The Hanoi Hilton
"Gee, that don't look like a bad place."
Last Tuesday, Brian Williams, NBC Anchor, had a piece on John McCain's years spent as a POW in Hanoi. As a follow-up to a previous puff piece on Barack Obama's years in Indonesia, NBC reporter, Ian Williams traveled to Hanoi to interview people who dealt with McCain as a prisoner. The viewer might come away with the impression that McCain was living in a palace while a POW.
One person interviewed was an 81-year-old nurse named Nguyen Tietan, who told the interviewer that she rescued McCain from an angry mob as he was being pulled out of a lake when he was shot down. She told of treating his broken bones.
“I told them I was a nurse. I had to save lives,”
Then there was this interview with the warden of the "Hanoi Hilton", Tran Trong Doyet. Ian Williams introduces it like this:
“McCain has given graphic accounts of beatings and torture,” But “Tran Trong Doyet, the former prison director, remembers it differently.”
Tran Trong Doyet:
During “office hours,” he and McCain would have “fierce debates” about the war.
“But after hours, we would talk as friends.”
(In McCain's book, “Faith of My Fathers” he describes these conversations as torture sessions.)
What is Brian Williams and NBC trying to do here? Are they trying to portray the presidential candidate as some war criminal who was saved from the righteous anger of a mob after dropping bombs on them-and who was treated like an honored guest for 5 years in Hanoi? Are they taking the word of the warden of the "Hanoi Hilton" over that of Senator McCain as to his treatment? Are they implying that McCain's accounts of torture are false?
Anybody with half a brain knows that NBC and its cable affiliate MSNBC are in the tank for Obama. This latest piece is just additional proof. It is beyond disgust.
What's next?
South Viet Nam invaded North Viet Nam?
Charles Manson acted in self-defense?
5 comments:
I don't think it implies anything at all. They're simply presenting the other side's story. It's up to the viewer to come to a conclusion.
Bryan,
Have you never noticed a trend in this kind of reporting?
Seriously Bryan??? Well, I guess Ian Williams needs mindless drones like you. I wonder how you ever found this story to begin with? Why did you feel so compelled to even post anything? Did you find the perspective of Mr. Fouse that distressing? Are you afraid people might actually agree with Mr. Fouse? I will tell you that I very rarely post comments anywhere, however, I heard about this interview and was trying to find it to listen to myself and came across this post. I find your perspective disturbing on many levels.
Haha, what the heck? I am a regular poster on Gary's blog. I'm sorry if you find free thinking to be disturbing.
Bryan,
I hope you will always be a free thinker.
Just let me throw out one point in the form of a question since you and I are both in the university environment.
On a university campus, who would you classify more as a free thinker-a conservative or a liberal? I realize it is a simplistic question, and I think I already know your response.
I just wanted you to think about it.
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