Pakistan

Will WashPost Puts Its Fact Checker on State Dept. Ads Where Obama Rejects All Denigration of Religious People?
By Tim Graham | September 21, 2012 | 8:27 AM EDT

Anne Gearan of The Washington Post reported Friday that the Obama administration paid $70,000 to buy ads on Pakistant television disavowing the “Innocence of Muslims” video on YouTube in an attempt to defuse street protests. “Since our founding, the United States has been a nation of respect, that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others,” Obama says in the ad, which is stamped “paid content.”

This is a different kind of political ad, with an important U.S. government goal. But will it draw scrutiny from Post “Fact Checker” Glenn Kessler, a former State Department correspondent for the Post? It can’t be accurately stated that Obama and his financial supporters (ahem, Bill Maher) have rejected “all efforts to denigrate” Christians. [Ad below]

Open Thread: Will Anti-American Uprisings Impact the Election?
By NB Staff | September 20, 2012 | 10:46 AM EDT

Anti-American uprisings are suddenly sweeping the planet.

Irrespective of the Obama administration's claim they're all about a video no one's seen, how big of an impact if any do you think this will have on the upcoming elections?

Coulter: NYT Prints Democrat Leaks to Make Democrats Look Good, GOP Leaks to Make GOP Look Bad
By Noel Sheppard | June 11, 2012 | 11:44 PM EDT

Conservative author Ann Coulter made an outstanding observation on Fox News's Hannity Monday about the ongoing national security leaks controversy.

"When the New York Times is printing classified intelligence under a Republican administration, it's to make the Republican administration look bad. When they’re doing it under a Democrat administration, they’re doing it to make the Democrat look good" (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):

AP Reports Facebook, But Not Twitter, Cooperated with Pakistani Officials to Block 'Draw Muhammad Day' Content
By Ken Shepherd | May 21, 2012 | 3:13 PM EDT

We've written before critically about Twitter, including posts about how the micro-blogging site's was slow in removing a "Kill Zimmerman" account that encouraged violence -- in violation of Twitter's terms of service agreement by the way -- against alleged 2nd-degree murderer George Zimmerman. But today, we have to offer a hearty kudos to the folks at Twitter for refusing to cooperate with a censorship effort in Pakistan to silence "Everybody Draw Muhammad" tweets.

By contrast, the Associated Press is reporting that Facebook -- which on Friday became a publicly-traded company -- gladly cooperated with efforts by the Pakistani government to prevent users in Pakistan from accessing pages devoted to Draw Muhammad Day content:

PBS's Tavis Smiley: I Hate Seeing Obama 'Bragging About Having to Off Bin Laden'
By Noel Sheppard | May 6, 2012 | 2:22 PM EDT

It's becoming crystal clear that President Obama stepped on his foot while taking a victory lap for the assassination of Osama bin Laden one year ago.

Joining the growing list of even liberal media members offended by this shameless act of self-promotion was PBS's Tavis Smiley who on ABC's This Week Sunday actually said, "I just hate seeing the president play into the hands of the right by running around bragging about having to off Osama bin Laden...I don't think it's presidential" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Fareed Zakaria on War on Terror: 'We Look Like Scared, Fearful Losers'
By Noel Sheppard | May 6, 2012 | 11:36 AM EDT

While President Obama and his adoring media did a victory lap on the one year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's assassination, Fareed Zakaria had a completely different take about how the War on Terror is going.

On CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS Sunday, the host said, "We don't look like people who have won a war. We look like scared, fearful losers" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Brian Williams Praises Bill Clinton for Trying to Kill Bin Laden, Ignores All the Missed Opportunities
By Noel Sheppard | May 3, 2012 | 12:32 AM EDT

NBC's special presentation of Rock Center on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's assassination wasn't just a victory lap for Barack Obama.

It was also a chance for host Brian Williams to praise Bill Clinton for going after the former al Qaeda leader without mentioning all the times his administration passed on chances to get him (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

CIA Told Obama Case for Bin Laden Being in Abbottabad Was Weaker Than WMD in Iraq
By Noel Sheppard | April 29, 2012 | 6:41 PM EDT

Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, said Sunday that President Obama was informed by CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell in December 2010 "that the circumstantial case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction was better than the circumstantial case that bin Laden was in Abbottabad."

This astonishing revelation was made on CBS's Face the Nation (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Hillary on Bin Laden Situation Room Photo: 'Way I Usually Look When My Husband Drags Me to An Action Movie'
By Noel Sheppard | April 29, 2012 | 2:59 PM EDT

Hillary Clinton says the expression on her face in that now iconic picture of the White House Situation Room taken the day Osama bin Laden was killed is "the way I usually look when my husband drags me to an action movie."

Such was told to NBC's Brian Williams for a Rock Center special to be aired Wednesday which was previewed on Sunday's Meet the Press (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):

Newt Gingrich Schools CBS's Pelley on Killing American Born Terrorists Overseas
By Noel Sheppard | November 13, 2011 | 9:24 AM EST

During Saturday's Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley arrogantly argued with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich about the "rule of law" concerning killing American born terrorists overseas.

By the end of the exchange, Pelley, with a smug, condescending expression on his face, looked quite foolish as the audience applauded and one of Gingrich's opponents on stage actually commented, "Well said. Well said" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

ABC Highlights Pakistani Complaints Against U.S. Drone Attacks on Terrorists
By Brad Wilmouth | November 7, 2011 | 6:58 AM EST

On Sunday's World News on ABC, correspondent Nick Schifrin filed a report recounting complaints by Pakistanis that CIA drone attacks that have successfully killed high-profile terrorist figures residing in Pakistan have also resulted in civilian deaths and injuries.

With the words "A Young Man's Plea" displayed on screen next to him, anchor David Muir introduced the piece:

Despite Calling America Cowards After 9/11 for Using Cruise Missiles Bill Maher Now Loves Predator Drones
By Noel Sheppard | October 23, 2011 | 11:32 PM EDT

There really is no limit to the hypocrisy of Bill Maher.

Despite having gotten fired by ABC shortly after the 9/11 attacks for calling America cowards due to our use of long-range cruise missiles, the host of HBO's Real Time on Friday raved about President Obama's deployment of unmanned predator drones to kill people from thousands of miles away (video follows with transcript and commentary):