Another Big Victory for Those Who Hate America

Bill O'Reilly's December 10th Talking Points Memo

Bill O'Reilly and myself are on the same page with regard to the destroyed interrogation tapes of Abu Zubaydah. They should not have been destroyed and it makes America look more and more like a torture country. No doubt about it. Then Mr. O'Reilly calls Senator Biden a big hero in Tehran for calling President Bush a liar. Well, that may be the case, but it's good that Senator Biden is willing to question the President on issues of intelligence. After all, President Bush hasn't had the best track record in that area. In my mind, that makes Senator Biden an American hero as well, though I will say he might have used language that was a bit too strong.

Where Mr. O'Reilly is wrong, however, is in his assertion that "every far left nut in the world" is "gleefully jump[ing] up and down over the fact that somebody destroyed two interrogation tapes." I don't really get where Mr. O'Reilly perceives every situation that makes President Bush look bad as spot where people to the left are jumping up and down with joy. I think every left-minded person would prefer that the tapes still exist so we could have a look at them. If torture is taking place, most democrats would disagree with it. That's a position. Why then would democrats be happy to see torture taking place simply to make President Bush look bad? Sure, if politics of left and right are all that matter, that might be desirable. As a citizen of the United States, it is my goal, and I hope the goal of all those serving in Congress, that the United States look the best it can to the world. That means setting the proper example to the world with regard to torture. Mr. O'Reilly appears perfectly content that had torture occurred, it was justified and resulted in the capture of major Al Qaeda terrorists. I respond to say that torture is never justified. It is a brutish and medieval technique that should not be practiced in a civilized country.

The New York Times is perfectly justified in running a huge headline about this news. It is important news regardless of the torture claims. The CIA should not be destroying tapes. But for Mr. O'Reilly, it is just a case of The New York Times trying to push an anti-military tribunal for captured overseas terror subjects, anti-coerced interrogation, anti-foreign wiretapping, anti-every terror measure put in place by the Bush administration agenda. And that's bad journalism, right? After all, Bill O'Reilly's not pushing a pro-military tribunal for captured overseas terror subjects, pro-coerced interrogation, pro-foreign wiretapping, pro-every terror measure put in place by the Bush administration agenda, is he? Wait a minute. He is. So I guess it's tit for tat then, Mr. O'Reilly. Maybe you should spend less time whining about what articles The New York Times writes, and spend more time concerning yourself with your own articles. And I don't know where you get this idea that there is this "anti-American lobby" (aka left wing liberals). Having values that currently conflict with the Bush administration is not anti-American and never will be under the tenants our forefathers created when this nation was born.

And that's "The CounterPoints Memo."