Hannity crops clip to claim Obama "decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice" in Cairo speech
SUMMARY: Sean Hannity edited a clip of President Obama's speech in Cairo to claim that Obama "decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage." In fact, the context of Obama's words makes clear that Obama was condemning those who would "justify the events of 9-11."
On the June 4 edition of his Fox News show, Sean Hannity stated that in his June 4 speech in Cairo, President Obama "decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage," then aired a cropped video clip of Obama saying, "I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9-11." However, the context of Obama's comments makes clear that Obama was condemning those who would "justify the events of 9-11"; immediately following the clip Hannity showed, Obama stated:
But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
Media Matters for America has documented a pattern in which Fox News hosts and correspondents -- including Hannity -- have on dozens of occasions cropped comments by progressives and Democratic political figures in a manner that misrepresents them.
From Obama's speech:
The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.
In Ankara, I made clear that America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam. (Applause.) We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.
The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
From the June 4 edition of Fox News' Hannity:
HANNITY: He went on to imply to the foreign audience in Cairo that the U.S. is a nation that tortures.
OBAMA [video clip]: I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
HANNITY: He also decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage.
OBAMA [video clip]: I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9-11.
HANNITY: And throughout the speech, Mr. Obama spoke out of both sides of his mouth. He said on Iraq that he's glad that Saddam is gone, but then he added this caveat. Listen to this.
OBAMA [video clip]: Iraq was a war of choice.
This guy knows no shame. It would be more painful if he and all the other cons out there are now irrelevant.
Oh that's right, he never intended to be waterboarded. He was simply talking out both sides of his mouth.
Believe it or not, Hannity and the rest of Fox Nonsense Crew are the best thing that ever happened to President Obama and the absolute WORST thing for the failing and flailing Real-thuglicans.
The people had their say on whether we still support this "down in the mud" politics and we overwhelmingly voted against it.
I agree that Hannity, et al, are the best thing for the Dems. They are so far over the line that they will be lucky if they don't lose more seats in 2010. I am sure that the Dems can use him and Limbaugh for the next elections. If their statements were juxtaposed with Obama's actual statements for a tv ad, it would hammer home how far right the neocons have moved thereby deserving the title radical right.
Mr. Hannity has been lying for years.
I believe that he should be stopped(using the words of Rush and the rest of the Anti-American commentators).
Mr. Hannity is again talking about invigorating the party because of his cirlce-jerk interview with Rush..he also brought up Rev. Wright, Bill Ayres etc.
Hannity must be stopped by any means...nothing violent of course.
"when you maliciously critize a 'wartime President' you are a traitor." ???
Does that mean all the Liberals and Democrats were traitors during the ENTIRETY of the Bush presidency?
When I see the cropped clip, I get the same meaning. I don't think that's what Hannity was referring to.
First, do you remember the last eight years? Do you remember Hannity explaining that "the left," who was criticizing Bush during war-time, were unamerican? I sure do, because I listen to him every day.
Second, Liberals and Democrats were not the only ones criticizing President Bush during his years in office. There are many noted Conservatives who spoke out against the occupation of Iraq, specifically Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic, and Ron Paul, just to name a few. Of course, to keep the party pure, the Republicans have all but expelled them from the ranks for purity's sake.
Finally, when you say "When I see the cropped clip, I get the same meaning. I don't think that's what Hannity was referring to," I seriously hope you don't mean that you get the same point that Hannity tries to make. I mean, that's why it's a cropped clip, for heaven's sakes. It doesn't take into account THE FOLLOWING SUCCESSIVE SENTENCES. This is the same problem that happened with the Sotomayor "Latina woman" cropped quote. Hardly anyone, especially on cable news, showed the paragraph before it, or the paragraph after it, which put the quote in context and was the same point Alito had made before.
But really, I just hope you didn't mean that.
(okay, my age is showing ;-)
Rush is the 2 men (waist wise) and Sean is the half man (brain wise).
that briefly flourished in the DFW area late last year:
(drink pepsi max) and look your cojones in the eye :)
C'mon, I mean, if you think about it, "Habit and Costello" was not so bad.
And I think that the very polite Mr. Roarke would flee a Hannity Island, as would any former movie star special guests ;-)
Limbaugh gets the booby prize of 12 months at Hannity Island. And, the tv crew removes all the wait staff.
Why does Fox "news" Entertainment and Made Up Crap channel not get called out by the so-called "liberal" media?
OBAMA [video clip]: Iraq was a war of choice.
It would seem to me that you can say you're glad Saddam is gone and that the invasion wasn't warranted at the same time. There are plenty of people around the world we don't care much for, but that doesn't justify overthrowing their governments.
