Kristol Says He's No Longer Exclusively With Fox And Is “A Free Agent”

Kristol: “Now I'll Be Free To Inflict My Insights On Viewers Of The Other Networks.” William Kristol told The Weekly Standard, where he's the founder and editor, that he no longer has an exclusive contract with Fox News:

I'm now a free agent. For the last decade, I've had a series of contracts that committed me exclusively to Fox. It was a great run, and I owe a lot to Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Bret Baier, and the rest of the gang. I of course remain a huge Fox fan and look forward to continuing to appear there. But now I'll be free to inflict my insights on viewers of the other networks as well. So I'll join George Sunday, will go into battle on Morning Joe early next week, and anticipate making the case over the next weeks and months to more viewers in diverse settings. It should be fun. [WeeklyStandard.com, 8/16/13]  

Kristol Was One Of The Worst Iraq War Boosters In The Media

Kristol Senate Testimony: “American And Alliance Forces Will Be Welcomed In Baghdad As Liberators.” [Senate Foreign Relations Committee testimony, 2/7/02, via Media Matters]

Kristol: "[A]lmost No Evidence" That “The Shia Can't Get Along With The Sunni.” During an April 2003 interview, Kristol said: “There's been a certain amount of pop sociology in America ... that the Shia can't get along with the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq just want to establish some kind of Islamic fundamentalist regime. There's almost no evidence of that at all. Iraq's always been very secular.” [NPR, Fresh Air, 4/1/03, via Media Matters]

Kristol: “I Think We'll Be Vindicated When We Discover The Weapons Of Mass Destruction And When We Liberate The People Of Iraq.” From a March 2003 interview on ABC's Nightline:

TED KOPPEL: Does it, bother you that it appears that it is going to be a largely unilateral policy? I don't want to diminish the influence of our British friends, but this is clearly an American policy.

WILLIAM KRISTOL: It is. One would always prefer to have more allies rather than fewer. And I think we actually will have lots of help in the reconstruction and democratization, actually, of Iraq. But, look, I think what we've learned over the last ten years is that America has to lead. Other countries won't act. They will follow us, but they won't do it on their own. And in this case, I think we'll be vindicated when we discover the weapons of mass destruction and when we liberate the people of Iraq. [ABC, Nightline, 3/5/03, via Nexis]

Iraq War Booster Kristol Has Agitated For War With Iran

Kristol Advocated The “Credible Threat Of Force And The Preparation To Use Force Against Iran.” [Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Sunday, 4/4/10, via Media Matters]

Kristol Endorsed Attack On Iran: “I'd Prefer An Unstable Middle East Without An Iranian Nuclear Weapon.” [Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, 4/19/10, via Media Matters]

Kristol: "We Have An Engraved Invitation" To Use Force Against Iran. From an October 2011 Weekly Standard editorial by Kristol:

It's long since been time for the United States to speak to this regime in the language it understands--force.

And now we have an engraved invitation to do so. The plot to kill the Saudi ambassador was a lemon. Statesmanship involves turning lemons into lemonade.

So we can stop talking. Instead, we can follow the rat lines in Iraq and Afghanistan back to their sources, and destroy them. We can strike at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and weaken them. And we can hit the regime's nuclear weapons program, and set it back. Lest the administration hesitate to act out of fear of lack of support at home, Congress should consider authorizing the use of force against Iranian entities that facilitate attacks on our troops, against IRGC and other regime elements that sponsor terror, and against the regime's nuclear weapons program. [Weekly Standard, 10/24/11, via ThinkProgress]

Kristol Dismissed Legitimate Military Scandals

Kristol: Increase In Military Sexual Assaults “A Pseudo-Crisis.” From an editorial written by Kristol in The Weekly Standard:

Everyone dumps on the House, but for the last few weeks, it's been Senate Republicans who've been doing damage to conservatism. It was two Republican senators, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, who, in response to a pseudo-crisis of military sexual assault, popped up to support Democratic legislation that would upend the military judicial system and strip commanders of authority. In their effort to placate the forces of left-wing legalism and feminist political correctness, these Republican senators buy into the calumny that the military officer corps is full of individuals who couldn't care less about the men and women under their command. By contrast, it was the House Armed Services Committee--with the active participation of Reps. Martha Roby and Kristi Noem (elected in 2010) and Jackie Walorski (class of 2012)--that took sensible and serious steps to address the problems that might exist, without damaging the authority of military commanders. [Weekly Standard, 6/18/13, via Media Matters]

Kristol Complained That The U.S. Is “Obsessing” About “A Small Prisoner Abuse Scandal” In Abu Ghraib. On the May 16, 2004, edition of Fox News Sunday, Kristol discussed the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib and claimed “it is insane for this country to be obsessing ... about a small prisoner abuse scandal.” [Media Matters, 5/17/04]

Kristol's History Of Smearing Democrats And Obama Administration

Kristol Claimed President Obama “Seems To Have No Interest In” The U.S. “Having A Strong Defense.” [Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Sunday, 12/9/12, via Media Matters]

Kristol: Obama Is “Acting To Weaken The Security Of The State Of Israel.” Kristol claimed in a statement that President Obama thinks “the world would be a safer, simpler, and more peaceful place if not for the troublesome Jewish state.” [The Weekly Standard, 12/3/11, via Media Matters]

Kristol: “Democrats Want To Destroy Business In The United States By Turning Us Into A Banana Republic.” [Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Sunday, 6/17/10, via Media Matters]

Kristol Helped Lead Smear Campaign Against Chuck Hagel's Nomination For Defense Secretary. Kristol's group, Emergency Committee for Israel, launched a campaign against former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination for Secretary of Defense. Kristol repeatedly smeared Hagel in the media, claiming that "[a]nti-Israel propagandists are thrilled" about his nomination since “Hagel certainly does have anti-Israel, pro-appeasement-of-Iran bona fides” and “a record of consistent hostility to Israel over the last decade.” [Media Matters, 1/8/13; 1/13/13]

Kristol Said Hillary Clinton Won The New Hampshire Primary Because “She Pretended To Cry; The Women Liked It.” During Fox's coverage of the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic primary, Kristol attributed Hillary Clinton's victory in the contest to “the tears,” claiming, “She pretended to cry; the women liked it.” He added, “The women were sorry for her, and she won.” Kristol had previously claimed of Clinton: “I don't believe it was genuine. I think no Clinton cries without calculating first,” adding, “She's crying for herself, and I don't even believe it's genuine. I think it's entirely calculated.” [Media Matters, 1/9/08]