Now That Bush Is Talking Troop Withdrawal The Media Is Moving The Goalposts
Three weeks ago, when Republican Senator John Warner suggested a withdrawal of about 5,000 U.S. forces from Iraq by Christmas, the networks trumpeted the idea as evidence of a major “turning point” in the war. Thursday night, President Bush announced he would, in fact, lower U.S. troop levels by 5,700 by Christmas, but those same networks were dissatisfied, with NBC’s Tim Russert grumbling that the President’s idea was really “U.S. military involvement in Iraq this year, next year, and well after I leave the presidency.”
As MRC’s Brent Baker noted back on August 23, Warner’s suggestion of a small withdrawal was met with giddy excitement: “CBS’s Katie Couric touted a ‘major blow tonight to President Bush’s Iraq policy’ and ABC’s Martha Raddatz saw a ‘stunning announcement that could have a powerful effect on the war’ as the NBC Nightly News, for the fifth time in two years, heralded a ‘turning point’ against the war.”
But during their live coverage of the President’s Thursday night speech, the networks were hardly pleased that Bush had basically taken Warner’s suggestion. CBS’s Couric called it a “limited” withdrawal, “not enough of a reduction to satisfy critics,” while NBC’s Williams emphasized how “the plan would remain in place, with a large robust U.S. force.” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos saw the speech as “a mixed message,” with some troops coming home, but also that “America is going to be in Iraq and in the region for a very long time.”
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