Jon Stewart Speaks Brutal Truth to Power (Douglas Feith Interview)

This clip will be all over the place by daybreak, including here. Doug Feith decided it would sell some books if he dropped by The Daily Show, which he did tonight. He ended up getting very effectively and very powerfully dressed down by Stewart for the disinformation campaign they waged against the public in the run-up to the war.

This is a little something we like to call re-entering earth's atmosphere without your heat shields. Quite possibly Stewart's best "get." Here are the unedited interview segments.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Comments

[Mad as Hell]

What a snotty nosed piece of shit! Someone needs to seriously knock his lights out! What a lying, murderous Bush Tool! I only wish Jon Stewart had asked him questions about the room in the Pentegon where Doug Feith and Michael Manloof personally made all the pieces fit!

http://tinyurl.com/65bvmt

We are suppose to read his book and what?

[BKLN]

What a snow job. Feith claims to use "actual documents" of meetings the administration had? Like we'll ever be able to truly know. All those White House emails are gone. All the rest are protected by Executive Privelege and National Security. So we just have to believe good ol' Douggie Feith to tell the truth. Greaaaat. While Jon held his feet pretty close to the fire, he let him slide on plenty of doozies. Like the omission of Saudi Arabia in the list of dangerous states, let alone providing the majority of 9/11 hijackers. The "failure of diplomacy" in Iraq. Who sold Saddam his WMDs in the first place? Why the hell didn't Jon put up that picture of Rummy shaking hands with Saddam and say "so Doug... explain this"?

Feith suggests "people will be surprised at what was actually said"??? "Using the actual written record"??? We all remember what was spewed at us incessantly from the papers, radio and TV but obviously this book and appearances like these are designed to get us to question what it is we remember and know to be true. Thankfully we have Google and archives and people who have tracked "the actual written record" for the duration of this dishonest administration to remind us that the Doug Feiths of the world are liars.

Feith's reworking of the narrative into "it was just gross errors in the way it [the administration] talked about the war" is BS of the highest caliber and no doubt intended to provide as much cover as possible for "my friend" and yours, John McCain.

Let's hope Jon follows up on this segment and pulls no punches.

[ithejury]

why did Stewart let questionably-loyal-to-US-as--first-priority feith slide as regards feith's staffer franklin - who has confessed to passing classified Pentagon information to AIPAC and the Israeli's? Similarly, why did Stewart let neocon weasel feith slide on feith sponsorship and payment of fabricator chalabi, who provided feith's since disbanded and disowned Office of Special Planning (still under investigation as an intentional false propaganda unit) with much of the phony misinformation used by cheney and other senior bush admin cronies (including bush) in their knowingly false pr run up to invasion?

we continue to believe that in the fullness of time feith will be successfully prosecuted for providing classified information to agents of foreign powers (israel) and for his knowingly deceiving congress and public on iraq -- and that feith, like some of reagan's iran-contra apparatchiks, will actually see some hard time in federal lock-up [lord hear our prayer].

[Sandi]

As for why Jon did or didn't ask certain questions (beyond the obvious answer of time limitations), I suspect it has to do with Jon's style--he seems to have a sense of just how much he can skewer someone and still get "people from the dark side" to come and talk to him.

[Mark Richards]

Another P-R attempt by yet another creepy maladministration hack.

Where the hell do these people come from?

[Nancy]

Name one "journalist" that has done as much in questioning these murderers we pay/paid their salary to do in our name? Jon is a gift.

Douglas Feith
AKA Douglas Jay Feith

Born: 16-Jul-1953
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA

Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Government, Attorney, Author
Party Affiliation: Republican

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, 2001-05

Described by General Tommy Franks as either "the dumbest fucking guy on the planet" (according to Franks' autobiography) or "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the Earth" (according to Bob Woodward's book Plan of Attack), Douglas Feith began his long Washington career as a Middle East specialist under Richard V. Allen at the National Security Council (1981-82), then he spent two years at the Pentagon as the staff lawyer for Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle. Then in 1984 Feith was promoted to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy, where he stayed for another two-and-a-half years before leaving for the private sector.

Feith co-founded a Washington law firm where he spent the next 15 years, along with a little lobbying for Turkey on the side via Feith's corporation International Advisers, Inc. Then President George W. Bush tapped him for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Feith's primary responsibility was to formulate Pentagon policy and assist in its relations with other federal agencies and foreign nations. Also, Feith was responsible for overseeing the work of the Office of Special Plans, the group set up by Donald Rumsfeld to accumulate interesting intelligence data and send them straight to Vice President Dick Cheney without wasting effort on time-consuming CIA analysis.

