Anyone else her Ted Koppel on NPR just before 5 PM? He said what needed to be said -

[NRaleighLiberal]

That because of how the US reacted to the events on 9/11/01, bin laden succeeded beyond his wildest dreams - mentioned how we OVER- and inappropriately reacted to the events, and the damage that has been done - and will continue to do for goodness knows how long - to our country, our economy and its culture. Noted that no one has been asked to sacrifice a single cent for the endless wars.

My wife and I were cheering the radio. Neil Conant (sp?) had nothing really to say in response - speechless, one wonders?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I'm listening to NPR's "All Things Considered" right now. They're interviewing

John Ashcroft. And Ashcroft is still giving credit to the * Administration for the demise of OBL.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Neil C read an editorial from Wolfowitz where he defended our actions - Koppel said that Wolfie had

blinders on - that essentially he was just plain wrong.

So refreshing - and so rare - to hear the truth spoken these days.

[Ken Burch]

9. Probably because Koppel has a lot of savings from his "Nightline" days

And, unlike most NPR types, can afford to get fired for telling the truth.

[RKP5637]

13. +1, n/t

[NRaleighLiberal]

14. Great point. n/t

[certainot]

31. he/they held a lot back on nightline, while the reagan bush crime family was terrorizing central ame

rica. waited years for the 60 minutes and the nightlines to tell it. not much luck.

good on him for speaking out on this.

[Ken Burch]

35. True

He did hold back, back when he was still trying to build his "brand".

Now, he's in semi-retirement, so he has little to lose.

He probably remembers what the powers-that-be did to Daniel Schorr. And Izzy Stone.

[certainot]

68. and what talk radio did to dan rather for pointing out bush was a deserter

[Supersedeas]

79. Neil Conant equipped with Wolfowitz talking points -- how refreshing of the script reader

[liberal N proud]

10. That's Asscroft

[Politicalboi]

18. I liked to call him

Asscrotch.

[Octafish]

63. The guy who stopped flying commercial in favor of government jets for his fishing trips home?

Ashcroft Flying High

[alfredo]

64. He knew what was coming.

[Octafish]

69. Ashcan stopped flying commercial in July 2001. He should've been among the first waterboarded.

The whole bloody lot of them are traitors.

[alfredo]

72. +1

[JI7]

2. the nation was called on by the leader to go shopping

[stevedeshazer]

4. I did hear it.

I almost drove off the road.

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. Same here - we were at the end of a 3 hr drive back from the shore - had to pinch ourselves

[EFerrari]

6. Surprising. n/t

[bluestateguy]

7. "I'm Ted Koppel and thiis ________________ is Nightline"

Wisecracks aside, I see his point.

[Chipper Chat]

44. I miss NIGHTLINE with Ted Koppel

(the original '80s-'90s that is.) After Johnny Carson ended in 1992 I watched it religiously. Not so much anymore - it's lost its punch.

[senseandsensibility]

8. That Neil guy REALLY belongs on FAUX

He cheerled us into the invasion and is the reason I no longer listen or contribute to NPR. Good for Koppel, but this kind of straight talk was needed at the time, not ten years later.

[CarmanK]

15. Truth is always needed, the BUSH/Cheney are still lying!

Ted Koppel is terrific. He can be trusted to tell the truth. I watched him nightly during the Iran hostage and he kept the nation informed without the puffery. I am glad to hear he is still himself.

[rury]

11. Kudos to Ted Koppel for telling truth

[spirit of wine]

12. Donate blood

if possible

[Rageneau]

16. The U.S. did not over-react to 9/11; we reacted EXACTLY the way the BFEE wanted us to.

The secret government and the MI Complex cabal that actually runs things were more than happy to use 9/11 as an excuse to expand their Gestapo tactics. They look forward to the next attack, when they can expropriate even more power.

[bvar22]

27. We also reacted EXACTLY the way Bin Laden & Al-Qaeda wanted us to react.

They WON,
and are STILL WINNING every day we stay in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Killing Bin Laden was nothing.
He fully expected to DIE,
and the fact that he lived almost 10 years AFTER (Hey! Gotta play the album)
is a shameful embarrassment to the USA.
He IS laughing from his grave.


The ONLY way the US can END this 10 year Losing Streak
is to:
Pack Up,

Move OUT,

and leave the keys on the Night Stand.

ASAP


You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

Solidarity!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Chipper Chat]

45. Wow. You just gave me a Woodstock flashback.

nt

[saras]

60. Yes, but that's largely because Al-Qaeda was CREATED by the BFEE

Remember when they were a small pack of powerless fanatics, not unlike the Christian Right in America?

