Lauer let stand Matalin's claim that "[w]e have taken out the Al Qaeda network"
SUMMARY: NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer failed to challenge Republican strategist Mary Matalin's assertion that "[w]e have taken out the Al Qaeda network. We've decimated it." Matalin's claim was misleading at best; in fact, news reports indicate that the Al Qaeda network has continued to operate.
On the March 29 broadcast of NBC's Today, co-host Matt Lauer failed to challenge Republican strategist Mary Matalin's assertion that "[w]e have taken out the Al Qaeda network. We've decimated it." Matalin, who formerly served as assistant to President Bush and counselor for Vice President Dick Cheney, made this claim in response to Lauer's questioning about the resignation of White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr.
Matalin's claim was misleading at best. The Washington Post reported on July 8, 2005, that Al Qaeda had become "more a brand than a tight-knit group" and had responded to the U.S.-led "war on terrorism" by "dispersing its surviving operatives, distributing its ideology and techniques for mass-casualty attacks to a wide audience on the Internet, and encouraging new adherents to act spontaneously in its name." The Post added, "Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, terrorism experts in and out of government have warned that the movement has appeared to gain ground."
Al Qaeda has taken credit for the July 7, 2005, London train bombings, and as the Los Angeles Times noted in a March 6 article, "Investigators suspect that they [the bombers] got help and training from an Al Qaeda network in Pakistan that had targeted Britain before." In a January 19 article, the Associated Press listed "[r]ecent major attacks outside Iraq claimed by or linked to the al-Qaida terror network," including the July 23, 2005, bombings in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, the October 7, 2004, bombings in Taba and Ras Shitan, Egypt, and the March 11, 2004, train bombings in Madrid.
In October 2004, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- who has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks in Iraq and Jordan -- reportedly swore allegiance to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The most recent version of the State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism, released April 27, 2005, characterized such "mergers or declarations of allegiance" as "a trend that al-Qa'ida could also use to try to support new attacks in the United States and abroad."
The State Department report noted the "arrest and deaths of mid-level and senior al-Qa'ida operatives" but added that Al Qaeda "serves as a focal point or umbrella organization for a worldwide network that includes many Sunni Islamic extremist groups, including some members of Gama'a al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Harakat ul-Mujahidin." According to the report, "In 2004, the Saudi-based al-Qa'ida network and associated extremists launched at least 11 attacks, killing over 60 people, including six Americans, and wounding more than 225 in Saudi Arabia. ... Other al-Qa'ida networks have been involved in attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq."
From the March 29 broadcast of NBC's Today:
LAUER: But let me just go once more on this, because there have been troubles. And let's face it, it's been a tough five and a half years with 9-11 and two wars and re-election and Harriet Miers and the ports deal and Hurricane Katrina. Did the president try hard to convince Andy Card to stay?
MATALIN: Well, in the last five years, you've also left out we have not been hit in four of them. We have taken out the Al Qaeda network. We've decimated it. We have a robust economy that's recovering --
LAUER: No, I know. But just back to that question. Do you think the president wanted him to stay?
MATALIN: Well, you can't just -- yeah, there's been five hard years, but there's been a lot of progress in the last five years. There's been a lot put on the table. This is not a small-bore president. This is a big, bold president.
I thought that's who we were fighting in Iraq! Isn't that who Puddinhead is referring to when he talks about "forrin fatters"? I guess he didn't get the memo.
...when you get shot by a .22, so what? Let me tell you Matt, when this President shoots you in the ass, you by-God feel it! Your ordinary, small-bore President, he misses his target, the bullet just kind of... you know... it just ricochets off somewhere. This President misses his target, he, well let's just say some bystanders are gonna know about it, you know? Collateral damage, baby.
For a "strategist" she sure has a hard time staying focused on the question she just got asked. I guess that's for the "tactician" -- she's thinking big-picture all the time.
Maybe when she said we've "taken out" Al Qaeda, she meant on a date.
Stop these liars at once.
The economy robust? For whom? The rich? When isn't it?
Al Qaeda is "taken out"? What, to dinner? Does Al Qaeda not attacking a major city every other day equal "taken out"? How does one measure the taking out of a loosely connected network of terrorists who have no central command structure? When will the Republicans stop spinning fables of Bush victories? How many question marks can I put in one post?
??????????
Mary will tell us that the Tooth Fairy exists and lives in her closet and she will show everyone after she gets back from her meeting with The Wizard Of Oz.
