I guess it was a good thing that my kids missed the bus today. I was 2 minutes out of the driveway when "Senior NPR News Correspondent" Ted Koppel joined Steve Inskeep to discuss the situation in Iraq.
At first, I did not believe what I was hearing. I wondered if this was a "fund raising" trick (My Boston affiliate is WBUR and they always want money).
It was no trick...
Now, about What Ted had to say...
More below the fold
Audio Available at 10:00 AM
Most of us know Ted Koppel as the skilled Journalist who just retired from a long career at Nightline. I was not a Nightline viewer (unless you count sleepwatching :-) but I did occasionally catch Koppel's program. I've always been impressed with his "tell it like it is" reporting and his pointed questioning.
When he retired from ABC's Nightline, I thought, "there goes one of the few remaining pros."
You can imagine my surprise and pleasure when I heard him on NPR this morning.
Inskeep asked him about Iraq.
Koppel did not pull any punches. Here are some of the points he made loud and clear (clearer and anyone in the mainstream media, or the White House, or the Congress. A-list blogger clear.)
A. It is about the oil, it has always been about the oil.
B. Vietnam comparison - "Politically similar, strategically different." He said he has never believed that we had a strategic reason for being in Vietnam. The oil, on the other hand, is crucial to the US economy, Europe's, and Japan's.
C. Troop removal? Not likely. "We've stirred up a hornets nest." The next president Democrat or Republican will likely have to keep troops in Iraq for a long time.
D. He also pointed out that Saudi Arabia's government is weak, Iran is unfriendly to the US (in an understated tone :-)
D. What can Bush do? He is quite limited - Make things look as good as possible.
E. And I'll have to re-listen to the audio but I believe he said that we would probably have been better off if we had never gone in to Iraq.
I hope you all get to listen to the feed later today and celebrate Koppel's return.
FYI, he has a face for TV and not surprising, a voice for Radio.
[Update]Here is the [http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3 link] You should find the feed at about 10:00 AM EDT. Thanks "Lisa Lockwood"