Sounding less like a supposed foreign policy expert and more like someone who's been listening to way too much late, late night left-wing radio, Zbigniew Brzezinski claimed to see the outlines of a "conspiracy" in the making of the anti-Mohammed movie trailer.
Saying "it's not an issue of freedom of speech entirely," Jimmy Carter's former National Security Adviser suggested on Morning Joe today that the makers of the movie could be held "liable" for the deaths of the US Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. He recommended that the United States should "investigate and crack down" on "evil forces" such as those people behind the movie. View the video after the jump.
Watch Brzezinski spin his conspiracy theory while exposing his disdain for the First Amendment. There's also a moment of unintentional humor in which Zbigniew Brzezinski, describing the supposed conspiracy, speaks darkly of a man behind the movie with a "strange name."
ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: From what I understand, Mr. Morsi is an intelligent and a relatively moderate leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. And let's not be carried away by rhetoric about this very sad incident: the film, and then the reactions and the killings. The point he makes is not all that invalid. It's not a question of freedom of speech entirely. It's also an issue of responsibility. Consider this: if you were to yell "fire" in a theater, twenty kids could stampede it, and it was a gag on your part, or some malicious thought. You would be liable. You would not be acquitted on the basis of freedom of speech.
There is some indication—not conclusive, but it's worth looking into—that there was a conspiracy involved here. People who produced the film remain anonymous, more or less, or having tried to hide. Some guy with strange name in California. Another guy who specializes in attacking Islamic groups. A crazy pastor, Christian pastor, in Florida who likes to provoke Muslims, produce a movie. Who paid for it? How was it financed? Why are they keeping quiet about it? What was its intent? Just to amuse? Just to put on YouTube so people would laugh? No! Clearly to provoke violence, killings. Isn't that a conspiracy? In other words, I would like us to take a more explicit position to the Muslim world. We're not going to condemn this, but if there are evil forces at work trying to provoke violence between us and you, we have the obligation to investigate and to clamp down.