[truedelphi]

82. Sad to have to think about all of this.

And yep, any time a small group of radical and violently over the top crazies get to power, it is because they have had a lot of help from their friends in highest places. (I am thinking of the moustached German crazy guy who assembled hundred of people in the twenties, and went on to conquer Europe by the late Thirties.)

[Plucketeer]

71. RIGHT ON!

And the or-castration continues with ALL the mind-numbing 10th anniversary fetes of 9/11.

[bertman]

37. Absolutely agree, Rageneau. And let's not forget that we reacted by giving them

TRILLIONS in defense dollars to spend as they saw fit--and to pocket.

[CoffeeCat]

43. Uhhh yeah...

...and that's why I'm a bit nervous to turn on my television and see Cheney, Rumsfeld
and Wolfowitz all telling us that we need to be "Unified" again. WTH? Like these
bastards want a unified nation? They're positioning naysayers and people who ask questions
as outliers who won't come together with their fellow patriots.

Why?

[rurallib]

54. Bin Laden said he wanted to bankrupt America and Bush did it for him

Bin Laden's biggest ally has always been Bushco.
Almost as if Bush was paying back that loan from the Bin Laden family with a favor.

[IrishAle]

56. Hmmm... that would make Bush....

.... an Islamofacist!!

OMG! Call Fox News!
They have proof of there being an American President that is secretly a Islamic Terrorist!
They just had the wrong one fingered!

[alfredo]

65. Disaster capitalism.

[doc03]

17. Ted Koppel said that? wow n/t

[southernyankeebelle]

19. Thanks Ted. Of course he is right. It will take another 10 yr before

people realize military wasn't the way to go. Just like many other countries they should of looked to see how they handled it. These groups aren't regular soldiers. Going gunho has changed at all. Don't believe the cramp that these groups are over. They aren't and never will be.

[MichiganVote]

20. K&R

[qanda]

21. Amazing! My mother and I were just talking about this

She was saying that the reason we can't get over 9/11 is that it affects us almost everywhere we go. So, in a way didn't the terrorists succeed? We are definitely terrorized.

[aquart]

22. Now that I am sorry to have missed.

[NRaleighLiberal]

23. If I see a pod cast or a link on the NPR website, I will post it. Nothing yet.

[bananas]

49. Neal Conan "Talk of the Nation" podcast

I didn't hear it, but found some info.
It's not available yet, but it should be on the "Talk of the Nation" podcast:

Talk of the Nation homepage: http://www.npr.org/programs/talk-of-the-nation/
rss podcast feed: http://www.npr.org/rss/rss.php?id=5
It's also on itunes, search for "Talk of the Nation".

Promo from September 10:

http://www.wfpl.org/2011/09/10/special-programming-for-september-11th/

Special Programming for September 11th
Laura Ellis September 10, 2011

On September 11, 2011, the nation will mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. WFPL will carry NPR’s special coverage throughout the day tomorrow.

<snip>

From 2-5pm, Neal Conan invites listeners to share their memories and reflections. <snip> Conan will have lots of company for these hours, including commentator Ted Koppel, newsmakers, thought-leaders, and reporters.

<snip>

[TuxedoKat]

24. Thom Hartmann has said this many times too

GWB over-reacted and played right into Bin Laden's hands.

[NRaleighLiberal]

25. Thom is pretty much spot on all the time. A great mind. n/t

[Courtesy Flush]

61. It wasn't an over-reaction at all

He was looking for an excuse to go to war, and to limit freedoms domestically. He was looking for an excuse to enrich his friends. 9/11 was the best thing that ever happened to Bushco.

I'm not sure wether Bush played into bin Laden's hands, or the other way around.

[TuxedoKat]

67. Yes

this is true.

[JPZenger]

26. Today, a CNN interviewer was giving Rumsfeld a hard time about link of Iraq to terrorism

Rumsfeld was being interviewed on CNN today about 9-11. He got some very hard questions about how the Iraq War helped the war against terrorism.

[geckosfeet]

28. Neil C. RW tool. His show sickens me. To see what NPR has become.

[Enthusiast]

47. NPR has become just another

conduit for right wing misinformation.

[leeroysphitz]

29. Ted Koppel said that???

[NRaleighLiberal]

30. indeed he did. I am hoping they podcast it....though "some"may wish it strongly edited!

[orbitalman]

32. K & R

[tcaudilllg]

33. There is no "we" --

only the sane and the insane.

