the truth beyond all recognition.

But Moore is trying to imply that Bush did not care about Osama bin Laden. "What kind of president was he?" Moore asks sarcastically, and then shows Bush saying "I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office, in foreign policy matters with war on my mind." The clip is from a Meet the Press interview with Bush in February of 2004, and the segment quoted was one in which Bush said: "I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind. Again, I wish it wasn't true, but it is true. And the American people need to know they got a president who sees the world the way it is. And I see dangers that exist, and it's important for us to deal with them." The point for Moore, though, is that Bush just wants to make war. And he tells us, "With the war in Afghanistan over and Bin Laden forgotten, the war president had a new target-the American people." Never mind that the operation in Afghanistan is not over, and that Bin Laden, to be sure, has not been forgotten. War on the American people? This is what passes for Moore's segue to a discussion of terror alerts at home and the USA PATRIOT Act."

source