Saddam posed no threat, to anyone in the region. He certainly posed no threat to the US overall. He had no WMDs as inspections were proving out. Bush didn't allow enough time for inspections to be completed, or to keep going. The evidence that he was hiding WMDs wasn't there. Which is WHY we invaded Iraq in the first place. It wasn't to "free" the Iraqi people. Bush and Co made that one up after we didn't find anything to warrant the invasion.
"overthrowing governments," viz: Jackson's invasion of Florida (then Spanish governed territory in the early 1800's; The so-called Spanish American War so manfully executed by then Colonel Teddy Roosevelt and his famous charge up San Juan Hill. Cuba, at the time, was governed by Spain. How about the CIA intervention in the '30's in Iraq that actually brought down the existing government and ultimately ended up bringing (irony of ironies) Sadaam Hussein. Subsequently, how about US
unqualified support of the Cuban Dictator Batista, which (irony of ironies) resulted in the coming to power of a young idealist Fidel Castro on New Year's day, 1959. We're still enjoying the fruits of that jewel of American Foreign Policy. That baby happened on the Watch of our 34th (republican) President, General Eisenhower, who was succeeded by a young and popular Democrat, our 35th President (a Democrat) who continued the same policies of his predecessor. Justify??
Thank God for Mediamatters.
"Oh, we're Republicans," she replied huffily. My point. Years ago there was a commercial being aired on TV for some goofy product or other which stated: "20 million American's can't be wrong." I told you that to tell you this: 20 million is virtually the exact number of Americans who currently admit to being Republicans!
Right recently, as the saying goes here in Texas, a writer to our local wipe observed: "There is no cure for stupidity." Question: Are we going to discus these matters on a higher, above-the-fray plane, or are we going to descend to the opposition's level and call them names?
We did it by making the Republicans a minority party in the government(okay, I admit that many Dems are not much better than the Republicans... but I digress)
Fox-Noise is NOT NEWS!! I dare anyone to prove me wrong that Fox is nothing more than a mouth-piece for corporate interests, right-wing ideology, and the bought and paid for Republican (minority) party!
Oh... and remember that Fox is the only 'media' that actually went to court to demand the right to LIE to their viewers!
As for Sean Hannity - He is the dumbest SOB on TV and radio... EVER!
FOX's competitors, for the most part, seem content with the status quo. I think it would take a massive boycott of advertisers to get their attention, since profit seems to be the only thing that motivates these companies.
Unless Edward R. Murrow is reincarnated and starts a serious news network, I don't hold out much hope for our diminishing Free Press.
IMHO, investigative journalism is all but dead, and that's a bad thing. We need an independent press, not beholden to either side, but news corporations themselves are huge companies and do not seem interested in digging up actual facts anymore, only in ratings.
Sixty Minutes does a little bit of it, but they seem reluctant to do any follow up, or push a story relentlessly until something gets done.
Really, the only investigative reporters left are writing books, which is good, but people have to buy books and put some effort into reading them. They just don't reach the larger public like TV and radio do.
This is such a ham-handed distortion that it's embarrassing to watch.
The sad thing is that Conservatives do have a valid point of view on many issues, and deserve to be heard. Unfortunately, they've put themselves in the hands of professional liars like Sean Hanniterd and Boss Hogg Limpdog, and they end up looking stupid.
Sean is a dangerous man. He knowingly attacks Obama orally, hoping to lead someone to do harm to Obama physically.This is what motivates Hannity. This kind of talk led to the assasination of jfk and mlk and the recent abortion doctor, which we can credit Bill O'Reilly with. Bill created the environment that led a man to commit murder. Bill claim to be an intelligent man, but doesn't understand he has a responsiblity for the things that comes out of his mouth.
It his the people, such as Sean Hannity! Read what he had to say!
Dispicable!
Hannity is not a go to person if you want logical perspective.
I'll be watching CBS for now!
Hannity crops clip to claim Obama "decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice" in Cairo speech
June 04, 2009 10:35 pm ET
On the June 4 edition of his Fox News show, Sean Hannity stated that in his June 4 speech in Cairo, President Obama "decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage," then aired a cropped video clip of Obama saying, "I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9-11." However, the context of Obama's comments makes clear that Obama was condemning those who would "justify the events of 9-11"; immediately following the clip Hannity showed, Obama stated:
But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
Media Matters for America has documented a pattern in which Fox News hosts and correspondents -- including Hannity -- have on dozens of occasions cropped comments by progressives and Democratic political figures in a manner that misrepresents them.
From Obama's speech:
The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.