[TatonkaJames]

34. I've been writing this response for years

On 9/11 we had the world at our doorstep. We had two paths to choose from, one of uniting the world not only behind us to destroy terrorists once and for all as best we could to minimize them
to a low level of manageable concern, or act without thinking as the administration did and we see the consequences of evil acting against evil. Those who saw "opportunities" were in command
and ten years later we still don't know, if we ever will, of the real cost in lives lost, lives shattered by war, not only by services, but civilian lives in one war manufactured by the opportunists, and
another that we're still occupying after the mastermind has been killed.
So yes, UBL succeeded, like he did with the Soviets, we are bankrupting ourselves while the opportunists grow stronger and wealthier and gain more control over our lives. We have all the borrowing power
in the world for war after war since that's the only thing we manufacture anymore, but they don't have one cent of compassion for Americans. Just look at how they act in their roles as legislators. Anyone
buying into this "Matrix" of life not imitating art will stay silent, while those who see the real world, the real evil in those who govern us can only hope the Empire doesn't fall too fast for us to wake up and
realize this small planet is the only place we have, so we better start fighting for peace and start treating Mother Earth as we should before she becomes angry at us all.

[NRaleighLiberal]

36. Mother Earth is already becoming quite angry at us all. and, +1! n/t

[LuckyLib]

42. This should be an OP titled "War is the only thing we manufacture anymore."

The lives lost beyond those who have died, the walking wounded who return home from war shattered and broken, are our reminder now of what we have done.

[Fly by night]

51. All the USA exports these days is armaments and arrogance. The planet could do without either, ...

... as could the young trigger-pullers we keep sending (and re-sending) overseas to activate the former and perpetuate the latter.

[dgibby]

53. And our major exports are death and destruction. n/t

[alp227]

38. were you listening to WUNC? The program before 5PM ET/All Things Considered is On the Media

but i don't see any sign of Koppel being interviewed there, maybe they had a soundbite from Koppel, the website is onthemedia.org.

[NRaleighLiberal]

39. they had a special 911 tribute - wasn't part of their regular programming.

Neil and Ted were speaking live together and taking calls. I do hope they make it available on their website.

[alp227]

40. oh, i was listening to Thom Hartmann's special today, not NPR

you can listen to that show in its entirety at livestream.com/thomhartmann (this is the new streaming home of the show). And i don't see any audio archives of NPR's 9/11 special coverage on its front page, just news.

[OnyxCollie]

41. Thanks for the link. nt

[defendandprotect]

46. It was a "false flag" operation/business transaction coupled with WAR MOTIVES re ME OIL ...

Remember that we had sanctions on Iraq which Saddam and Iraq government were very

anxious to have removed --

They had pretty much put EVERYTHING on the table -- giving the CIA/US everything they

wanted to end the sanctions ---

the only loser was the MIC -- !!


Additionally, the CIA was "furious" that many countries were beginning to ignore the

sanctions for HUMANITARIAN REASONS - feeling the sanctions were immoral -- and they

were coming together to fly in food and aid to Iraqis!!

Our behavior towards Iraq over the last 30 years should have put most of our leaders in

criminal courts/jails!!




* RE loss of life in Iraq due to our sanctions -- one and only UN report evidently identified

1 million dead BUT LATER SAYS THAT BY END OF 1996 OR 1997 AND BY 2000, REPORTS WERE 1.7 MILLION

DEAD -- TO 2.2 MILLION HAVING DIED!!



See Susan Lindauer video/TEXT RECAP --

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x321024#321175

[AnnieK401]

48. Todd Koppel was absolutely correct!

We did to ourselves what the terrorists never could have done in their wildest dreams. Living in fear has cost us many times the lives, money, loss of personal freedoms than BL ever could have hoped for.

[spicegal]

50. 9/11 was a horrific event, and sadly our response was not

one of this country's finer moments. I guess it's tantamount to sacrilege to even suggest that, but it's true. My heart will forever go out to those who lost their lives and to the their loved ones. BUT, our over reaction and the subsequent cost, as well as the politicization that ensued in the 8 years that followed will tarnish us forever. We gave OBL a gift, which included bankrupting our country by bogging us down two wars, and arousing American hatred throughout the world.

[blackspade]

52. Good for Ted.

The response to 9/11 has been appallingly bad.

