Scheuer's Ravings

Few reputable media outlets deliberately seek out bigots to offer "expert" comment on Middle East affairs. Does Michael Scheuer get a pass thanks to his CIA credentials?

Andrea Levin
CAMERA Media Analysis
11 February '11

In the days following tectonic events in Egypt, media outlets scrambled to make sense of the crisis, turning at times to ill-prepared commentators who had little genuine knowledge of Egyptian society and political life. Ironically, one figure called upon in the rush to decipher developments was Michael Scheuer, a former CIA official whose obsessive and bigoted attacks on Israel are matched by few in mainstream discourse.

He denigrates Israel as a parasitical nation that has no value whatsoever for America and which could cease to exist without any cost for Americans. He terms Israel "a spreading cancer on our domestic politics," the "most arrogant, avaricious and treacherous US ally." He excoriates Israel's supporters as "Israel-Firsters," "fifth columists" and "disloyal" Americans who are "enemies" of the U.S. and who "will have to be destroyed" in the political process after exposing their supposedly traitorous conduct. He repeatedly refers to Americans sympathetic to Israel as akin to "copperheads" — subversive Northerners in the Civil War. He claims Israel's supporters have previously dragged America into war and that Americans are dying for Israel and he charges Israel is trying to drag America into a future war with Iran.

Scheuer's virulent attacks are also leveled at erstwhile colleagues in the intelligence community. In particular, he despises John O'Neill, the late head of counter-terrorism at the FBI who was killed in the 9/11 attacks. In testimony before a Congressional Committee on April 17, 2007 he said: "I think I also said that the only thing -- good thing that happened to America on 9-11 September was that the building fell on him, sir."

He's expressed similar contempt toward CIA Directors, stating on the Lehrer News Hour on January 6, 2009: "Judge Webster, Mr. Woolsey, John Deutch, George Tenet, Porter Goss, these are all ... mediocrities."

In other statements as well, Scheuer's observations seem strikingly out of the mainstream, yet television hosts treat him with kid gloves. In a segment with Fox's Bill O'Reillly on January 7, 2011 in which the host pointedly charactizes his guest as "a humane man," the topic was Sudan and impending elections by the secessionist Christian southern region of that country that has suffered upwards of two million dead at the hands of the Muslim Arab north. Scheuer argued the creation of a Christian nation in the south would just antagonize the Muslim world and followed a pattern of similar previous American policies. He expressed complete disregard for the loss of life inflicted on the Christians of the south in the following exchange:

(Read full "Scheuer's Ravings")

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C-SPAN's Washington Journal a Platform for Anti-Semitism

Eric Rozenman
CAMERA Media Analysis
08 January '10

Washington Journal, C-SPAN's daily public affairs interview program, has become a megaphone for anti-Jewish, anti-Israel conspiracy theorists. Its January 4th segment with former CIA staffer and anti-Israel obsessive Michael Scheuer, epitomizes the problem. Phone-in portions frequently feature anti-Semitic rants—often from repeat callers in violation of C-SPAN's ostensible 30-days-between-calls rule. Washington Journal's rotating hosts "catatonically," as one critic put it, ignore the vitriol.

CAMERA has documented for more than a year C-SPAN's de facto collaboration in disseminating this social poison in our Web site feature C-SPAN Watch. Scheuer's latest "blame Israel and its supporters" performance, abetted by Washington Journal host Bill Scanlan, seemed to especially incite the network's lunatic fringe.

Except for American Jews, Washington Journal allows no religious or ethnic group to be repeatedly vilified. Except for Israel, it permits no country to be demonized. Only in the case of Jews and Israel do C-SPAN hosts permit such slander.

Perhaps the lowest point of a 45-minute segment filled with low points is the following. The portion includes an obviously anti-Semitic caller, Scheuer's willingness to go where the caller led, and host Bill Scanlan's collaboration:

(This specific clip can also be seen by clicking here at Elder of Zion)

John from Franklin [, New York]: I for one am sick and tired of all these Jews coming on C-SPAN and other stations and pushing us to go to war against our Muslim friends. They're willing to spend the last drop of American blood and treasure to get their way in the world. They have way too much power in this country. People like Wolfowitz and Feith and the other neo-cons -- that jewed us into Iraq -- and now we're going to spend the next 60 years rehabilitating our soldiers -- I'm sick and tired of it.

C-SPAN host Bill Scanlan: John in Franklin, New York. Any comments?

Scheuer: Yeah. I think that American foreign policy is ultimately up to the American people. One of the big things we have not been able to discuss for the past 30 years is the Israelis. Whether we want to be involved in fighting Israel's wars in the future is something that Americans should be able to talk about. They may vote yes. They may want [emphasis in original] to see their kids killed in Iraq or Yemen or somewhere else to defend Israel. But the question is: we need to talk about it. Ultimately Israel is a country that is of no particular worth to the United States.

Scanlan: You mean strategically?

Scheuer: Strategically. They have no resources we need. Their manpower is minimal. Their association with us is a negative for the United States. Now that's a fact. What you want to do about that fact is entirely different. But for anyone to stand up in the United States and say that support for Israel doesn't hurt us in the Muslim world is to just defy reality.

(Read full article)

Related: Michael Scheuer: terrorists should focus on Israel, not the U.S.
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