McCain RNC Video 'Tribute' Links Iran to 9/11

Last night, while Americans sat quietly expecting to watch a video 'tribute' to victims of the terrorist attacks  on September 11, 2001--John McCain took advantage of America's good will to showed a video falsely linking Iran to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

At 9:11pm (CST), the MSNBC coverage cut to a video being projected onto the main screen at the RNC.   At that point, Tom Brokaw introduced the video as follows:

Tom Brokaw: OK, let's go now, Keith, if we can, down to the floor.  We want to share with our viewers the 'Tribute To The Victims of 9/11.'

So, that was the introduction the networks gave to the video--no doubt lifted from a press release given to them by the RNC.  Normal practice, I suppose.  But here is the astoundingly immoral thing that happened next, rather than show a video 'tribute' to the victims of 9/11, the McCain team showed a video 'history' of 9/11 that began like this:

(Fade to black as ominous slow piano music plays)

(Fade in:  iconic image of Iranian revolutionaries from the late 1970s holding American hostages)

Narrator:  The first attack occured in Iran. 

(MSNBC feed now shows picture of Iranian hostage crisis with title '9/11 Video  Tribute')

Narrator: 444 days--America held hostage.

(Cut to: image of 1998 Al Qaeda bombings of Kenya and Somalia)

Narrator: Then again.

(Cut to: second image of 1998 Al Qaeda bombing of  Kenya and  Somalia)

Narrator: And again.

(Cut to: image of 2000 Al Qaeda bombing of USS Cole)

Narrator:  At our embassies.

(Cut to: close up image of 2000 Al Qaeda bombing of USS Cole)

Narrator: Our navy.

(Cut to: image of generic crowd of Middle Eastern men waving machine guns)

Narrator: They grew ever more bold.  Their call was, 'On those who believe in God, and hopes for reward--'

(Cut to: image of Osama Bin Laden firing automatic rifle)

Narrator: 'To obey God's command to kill Americans.'

(Fade to black)

(Fade in:slow motion video of smoke rising from top of WTC.)

Narrator: And kill us they did.  This time on American soil. The date was September 11th--9/11.

(Violent burst of flames slashes through Tower 2--the second plane. Crash is punctuated by high-pitched flourish of music followed by slow rising fireball)

(Cut to: video images of towers burning)

Narrator:  This enemy sword to our destruction has been at war with us for decades. This we now know.

(Cut to: video of Tower 1 collapsing)

The 'tribute' continued for several more minutes, showing video of firefighters and rescue workers, other scenes of destruction.

Everyone in the United States has inevitably seen dozens of actual tribute videos to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  In most cases, these videos overlay photographs of those individuals who died with the video of the burning towers.  There is, one could argue, a familiar vocabulary for tributes to the victims of 9/11.

Rather than follow that standard and recognizable tribute format, however, McCain's video presented a political argument about Iran's links to 9/11. 

Never before had a major broadcast video so blatantly attempted to connect the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 to the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Never before John McCain's night at the Republican National Convention.

Interestingly, Keith Olbermann responded to the imagery in the McCain video immediately after it was shown by apologizing to MSNBC viewers for imagery that could be construed as a political exploitation of the emotions of 9/11.

No doubt, showing a 9/11 video at a political convention was emotional exploitation.  But it was also something much worse:  it was blatant historical revisionism.  It was a cynical attempt to claim attacks on Americans--1979 and 2001--were carried out by the same 'enemy.' 

What Olbermann should have apologized for was MSNBC accidental transformation of their network into a mechanism of the most cynical kind of Orwellian propaganda.

John McCain did not make the link between 9/11 and Iran in his RNC speech, but we can be certain that the video 'tribute' is a sign of what is to come on the campaign trail between now and November.

The media's responsibility from this point forward is clear:  either they can sit back and let McCain's historical revisionism stand or they can move quickly to debunk it.

Either way, it seems apparent that major broadcast outlets need to take a more proactive role in pre-screening for blatant historical inaccuracies any video a political party plans to show during a national broadcast--or at least preparing to immediately debunk politically motivated inaccuracies.

John McCain will no doubt continue to exploit the pain of 9/11 in some vain hope of political gain, and will continue to push historical revisionism about the links between Iran and 9/11.  The media,  if it does its job, can be a crucial counterweight that prevents false and militaristic propaganda from flowing freely on our public airwaves.

 

The full video:

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Comments

[pahmed]

Did anyone notice that the voice of the narrator sounded like Michael Savage. Can someone confirm this?

[sink]

If you want to talk about "when it began", it goes back to Black September and the Olympics. Every terrorist event has been an extension of Black September's tactics.

[BookDesigner]

Nah, terrorism is as old as civilization. WWI, for example, was started by a terrorist assassination. Going much further back, we can see that the "Trojan Horse," offered as a gift to prove honorable intentions of ending a war peacefully, was--in more modern terms--a kind of letter bomb, exploding when opened.