[OwnedByFerrets]

55. K and R

[Tennessee Gal]

57. Ted is exactly right.

9/11 was a real tragedy that should have been avoided. The fact that it was not lies entirely in the hands of Bushco. The war mentality was waiting for their opportunity and they got it. Instead of acting responsibly, they rushed into two wars while telling Americans to go shopping. Americans were not asked to unite in a shared sacrifice to finance the two wars. The wealthiest were given their "tax relief" - a big right wing framing term. The goal was and still is to support the parts of government Republicans believe in while starving the parts they don't believe in like healthcare, education, and many other programs that help the average hard working American have a better life.

[Mosaic]

62. Everything you say is right

Which is why W should be the most hated man in America.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

58. Sigh, like Daniel Schor, another RETIRED journalist who started telling the truth

only after he retired. Till then, Ted Koppel was pretty much a stenographer for whoever was on his show.

[NRaleighLiberal]

59. I just emailed NPR to ask when (if?) a podcast of this segment will be posted.

When I hear and if they do post a link, I will start a new thread with it - well worth listening to. Thanks for all the supportive comments/kicks and recs.

[Eric J in MN]

78. This op-ed by Ted Koppel probably has similar statements.

===
The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, succeeded far beyond anything Osama bin Laden could possibly have envisioned. This is not just because they resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths, nor only because they struck at the heart of American financial and military power. Those outcomes were only the bait; it would remain for the United States to spring the trap.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090904735.html?hpid=topnews
====

[NRaleighLiberal]

85. Thanks for that - yes, it does.

[PatSeg]

66. Its about time people say out loud

what so many of us have been thinking for years. All this phony reverence is nauseating and tasteless, overshadowing the truth about our overreaction to one event, one day.

You know there have been many people in the past ten years who wanted to say what Koppel said, but feared being branded "Unamerican".

[justiceischeap]

70. Bin Laden always said that what he REALLY wanted was America's economic ruin

I'd say, even in his grave, he is winning.

[RobertSeattle]

73. Yep - Primary Goal of Terrorism is to get the Goverment to Overreact

Way to go, Bush/Cheney - suckers.

[RandomKoolzip]

74. So why the FUCK didn't he say that DURING the Bush Administration's reign of terror?

Why only speak out now, when it's safe and convenient to do so? It was obvious things were going to work out the way they did, and I never heard a single fucking newsperson even try to risk saying the truth out loud. I am so tired of the left doing the media's job for them, continually waiting for the MSM and conventional wisdom to catch up to where the left has been for some time. We knew the wars were terrible, destructive operations. And we were contiunually shat on and ignored by the very same media that now claims the wars bitter failures, almost unanimously. If they'd have just fucking LISTENED to us, we could have saved a SHITLOAD of money, lives lost, reputation, etc. Thanks for nothing, News media whores.

[Divine Discontent]

75. 1 - big pay. 2 - they probably think they can influence people without being direct.

http://www.zazzle.com/republicans_2012_keeping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128002960205017719

[texshelters]

76. I am so glad this came out on

NPR at least.

Yea Ted!

Here's my post on the same topic with other info.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/09/09/the-misuses-of-911/

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[Eric J in MN]

77. Ted Koppel op-ed from a year ago

===
The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, succeeded far beyond anything Osama bin Laden could possibly have envisioned. This is not just because they resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths, nor only because they struck at the heart of American financial and military power. Those outcomes were only the bait; it would remain for the United States to spring the trap.

The goal of any organized terrorist attack is to goad a vastly more powerful enemy into an excessive response. And over the past nine years, the United States has blundered into the 9/11 snare with one overreaction after another. Bin Laden deserves to be the object of our hostility, national anguish and contempt, and he deserves to be taken seriously as a canny tactician. But much of what he has achieved we have done, and continue to do, to ourselves. Bin Laden does not deserve that we, even inadvertently, fulfill so many of his unimagined dreams.
===
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090904735.html?hpid=topnews

[davidwparker]

80. Our reaction to 9/11 had something to do with bin Laden?

Really?

If so, he would not have been allowed to escape Tora Bora. The military treed him. The civilians in this government let him free. Why would that be?

Theft. Both of their oil and our treasury.

[truedelphi]

81. One other point - amidst all the hoopla of the Nine Eleven media blitz -

We are the greatest nation to ever kick butt on brown skinned people in third world nations - rhetoric - maybe someone somewhere in Washington could step up to the plate and see to it that the First Responders get the help they need.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhVQ5lbzwCQ&feature=related

900 Nine Eleven Responders are dead, thousands more suffer and have to pay their own med bills

[Jack Rabbit]

83. Is Rummy going to cancel his subscription to NPR, too?

Just wondering.

[Vincardog]

84. Net recommendation: +250 votes (Your vote: +1)