"We have taken out the Al Qaeda network. We've decimated it. We have a robust economy that's recovering --"
Republicans really do "create their own reality".
WTH is THAT supposed to mean??!!!
"Well, in the last five years, you've also left out we've not been hit in four of them." Thanks for that reminder, Mary; be sure and tell that to the families of the 9-11 victims in NY, PA and DC - I'm sure they'll heartily appreciate that . . .
He is supposed to be powerful like a large caliber gun.
These people are crazy.
Everything's about weapons with these people.
IMPEACH NOW!!
Considering that "decimated" means "reduced by ten percent," I'd say that her assertion is fairly accurate.
Not that that's what she meant, of course.
See! All those cost-plus no-bid contracts are paying off! We get Al Queda at 10% off.
There's nothing quite so thrilling as a coupon for a product you don't want.
Mary Matalin couldn't tell the truth and prove her point with facts if her life counted on it. She is nothing more than a talking parrot head that endlessly repeats the Repubs talking points of the day. If you want to shut her up, tell her to back up her crap with a fact or two that can actually be verified somewhere else other than her fat head!
" Well, you can't just -- yeah, there's been five hard years, but there's been a lot of progress in the last five years. There's been a lot put on the table. This is not a small-bore president. This is a big, bold president."
Wow, even for Matalin, the above quotation............. Hmmm.. Shall we say is somewhat less than cogent, insightful, truthful. Is she describing the latest action-figure cartoon, OR perhaps attempting to ameliorate that warm, cheerful countenance on her face?????????
Linda Blair in the Exorcist gave me a warmer and more cheery demeanor!!!
I thought "Big" and "Bold" were terms that were reserved for the description of BBQ sauce. Maybe this has to do with the Al Queda take-out? And if you keep eatin' that stuff your complection is bound to look like that woman's!
It's a compare/contrast statement with reference to Presidential packages. Why Mary, HOW would you know such a thing?
When Howard Dean made the factually correct assertion that not one Democrat received money from Jack Abramoff, Katie Couric jumped all over him. She later "corrected" herself but still insisted, with no proof, that Democrats were complicit in the Abramoff scandal.
When Matalin tells Lauer that Al Queda is decimated, even as the administration claims they are fighting Al Queda in Iraq, he says nothing.
Ladies and gentlemen, your "liberal" media.
How many Al Qaeda members were there in 2001?
How many are there NOW?
CIA estimates in 2001 put Al Qaeda's strength at around 20,000. "Decimated" means to reduce to a tenth of original strength. Does that mean there are only 2000 Al Qaeda members left in the world?
We've killed or captured all the rest, 18,000, except of course for Bin Laden and Zawahiri?
Do you think this is a credible claim, Mary?
Maybe by "decimated" she meant that their status in the terrorist community is greatly diminished because there are so many "new jacks" popping up everyday thanks to the USA's occupation of Iraq. Kind of like a gang war where instead of fighting each other, the crips and the bloods are all teaming up to kill as many civilians as possible. Oh yeah Mary, where do we have Bin Laden locked up at again?
Saddam's fault, THAT'S who's fault it is. Yeah, that's the ticket....
Who do they blame NEXT week? Stay tuned, kids!
Lauer and Couric are not journalists. They're entertainers. Their job is to read teleprompters and look pretty. What's with that haircut on Matt? And who told him to wear gray on gray on gray? He looks like a ball of wet clay.
Maybe we should ask hubby Jim C. where all this BS comes from. Mayhaps we should ask him whether or not it's time for her to retire, before the kids start to listen to her!
Lauer let it stand because he doesn't know what "decimated" means. It's true. He wouldn't have that media sparkle in his eyes if there weren't a bright light aimed at the back of his head.
In February, the Taliban and Al Qaeda declared an Islamic state in northwest Pakistan, in the area of North Waziristan. They are the defacto police force. They have established bases, from which they have launched and supported raids into Afghanistan. One such raid occured the night before Ms Matalin made her comments.
In December, the GAO investigators were able to smuggle into the U.S. enough Cesium-137 to make two dirty bombs. In January, U.S. border officials discovered a massive half-mile concrete tunnel between the U.S. and Mexico. In February, our eyes were opened to the fact that port security is still largely in the hands of port operators, with frequent reporting exemptions granted to operators.
Hats off to the GAO, border guards and others for exposing these issues. However, the question remains, was it really the result of administration policy that there hasn't been a significant attack on U.S. soil since 9/11 or are we just delusional?