Helen Thomas on Sadr City: ‘Why are we bombing these people?’
Via The Washington Independent we learn that Helen Thomas went to Tuesday’s White House press briefing with Dana Perino and asked the questions few dare to ask, even of the most unpopular administration ever:
THOMAS: Yesterday, according to The New York Times, we dropped a bomb on a home in Sadr City and burned alive a pregnant woman and her children. How long is the siege of Sadr — how long are we going to keep bombing Iraqis?
PERINO: Well, I’m not aware of that particular report. I have not — I’ve not seen it.
THOMAS: Well, it was pretty buried in the story.
PERINO: Okay. Well, the operation against the militias in Sadr City will continue until they root them out. And that is expressly in order to protect people like you just mentioned.
THOMAS: Root who out, Iraqis, in their own country?
PERINO: It is Prime Minister Maliki’s government which is going after the militia, which is appropriate.
THOMAS: Why are we bombing these people?
PERINO: Any time anyone that is an innocent civilian is hurt in a conflict, we obviously regret it, and we go out of our way to make sure it doesn’t happen.
THOMAS: Thank you.
UNICEF reports that 150,000 civilians are trapped by the fighting in Sadr City, and thousands more have fled. Those unable to leave their homes face shortages of water, food and medicine. Civilian casualties so far have exceeded 1,000 people killed and 2,500 wounded.
Helen Thomas is a national treasure. Why is she the only MSM reporter asking these questions?
All the Bush administration can say is that our forces are killing these noncombatants to “protect” them.
UPDATES:
Residents flee battered Sadr City in search of safety, food
Iraq prepares for Baghdad exodus
Baghdad stadium to shelter Iraqis fleeing Sadr City danger
May 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
“That old Arab”, (Ann Coulter’s characterization of Thomas), shouldn’t be asking questions like that from somebody who learned everything she knows about politics from the modern right wing pop culture. Perino uses the same tactics Rumsfeld and others use which is to respond to questions you don’t like by saying you didn’t read the article or refer them to other experts.
Helen Thomas has a vast knowledge of American politics and that’s why you never see her on the national television political talk shows. Hannity and Limbaugh’s producers even bar people over a certain age from calling their shows. What would happen if people like Studs Terkel, Gore Vidal, Jimmy Carter, Kurt Vonnegut (RIP), Daniel Ellsberg or other thinking people with honor got to eviscerate these shills in the public forum. It wouldn’t be fair fight, but it would definitely be funny!
Bring back the fairness doctrine and watch them disappear, POOF!
May 8th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Why are we bombing these people?
Because we can. Because we’re neat. So there!