So, I wonder if it was really Murdoch who pressured Blair into the Iraq war?

Quixote1818

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:25 PM
Original message

So, I wonder if it was really Murdoch who pressured Blair into the Iraq war?

Edited on Mon Jul-18-11 02:32 PM by Quixote1818

It seems like Murdoch was running the country so why wouldn't he have been calling the shots on which wars the UK got into? And what other countries could he have this kind of influence on? I know his papers and news programs run in dozens of countries.

Speak of the Devil! On Edit, I just found this and there are other articles too: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/how-murdoch-had-a-hotline-to-the-pm-in-the-runup-to-iraq-war-457825.html

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

NightWatcher

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:28 PM
Response to Original message

1. what I find HILARIOUS is how much his modus operandi mirrors Shrub and Dick

How long before we find some kind of connection that Murdoch's "brain room" was shrub's intel gathering op?

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

RKP5637

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:29 PM
Response to Original message

2. I also wonder how much of the US he runs ... It's for sure many Americans are

hooked on his Fox News propaganda machine.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

Quixote1818

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:30 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. He clearly runs the Republican party at least.

Fox decides who get the nomination.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

Uncle Joe

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 03:00 PM
Response to Reply #3

10. Apparently Wisconsin Republican Sensenbrenner doesn't get any from the Missus

if she doesn't get a good dose of FOX first, he said as much during Murdoch's hearing in front of the Congress.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/18/opinion/main20080226.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsOpinion+%28Opinion%3A+CBSNews.com%29

The then-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Wisconsin Republican James Sensenbrenner, greeted Murdoch by thanking the media executive for developing the Fox News network. �When my wife doesn�t get a good dose of Fox News every day she gets grumpy,� chirped Sensenbrenner, �so there are some of us who appreciate what you are doing.�

and nobody stands in the way of a horny Sensenbrenner,

Sensenbrenner was so determined to create a favorable transcript of Murdoch�s visit�which he promised to forward to the Justice Department and the FCC, which were examining anti-trust and regulatory issues relating to the expansion of the News Corp. empire�that he prevented Democrats on the committee from asking basic questions.

but while Murdoch owns the Republicans, he plays the Democrats as well for insurance purposes

But Murdoch is not the rigid partisan some of his more casual critics imagines. He often discovers unexpected political heroes of heroines�such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former target whose 2000 US Senate run in New York and whose 2008 presidential run earned surprisingly generous coverage from the New York Post and Fox after Murdoch determined that she was on the rise politically. The Clinton embrace was classic Murdoch. He plays both sides of every political divide. But when he is not aiding and abetting the party of the right he looks for conservative and centrist figures (Britain�s Blair, America�s Clinton) within traditional parties of the left. The point, always, is to assure that those with power are pro-business in general and pro-Murdoch (or, at the least, indebted to Murdoch) in particular.

but one thing is for sure, it's defintely easier to herd Republicans than it is to herd cats.

Such an inquiry would, undoubtedly, consider the unsettling tale of how former Senate minority leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, seemed to lose interest in challenging media consolidation�an issue on which he had been a good player�after Murdoch�s publishing house offered Lott a $250,000 book deal for the senator�s forgettable memoir, Herding Cats. It would also consider the strange case of then�Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice�s decision to take a break from her work at a critical early stage in the war on terror�on a day when a international outcry had stirred with regard to a failed attempt to assassinate a key Al Qaeda leader�to spend a leisurely afternoon briefing Murdoch�s editors from around the world.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

KansDem

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:30 PM
Response to Original message

4. Perhaps a better name for the participating countries...

"Coalition of the Hacked"

But why would Murdoch want the US/UK to invade Iraq? :shrug:

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

TheBigotBasher

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #4

8. War sells, so does hate,

hence the later promotion of the Tea Party.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

Quixote1818

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:59 PM
Response to Reply #4

9. Perfect name!

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

jwirr

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 03:47 PM
Response to Reply #4

13. His papers are owned in part by a Saudi Arabian prince. Who knows

what their angle is.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

demosincebirth

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:31 PM
Response to Original message

5. the same thought came to me when I first heard it. It's a very good possibility.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

gratuitous

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:35 PM
Response to Original message

6. And, rather than stand up to Murdoch, Blair kowtowed

Presuming, of course, that Rupert and his media empire really did put the screws to Tony, what does it say about Blair that he knowingly sent so many to their deaths rather than expose Murdoch?

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

muriel_volestrangler

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. That assumes Blair didn't want to go to war

And there's been no evidence of that at all. No-one has ever said Blair was anything other than enthusiastic about invading Iraq (and is still unapologetic for it). Blair and Murdoch may have been keen to cooperate on pushing the war, but Blair had had more contact with Bush, for instance, before the war.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

gratuitous

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 03:02 PM
Response to Reply #7

11. If Blair wanted to go to war

Murdoch probably wouldn't have needed to stay in such close contact with him during the lead up.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

muriel_volestrangler

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-18-11 03:34 PM
Response to Reply #11

12. Arranging the coverage, talking about what they'd do if the parliamentary vote went against Blair

(the 2nd call was 5 days before the Commons vote, the 3rd the day after)

As the Independent piece says, "the day after two of the calls, The Sun launched vitriolic attacks on the French President Jacques Chirac. The Government quoted him as saying he would "never" support military action against Saddam Hussein, a claim hotly disputed by France." Blair may have called to tell Murdoch Chirac wouldn't agree to war now, and an attack on him would help Blair get British public opinion. There are plenty of reasons Blair and Murdoch would talk.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

DU AdBot (1000+ posts)

Fri May 03rd 2024, 08:50 PM
Response to Original message

Advertisements [?]

Top

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.