Feith's office was also responsible for the oversight of military prisons, including Abu Ghraib. And it turns out that Feith himself masterminded the policy of ignoring the Geneva Conventions against torture. Nevertheless, Secretary Rumsfeld defended his deputy in August 2004 when he told the press that Feith is "just a rare talent. He is one of the intellectual leaders in the administration" and "without question one of the most brilliant individuals in government." After his 2005 resignation, the Pentagon's Inspector General investigated Feith's office for supplying pre-war intelligence assessments -- at odds with findings of the intelligence community -- outlining strong ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda. The Inspector General's office found Feith's work "inappropriate" but not illegal.

Father: Dalck Feith
Mother: Rose
Sister: Deborah Feith Tye
Wife: Yona (4 children)
Son: Daniel J. Feith

High School: Central High School, Philadelphia, PA
University: AB, Harvard University
Law School: JD, Georgetown University

US Defense Department Under Secretary for Policy (2001-05)
Office of Special Plans (2002-03)
US Defense Department Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy (1984-87)
US Defense Department Special Counsel to Asst. Secy. Defense Richard Perle (1982-84)
US National Security Council (1981-82)
Northrop Grumman Corporate Attorney
Bush-Cheney '04
Center for Security Policy Founding member, Past Chairman
Council on Foreign Relations
George W. Bush for President
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs Advisory Board
Santorum 2006
United States Committee for a Free Lebanon

via nndb.com

[Mad as Hell]

There have been some magnificent reporters since Day One! We just had to trip across them by accident, since it was considered "unpatriotic" to write anything negative about the Bush administration. Reporters like James Risen and Eric Lichtblau were writing for the NY Times from the beginning. The link I put in my posting above was the article that made my head explose back in 2004! It was the confirmation I'd been hunting all over the internet for.

Jon Stewart has been wonderful. He makes tiny jabs with humor, and the idiot rethugs are all too stupid to figure out that they've been had. John McCain and Bill Kristol are among the many who believe they have Steward under their thumbs. Most of the rethugs who go on The Colbert Report believe Stephen is a republican!

Bill Moyers was knocked off the air on PBS early in the Bush War. He's back with a vengence now. Each Friday night show is a true revelation.

I didn't even know "Frontline" existed! They were doing reports since the very beginning, but no one knew they were there!

I recently read a piece on Fronline!

http://tinyurl.com/4o9fmu

Don't forget the incredible reporting by Keith Olbermann, and Dana Priest is a gem!

[War Eagle,Auburn Alabama]

If that is the best defender of the faith that the Bushies can come up with, history is going to treat them just as badly as they deserve. What a moron! How did this slug crawl his way to a position of power and authority? Jon Stewart calmly and gently handed him his ass in a croker sack and Feith responded as intelligently as a three-month-old poodle.

[War Eagle,Auburn Alabama]

If that is the best defender of the faith that the Bushies can come up with, history is going to treat them just as badly as they deserve. What a moron! How did this slug crawl his way to a position of power and authority? Jon Stewart calmly and gently handed him his ass in a croker sack and Feith responded as intelligently as a three-month-old poodle.

[sketchy41]

Now we know where all of those emails 'disappeared' to ;) Gee, he must have ALL of the documents that no one else has access to. What a dumb...., wish Stewart had nailed him a bit harder, this guy (feith) is a true champion butt kisser to this administration, another lie giver to make whatever they do just fine and dandy! Excuses, excuses for inexcusable actions.

[rage]

Pelosi and Reid ought to be able to get this whole outfit impeached and imprisoned by the next Thursday. This 'gotcha' moment should be entered into evidence for a treason trial of this administration.

Feith's is the lamest justification for unilateral aggression pitifully offered by any Rethugnicon given in any forum to date. We ought to be able to train a Cardacian dissembler on this lying buzzard.

[Heather Lake Worth]

If Bush wasn't hell bent on attacking Iraq , like Feith says here, why did he keep mentioning taking care of Saddam in 2000 during his first run for presidency prior to the 9/11 attacks.

[Tim Hollis]

It's amazing to see how all these neocon books get instantly published. Feith, Bremer, ad infinitum. There are no standards anymore, folks.

[Heather]

What a Liar. What hypothesis about WMD? According to Bush and Cheney they knew exactly where the WMD's were because they saw them via satellite. And we were also told that Saddam could attack us in around 20 minutes. I don't think these people would know the truth if it came up and bit them on the collective asses.

[Diamond Joe]

It used to amaze me that perhaps the best current affairs show on the air, with the toughest interviews, should be a comedy program. But, really, it makes sense. The essence of comedy is skepticism, the outsider's point of view. And those are qualities you no longer find in mass media outlets dedicated to news.

I used to think the MSM had become an echo chamber because the press is incredibly lazy. But while they are, that's just part of the story. As Bob Somersby likes to point out, we've got a punditocracy, a group with wealth and position their primary goal.

How do you become a rich pundit? By being influential.
How do you become influential? By being on all the shows.
How do you get on all the shows? You get close to power.
How do you get close to power? You dependably espouse power's point of view.