[candlepower]

Palin herself is a Trojan horse, indeed so was the whole RNC. They wrapped that sucker up like it was a shiny familiar present to everybody, just what we always wanted, a moose shooter from nowhere-istan, she won't lie to us and make us fight poeple we never heard of.
but when they get in..........

It won't be a picnic.........it'll be a slap from the all-father.

I gotta hand it to the repubs- they can fly lower than anybody with their B-S.

I bet they got some military plants producing targetted B-S smarts, delivery for the nation- probably emplying a whole state of potential voters making B-S delivery devices, in essence making it entirely necessary to vote for them or you'll be putting american jobs on the line, right? I mean there are americans out there right now B-S-ing for you and me, don't put them out of work!
- it takes a factory five weeks to spell Al Qaida as Iraq, halfway through they get a change of order to spell it as Iran, that's a big job.
So to the nub of it- they're saying-
Guess what everybody, first time round we got it wrong we thought Iran but somebody misspelled. See it's a little like when you go for a hip replacement on one side but come out with a hip replacement on the other, a simple mistake, it's still a hip, could happen to anybody.

[obamamama854]

Thank you again Keith for pointing out the TRUTH to those who would listen! Unfortunately, not enough are listening. But keep up the good fight anyway! Maybe other networks and media organizations will follow your lead and stop talking about how "hot" Palin is and starting looking at the scary truth--that McCain wants to become president so he can take us to war with Iran, Russia and anywhere else he can think of. He's still trying to get it right from his days of torture in Vietnam. Sorry John--that time has passed and I just hope people wake up in time to stop McCain/Palin from taking over!!!

[doubleagl]

First it was Saadam Hussein. then it was WMD's, then it was the Taliban, then it was "the terrorists",
and now it's Iran, going all the way back to "The Hostage Crises" in 1979, right after the Shah of Iran had been deposed, who, in concert with the U.S., had been "raping" Iran and its people for years, with billions of $$$ in oil revenue lost, because of "sweetheart" gas and oil deals, negotiated in the best interts of the US and the Shah's personal wealth and prosperity.They will use any reason,
change any facts, create a virtual reality, to keep us at war. The Republicans and the military establishment are proceeding to maintain control of the American government and seemingly setting an agenda for The United States of America, who's objective is the attainment of world domination through the use of military might. Does this sound at all familiar?1939 Germany comes to mind!! Under the tutelage of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and his ever changing cast of hisunderlings, our country would seem to be heading on a path of self destruction, both internally and externally. McCain and his ilk, he being the self-proclaimed, best fitted for dealing with world affairs, due to his previous 5.5 year stint as a "prisoner of war", show every inclination and tendency, for remaining on this militaristic and treasonous approach, whose further implementation will ultimtely result in the utter perdition of our Constitution, and perhaps, a nuclear holocaust.

[annis]

Well - finally! I thought no one noticed! I guess there was too much else for this to be discussed
by anybody so far. It grabbed my stomach and made me sick. I am afraid it also shows how little interest there is by average Americans in the war in Iraq except as some fast-imploding reality show.
When I tried to talk about it the following morning - no one was interested in discussing it. Considering the loss of life, maiming, and huge bleeding of funds that is going over there - is no one interested? Do people really just want to know what brand of shampoo Palin uses?

[UpstateNY]

This is a dangerous world but it will be so much more dangerous with McCain in the White House. The American voters must pay attention to this election (and judging from the number that watched both conventions, they are).

It is very important to examine the candidates and what they say (not what their opponents lie about them). Barack Obama has a plan for America - John McCain doesn't and wants to use Rove-type tactics to steal another election. They actually said that Sarah Palin doesn't have to talk to the MSM - that they will only allow her to be questioned by real reporters if IT SUITS THEIR PURPOSE.

What about our purpose? Don't we have a right and responsibility to find out about this woman who exploded into the national spotlight a short time ago? And isn't it the job of the media to help us by asking the tough questions?

The Republican machine whats to decide we see and how we are supposed to think about what we see. They put Ms. Palin's family on display (incuding their unmarried 17-year old pregnant daughter and their Down's syndrome baby) and blamed the media because they cover it. There are problems with the media - but we need them to get at the truth. It's a sure thing that McCain won't give it to us.

They tried this in 2004 and used fear to steal an election. We can't let it happen again!

[graphite]

Actually, the second bombing was in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, not in Somalia as the article states.

Additionally, Kieth Olberman called this video 'graphic.' That didn't really seem like the right word, as the images certainly weren't that graphic, or that irregular for 9/11 remembrance clips. I think Olberman was more upset that his network had just showed what was--in his view-- a GOP propaganda film.

