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:

Follow Jeffrey Feldman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JeffreyFeldman

Comments

[Stape]

It's the same thing as linking the Irag war with 9/11. IT'S A LIE. And all they can do is crow about how the surge is working, without mentioning any of the other pertinent factors (such as the truce with "Mookie" al-Sadr that coincided with the surge). Of course sending extra troops is going to lessen the violence. But, 20 Americans are still dying every month. Is that the acceptable casualty rate for an unnecessary war?

I wonder if McCain thinks the Vietnam war was necessary. Does he think it's a good thing that the U.S. got involved mistakenly in a civil war (McNamara's admission in "The Fog of War}," and that we bombed and napalmed an innocent nation? Does he realize that he endured years of torture for a mistake? He probably doesn't care -- it's all he has going for him. Would Mr. Keating 5, who cheated on his wife, be a contender if he could comb his own hair?

And then McCain has the nerve to make a joke about killing Iranians with cancer with our cigarette exports. Why is he thinking this way? Does he want to kill Iranian civilians? Here's the irony of the Irag war: Bush, McCain, etc., were too stupid to realize that Iran has a Shiite majority, as does Iraq. Iraq, under Saddam, was ruled by a Sunni minority. So guess what happens when you pretend that you're trying to spread democracy to the Middle East? Oops.

[terazol]

The video was pathetic and desperate, but to say there's no connection between the hostage crisis and 9/11 is taking a really narrow view of history. The students who took the hostages were fanatical Islamists, just like the hijackers. Sure they were Shiite not Sunni, and sure McCain doesn't appreciate that there's a difference, but they were nonetheless the original Islamic terrorists, who gave inspiration and confidence to all those who followed. They weren't involved in 9/11, and we shouldn't bomb them (especially since their government's anti-Western policies are a direct consequence of our overthrow of their democratic government in 1953). Still, the connection is there. It's remote and exaggerated, perhaps, but not misleading.

[HamletsMill]

Wow! that's different footage from what I got on my TV set of the RNC.

This is what I got:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Kznmrc3o4

[CaptainVideo]

The election this Fall will be crucial. We need to remove these dangerous war mongers like Bush, Cheney, and McCain from power or we will have endless war. Everybody who can afford to needs to contribute the Obama's campaign. I just sent him anouther contribution.

[CaptainVideo]

The neocon mantra:

Everybody wants to go to Bagdad, real men want to go to Tehran.

[NickfromCali]

Remember when Rudy the hobbit talked about "Islamic terrorists"

Code word for "muslims" (including the 99.5% that are NOT terrorists)

Or should I say "non Judeo-Christians"?

Or should I say "non Christians"?

[RRonin]

Wonder how 9/11 survivors and families of the dead feel about being exploited as props in a political campaign.

[StillAmused]

While we're at it, would someone please explain how it is that McCain somehow defaults as the "national security" candidate (presumably, based on his imprisonment 40 years ago) since he's gotten EVERY part of the response to 9/11 WRONG?

- Aggressively advocated the invasion and occupation of Iraq (totally unrelated)

- Believes in the myth of a "victory" in Iraq (but never defines it)

- Believes in the myth of a "global war on terror" (it doesn't exist)

- Believes Iraq is the central front in that imaginary war

- Repeats the canard that we "haven't been struck again since 9/11" by jihadists. I count over 4,000 Americans dead and tens of thousands injured... only, this time, Junior saved al Qaeda the airfare. Then there are the millions of innocent Iraqis killed, injured or displaced (or don't they 'count'?).

When is McCain going to be called out on his purported "experience" and presumed credentials on national security, both of which are repeatedly asserted by the brain-dead media?

[IslandGyal]

People PLEASE register to vote before October 3rd. If possible request an absentee ballot and vote EARLY. I am not taking any chances with the republican this year; they like to disenfranchise voters, especially minorities. So, if you don't have to deal with them on November 4th do NOT!

[bogues]

Abraham Lincoln would not have come with-in a million miles of the current Republican Party. That is why McCain pretended to divorce himself from it last night. If this works again, I don't know if our country will survive, I really don't.

[wildkitten]

You have let Keith O's personal emotional poor critical judgement (which should not enter into journalistic reporting) cloud your vision. Jihadist against Americans is the thread. Where were you when all this really truly did happen???? Keith forgot he was to report on the events at RNC and instead made it into his own personal political position. The loss of those lives would be for nought if we didn't take time to remember them and respect those who are still fighting the good fight. Africa is a bloody mess because the Europeans walked out before the time was right. Some of those countries that had come such a long way toward equality and justice have now slipped back into the even deeper depths of darkness. Let's don't let the same mistake happen in the middle east please ...

[SusanK1951]

I was hoping against hope that McCain would not stoop this low, but should have known better. First the crazy v.p. nomination, definitely not a case of "country first" and now the same shameless grief and fear mongering. Very disappointing and shameful.

[CaptainVideo]

The man who used to be, or at least presented to be, a straight talker and maverick has shown himself to be an unprincipled opportunitist who will say or do anything to get elected.

[raiffer]

As manipulated by the Neo-Cons, McCain will do anything for election. Remember, he bases his campaign on his POW experience, the answer for all questions and queries. "Country first" only means our country first. "Our" becomes the promnoun for the right.

[opinion123]

Here I go again! I have no idea why HP won't allow my posts.

The media could and should have been more proactive in their reporting of the facts regarding Bush's march to invade Iraq based upon [not faulty] actual lies from Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell and McCain. The MSM knew that there were discrepancies but chose to reap the benefit of war to enhance their profit. They would rather have a war than lose ratings. Sound familiar? Now, we have a similar situation emanating from the McCain people. The media are supposed to represent the fourth estate. However, they have been derelict in living up to that responsibility. Were it not for MSNBC, especially COUNTDOWN and sometimes HARDBALL, there would be no fourth estate in America. This is an incredible task for such a small percentage of the MSM that I am surprised at the amount of

[JeffW]

It's not that they won't allow your posts. It sometimes takes a few minutes for posts to show up.

[opinion123]

The media could and should have been more proactive in their reporting of the facts regarding Bush's march to invade Iraq based upon [not faulty] actual lies from Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell and McCain. The MSM new that there were discrepancies but chose to reap the benefit of war to enhance their profit. They would rather have a war than lose ratings. Sound familiar? Now, we have a similar situation emanating from the McCain people. The media are supposed to represent the fourth estate. However, they have been derelict in living up to that responsibility. Were it not for MSNBC, especially COUNTDOWN and sometimes HARDBALL, there would be no fourth estate in America. This is an incredible task for such a small percentage of the MSM that I am surprised at the amount of Americans benefiting from the limited effort to truly balance the facts. Obama 08!

[rsaillant1]

Why are we so surprised by this RNC tasteless trick? This is the opening salvo to support a
military incursion against Iran.

But here's the back story on all this Republican obfuscation...It makes no difference who they
want us to now believe attacked us on 9-11, it could have been a rabid group of animal costumed
Disneyesque characters.

What really matters is that the party now seeking another 4 years in the W.H., is the same party that was there when the attack occurred. The party who claims to have kept us safe from attacks
was in office when that atatck occurred. Georgie was reading a childrens book....remember.

Can someone in the MSM please address that point the next time, and EVERY time, some republican talking head lays claim to the title of protector?

[IndependentMeans]

I couldn't stand this video, I cried. I am sickened that the RNC used this at their convention, and then to hear the crowd yelling yea and clapping? OMG