"(Bill) Moyers records an October 2002 Oprah show with guests Judith Miller and Kenneth Pollack speaking with certainty about Saddam's WMD programs. An Ahmad Chalabi flack also talks about how much the Iraqis hoped for an American 'liberation'. When an audience member meekly questioned the trio, Oprah cut her off with a dismissive 'We're showing you what is.'"
------"Oprah Hugs Hawks", The American Conservative, January 14, 2008.
As Oprah gracefully exits the stage it is fitting to recall she took great pains to admonish and shame an author she had previously promoted on her show and through her book club, James Frey, for embellishing a memoir about drug addiction to sell books. Strangely, she never invited Judith Miller or Kenneth Pollack back on her show to apologize to her audience and, most importantly, her for spreading lies to justify a criminal war against Iraq that slaughtered a million, displaced millions and cost trillions. Mea Culpas aren't asked from those in power. Executive Branch promoted lies paving the way for a criminal attack on a nation which led to the death and misery of millions does not ask for accountability. Writing a memoir embellishing one's struggle with drug addiction DEMANDS it.
This was "Oprah's America" in the 2000's.
(Granted Oprah deserves some credit for running a series of shows critical of the Iraq War run up after she shamefully granted a propaganda coup to the likes of Judith Miller, Pollack and Chalabi. By then it was too late.)
(The above pic is from a show not related to the Iraq War propaganda effort.)
(Thanks to Sam Husseini, Bill Moyers and A Tiny Revolution for their previous coverage. It is an honor and pleasure to echo their excellent work.)
A Tiny Revolution, "How About It, Oprah?", April 26, 2007.
Bill Moyers, "Buying the War".
Sam Husseini via Twitter and also cited by A Tiny Revolution.
2 comments:
Irony..
we expect the greater quantity of truth from authors as well as addicts..the lies of administrations, rulers, politicos are not merely expected, they are cultivated.. enmasse.
Later to be rewritten by piety & imperial sanctimonious sacrifice.. our national goodwill validated.. because our intentions are redeemed in hindsight.
Both serve to validate.. our addicts truthful to raise the rest of us up in disapprobation and our politicos lying to spin a future in which we allay our misdeeds and only voice intent we wish we had.
St. Euphrosyne
Although I cannot find it on the net, I clearly remember an Oprah show in the build-up to the invasion of Iraq, in which she actually belittled a service woman (in fatigues) in the audience who questioned the drumbeat for war.
I've often thought about that woman since, and whether she suffered any real life consequences for her bravery in questioning the wisdom of invading Iraq. She was right, after all.
But from then onward, Oprah was severely diminished in my view. As far as I'm concerned, she's the 1% now, completely in a bubble that ignores and diminishes the 99%. Shame on her, because she could be a real strong voice for justice, but prefers her cushy illusions.
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