[SOFOROBAMA]

So now the "McCain Administration" is going to connect Iran to 9-11, like the Bush Administration connected Iraq to 9-11? People, they're starting their justification for war with Iran already and they haven't even won the election.

[DrYRHead]

Yes, damn McCain. He already is planning is "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" strategy. Why does he so much want to start WWIII?! Oh ya! That is right, it is all about the OIL. Granted Iran is a loose canon in the middle east, but John McCain is our own LOOSE canon.

Oh, and once, AGAIN, he has pr-oven that he does not know the difference between the right-wing Shia (Hamas) and Sunnies (Al qaeda).

[iRob08]

J-Mac and the republicans are the same type of terrorists, radicals and extremists that they claim to be protecting America from. They use the same type propaganda--the injustice done, the call to arms, and the violent retaliation, etc. As a free country, we should never fight terrorism in the same manner as terrorists fight freedom. If both sides are bombing and slaughtering innocents, then there will be no distinction between "us" and "them"--we ARE them--there is no good side, and there will be no winners.

[athenasword]

I just saw this for the first time and I do not have words for how sick and low this video was. Tribute to the VICTIMS? Are they serious? That was nothing but fear and hate and lies and propoganda... and it should never have been given one airwave. It was nothing but exploitation.

They are preying on those who are uninformed or uneducated - those people who don't know Sunni from Shia. Arab from Persian. I am especially disturbed by the Iran linkage. It will not surprise me when this dreadful video is made into a campaign ad. And, it should serve to show us just how low they will go.

[arthur2008]

John McCain has shown beyond doubt that he has nothing to offer America but the same fearmongering and deception he once upon a time had the integrity to condemn. He is only fit on Day One to be another George W. Bush.

[exhale09]

As I watched the RNC Convention, the feelings it provoked in me were dark and foreboding. Mean spirited hatefull attacks, some insideously disguised as "humor"... and strangely, the more mean spirited their humor became the more the republican audience seemed to be amused.

I was appalled by the FEAR provoking "911 tribute" It's as if they are determined to emotionally traumatize us over and over again and keep us in that state. A well understood ploy used by those who intend to control their subjects/victims.

You do not make a people STRONG by keeping them in a constant state of FEAR. A Nation of people who are in constant fear, is a weak nation. The rulers are stronger and have more control over a FEARFUL populace...but the only way to have a strong DEMOCRACY is to have confident PEOPLE in control of their Government.

In my opinion, the Republican Convention was demented.

[cjgnew]

Keith,

You make me proud of carrying an American passport. Your sense of fairness and integrity make me want to look up to you as the older brother that I never had. I exhort you to continue to fight for justice and truth.

As to McCain's love of this country, he has proven in this campaign the exact opposite of what he claims. His choice of Palin as VP shows without a doubt that McCain's own interest comes before our country's best interest. This 9/11 video shows that it is a pattern with McCain.

Carlos Jean-Gilles
St. Louis, MO

[TomR]

Republicans must be called out onto the carpet for this deception. First they falsely link 9/11 and Al Qaeda to Iraq and now they are AGAIN falsely linking 9/11 and Al Qaeda to Iran. Al Qaeda is Sunni. Iran is Shiite. As we've learned in Iraq, Sunnis and Shiites don't get along too well and have killed each other.

If Republicans wanted to inform Americans in an honest way, they would have done a video linking 9/11 and Al Qaeda to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the country where 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came from. But instead, George W. Bush likes to hold hands with their oily leaders. Prince Bandar is considered an honorary member of the Bush clan: they call him Bandar Bush.

I AM ABSOLUTELY AND UTTERLY SICK OF REPUBLICANS HABITUALLY LYING TO AND DECEIVING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Whether you are liberal, conservative, independent, libertarian, or whatever, are you going to continue to put up with a political party that lies to you every chance they get? Do you respect yourself enough to stand up to them?

- Tom

[mama mac]

Thank you Mr. Feldman for bringing up this frightening revision of history. I had immediately caught the attempt to conflate Iran with 9/11 but once KO made his comment about the political misuse of the tragedy, sort of forgot my original reaction. It MUST be brought up in the mainstream media, and hammered: it's clear already that McCain would like nothing better than to expand the current wars into Iran, and this looks to me like the first salvo.

[liberaldawg]

Here's an idea. Why don't we link 9/11 to a country that actually
DID have a connection, unless the President (and GOP) have
an intimate connection to leaders in that country. 15 of the 19
9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. President Bush is considered
by the Saudi Royal family to be almost an adopted son. I wonder
if there is a connection there?

[DrYRHead]

The Bin Laden family are Saudi too, and although Osama has a death decree over his head, and would loose it if caught back there, I get the feeling that Georgie porgie has not looked for that bastard, Osama Bin Laden, hard enough to find him due to a too close relation ship between the Bush and Bid Laden families.