In Ankara, I made clear that America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam. (Applause.) We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.
The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
From the June 4 edition of Fox News' Hannity:
HANNITY: He went on to imply to the foreign audience in Cairo that the U.S. is a nation that tortures.
OBAMA [video clip]: I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
HANNITY: He also decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage.
OBAMA [video clip]: I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9-11.
HANNITY: And throughout the speech, Mr. Obama spoke out of both sides of his mouth. He said on Iraq that he's glad that Saddam is gone, but then he added this caveat. Listen to this.
OBAMA [video clip]: Iraq was a war of choice.
If you don't know the last named... he is a Neo-Nazi hate filled un-American scumbag who's entire website/blog is so despicable, it is impossible to comprehend when one has a brain that works! Hal Turner was arrested the other day for explicitly threatening the lives of elected officials from Connecticut. He also threatened the lives of three (Reagan appointed) federal judges in Chicago.
Our problem in this country is much more than Fox-Noise... they are simply the biggest fish... there are plenty of little fishes out there more than willing to aid in the total destruction of this country.
Hal Turner has an audience of only 40,000 or so... any one of which can easily and based on some of the comments I read at his sick website more than willing to do another Tim McVeigh to satiate their lust for hate and to prove their ignorance.
President Obama, saying why he doesn't watch any of the cable news shows, compared cable news to the WWF (he meant WWE), and cited the "scripted" nature of comments being made by both sides. He was being too kind. Fox depends on either the ignorance of its viewers or their blind allegiance. That's what helped give us eight years of Bush and a colossal mess.
And how soon you forget the way you felt after 9/11.... Turn off your liberal left media stations and get a clue people. The world is not all roses. And don't try to blame the Bush administration for the hate. G.H.W.B did more for the Muslims in this world than any other President in history. Our war is not with the middle east just those occupants that seek to do this country harm.
I am ashamed to hear the comments from the people on this site. Are you sure that you are in fact Americans.
How does it feel that in the very near future all of your tax dollars will go to CHINA, to pay for You need to open your eyes. We do not have a money tree growing behind the white house to pay for this administration.
If you think for one second that your taxes are not going to increase you are in for a rude awakining.
I know that my views will fall on deaf ears here so please don't bother to respond because I won't be back here anyway.
You go ahead and back a Person that will sell us out to the highest bidder, your rougher days are ahead of you.
And in closing I would just like to know if you have seen B.O's legitamate Birth Certificate???
The birth certificate. Oh my. That IS a good one. The only thing missing are the red nose and oversize shoes.
Oh also, "Feel free to be one of the cells in the Limborg hivemind but I hope you realize when you spew idiocy this vintage on THIS site where most of the liberals are pretty bright and well informed all you have managed to do is give us all a good laugh."
So true! I really did laugh at ceadog's post! Lol
P.S. ceadog, Obama was born in Hawaii. Also, if the president had been white, would you be questioning his (or her) birth certificate? White people come from all over the world too.
I started to reply, but I read your closing remarks and thought why bother. This MORON is wearing his tin hat AND hasn't taken his medication.
And by the way, you wasted valuable time posting when you could have been investing Bill O'Reilly's birth certificate!!
I felt our President was a coward when he sat reading a juvenile book about a pet goat for seven minutes while the country was under attack.
I felt our President was a coward when he took Air Force One to hide in Nebraska instead of reassuring the country.
I felt our President was an incompetent moron when Bill Clinton made it to New York from Australia faster than George W Bush got there from Sarasota, where he read the juvenile book.
That's the way I felt on 9/11.
You probably loved George Bush. He didn't have his facts straight either. But his administration is largely responsible for this mess.
Naturally, you don't want to stick around for a debate, like your heros Rush, Sean & Bill, you can't cut it when it comes to facing the truth.
Have a nice time hanging out in you hide-hole with Fox News... don't worry you won't learn anything that disturbs your delusions there.
I have been furious ever since. These comments need to be examined. Limbaugh was clearly sending a message to his nuts out there, just like O'reilly has. And, of course, if proven, he should be prosecuted.
If there remains a functioning professional organization of television journalists, it must publicly distinguish Hannity's practices from journalism, because, by this cynical misrepresentation of the president's words to support opposition ideology, Sean Hannity violated journalistic ethics and disgraced the profession. I believe, his behavior deserves immediate, deliberate and public censure.
Randy
If there is, and if Hannity knows it, he must confess it to a priest. If he doesn't, he goes to Hell. Is Obama really worth that, Sean?
If there is, and if Hannity knows it, he must confess it to a priest. If he doesn't, he goes to Hell. Is Obama really worth that, Sean?