My Conversation with John Burns and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times

John Burns and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times
have covered the war in Iraq at some of its most critical
times. They told me about key moments that have shaped
their perspectives on the situation today.
Here's a look at that conversation:

Comments

[mam]

Charlie -

I watched as much of the show as I could stomach, but it was abundantly clear that both Burns and Filkins are still determined to find a pony amidst all the manure. Races in Haditha! Fab! McCain able to walk the streets there! Wunderbar! No mention by either gentleman, or you, that the Baghdad market where McCain (with half a dozen Apache helicopters overhead) took a stroll last year is now too dangerous for such a stunt to be repeated, even with all the soldiers, helicopters, and hummers. Yes, parts of Iraq have improved a bit, but others have disintegrated into violence. Your Iraqi guests on the show that marked the 5th anniversary of this debacle had it right - the U.S. intervention has been a catastrophe for the Iraqi people and the best we can do is to get out.

[verlaine]

Charlie Rose is the poster boy for obsequious, fawning, bootlicking, journalists.

His program is slanted heavily towards Republicans and neo conservatives.

Can anyone recall ever seeing Amy Goodman, Alexander Cockburn, Eric Alterman, Joe Conason, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Gore Vidal, Lewis Lapham, Sam Seder, Barbara Ehrenreich, Rachel Madow, Robert Fisk, Glenn Greenwald, Robert Scheer, Cornel West, Jeff Cohen or Greg Palast on the Charlie Rose show?

Charlie Rose's show gives the lie to the claim made by conservatives that PBS has a liberal bias.

His show is a pathetic joke.

[mam]

I will give him credit for one guest: he did have Naomi Klein on to talk about "The Shock Doctrine" and, as usual, she was excellent. Now if only she can appear with even half the frequency of that fool Tom Friedman!

[Joeseo]

After viewing this clip, I am more than ever convinced the truth will remain hidden about Iraq. The TIMES is a shrill for the legitimacy of the Iraq Invasion. Both these guys are spinners, not jourlnalists. Dexter, in particular reminds one of Hillary's Kosovo story, he runs on and on and on and tells us the scene in Fallujah was under mortar attack! What bull.

[altohone]

Charlie-

In two days of coverage on the Petreaus hearing, your guests were four essentially neocons and a DLC Democrat.

Both "journalists" in last nights segment were literally using Bush talking points in describing the "progress" as they gushed propaganda and spun the recent increase in violence and the Basra debacle as a sign of hope.

How can you possibly view your choice of guests as representative of the country's spectrum of knowledgeable commentators?
Most of the country is NOT coming to the same conclusions as those spinning on your show when we see the news coming out of Iraq. There are plenty of journalists and generals... and more liberal Senators... who regularly refuse to wear the rose colored glasses when discussing Iraq.

Those you chose make it appear you are either out of touch or biased.

I hope you bring on at least one guest who actually represents me, and the majority of the country I might add.