That's why it surprises me when the administration gets caught giving a columnist a sinecure "consulting" job. They don't have to pay pundits to become their mouthpieces. The MSM already, in effect, pays pundits for that. And beneath the influential pundits raking in the dough are the pundit bourgeoisie, as it were, trying to become rich by echoing what's said above them, showing power that they, too, can dependably mouth and defend whatever the current bullet points are, no matter how grossly untrue or ridiculous on their face.

So who's left to tell us the emperor has no clothes? A few brave souls dedicated more to truth than to money... and comedians.

[Mad as Hell]

Heather, PNAC! Project For the New American Century

Here is a link to a letter PNAC wrote to President Bill Clinton on Jan. 26,1998! Read the signatures. It's got all your Bush Tools! This attack on Iraq has been in the planning stage for decades. Sept 11, just made it all possible! On the list of signatures on the letter to Clinton, some are missing. Dick Cheney and Jeb Bush to name a few! They are all Neocons, and they are all murderous thugs! It's all for Oil! Google PNAC when ever you have a free moment. It's endless, and so are the members!

http://preview.tinyurl.com/7ots

[Mad as Hell]

Sorry the link didn't work. Here are 2 good links that show a wide assortment of PNAC members!

http://tinyurl.com/6c3l

http://tinyurl.com/7ots

[I should be working]

Stewart has a job to do and it has parameters. He can't stomp on a guest's neck for seven minutes on either side of an ad blitz for Robot Chicken and Grand Theft Auto IV and expect to get anyone worth their salt to come back on. He effectively cut off Feith whenever DF tried to advance the notion that this war wasn't a pre-planned second step towards rearranging the power structure of the Middle East via control of the largest, "up for grabs" oil reserves on the planet - The Caspian Sea Basin and Iraq. What more could he do? The topic of the book was about the decision to invade Iraq, not who perpetrated the attacks on NYC, AIPAC stealing secrets or Douglas Feith's ethnicity. He stuck to the topic and made Feith look like a lying 10th grader. Good enough for me.

Love the Tommy Franks quotes.

Word.

[John Wolfe, Moab, Utah]

I don't see the videos -- only blank square with a small icon in the upper left corner -- anyone else have this problem? I use Frontier telephone for my service provider /DSL/ and wonder if there could be some censorship going on. Frontiernet is the name of the provider. Looks like everyone else has no trouble -- lots of good comments that I agree with !! PS your stupid web-site won't recognize my real email which ends frontiernet.net -- sees "net" twice?

As an addition to the bio on Feith posted above, I've seen in print recently that he holds dual citizenship - both USA and Israel. Someone more knowledgable than I may want to verify this.

[BKLN]

"It's amazing to see how all these neocon books get instantly published. Feith, Bremer, ad infinitum. There are no standards anymore, folks."

Again, I believe that this is part of a campaign to provide cover for McCain, to get Americans to question their memory as to HOW the was in Iraq happened. The neocons/PNAC crew NEED McCain to win to protect their legacy.

I still think it could have made for some great comedy to put up that pic of Saddam and Rummy and then ask Feith about it.

[OneCitizen Charleston, WV]

What we once knew as "mainstream media" is no longer mainstream. Not because it's any less pervasive but because it's far less persuasive than before the internet.

What used to be respected as America's "Fourth Estate" has sold out completely to the military-industrial complex. Norman Solomon has written about it, and has an excellent lecture about it here
http://tinyurl.com/5utbxt

I've started using an acronym for it. "MIM", which is short for "Military-Industrialized Media". They've sold out so badly that they will say and do - or NOT say (as the case may be)- practically anything to keep in control.

Watch how FoxNewsChannel broadcasts the Dem's upcoming presidential convention from Denver. Theyre the only outfit carrying the feed, which puts them in the catbird's seat. I predict talking-head shots so tight that you'll notice every pimple when covering on-stage action

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=in-your-face

then cutting away to drunken GOP shills planted in the crowd lurching and puking while sporting Obama buttons in order to make the Dems look like slobs too the rest of the nation.

Sean Hannity will be predicting OJ Simpson as Obama's attorney general and if Hillary hasn't dropped out before then, one can only imagine how far her little pow-wow with Rupert Murdoch around a month ago will get her.

Anyway, "MIM's the Word". Pass it on.

[Jim Green]

Feith after the November 2004 presidential elections was "forced out" and announced his resignation in early January 2005. Why? Even the Bushie realized he was simply too toxic, too radioactive. His actions, which were coming to light, could no longer be defended.

There are some who say his actions could have lead to being charged with war crimes.

The Bush administration realized they could no longer defend Feith. From one of the most powerful policy positions in Washington, D.C. he was summarily shown the door. The question has to be asked: Why? What had he done that demanded such immediate action? We may never know.