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I'm probably not the only person who has noticed that whenever a new set of Nixon documents or tapes are declassified, the Associated Press prints a story filled with meaningless sound-bites used to denigrate the man and his administration. Nixon called Indira Gandhi an 'old witch' is the latest in this ridiculous series.
Anne Gearan, the AP reporter responsible for this pathetic display, writes that "U.S.-India relations were strained for decades as a result of Cold War alliances and have significantly improved only recently." It's nice to see her doing her best to reverse the trend, and I'm sure the bouquet from the Pakistani ambassador will be lovely.
The version of the story at the Washington Post, the Macon Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald are identical so far as I can see, and appear to be full and unedited copies of the wire story. Each includes only one comment obtained by Gearan, though she cites the general opinion of "several Cold War scholars." (Were they on background? Deep background? Off the record?) The quote is from one Dr. William Burr, a senior analyst at George Washington University's National Security Archive. "They see everything through a Cold War prism...It's a wholly distorted view," says Burr, apparently referring to Nixon and Kissinger. Assuming it's accurate, that's an astoundingly simplistic thing to come out of the mouth of a purported scholar and historian of U.S. national security. "Wholly simplistic," if you want to quote me on the record, Ms. Gearan.
One thing is certain - it wasn't Gearan who combed through hundreds of freshly released documents seeking tidbits to denigrate Nixon and Kissinger.
Burr apparently imagines himself an antagonist of the elderly Kissinger. He has also allowed his name to be affiliated with a bunch of Takoma Park anti-nuclear clowns. Kissinger shits bigger than him.
You're not trying to say Nixon was a great, but misunderstood man are you?
So what if these stories come out? And so what if the articles are a tad facile (though that last paragraph really was terrible).
I have no sympathy with anyone who orders his own office bugged, and then is stupid enough to utter profanities, inanities, stupidities, and a whole host of paranoid musings. Tough crap. I love reading them. Have a whole book on them.
I'm sure you'd love it if Clinton's office talk was published, as I would. It'd get dull pretty quickly though: "Hillary, you screwed up healthcare, you bitch"; "bomb those Serbs"; "screw the Iraqis, we love sanctions"; "Monica, you look lovely, oooghhhh, ahhhh, let me have that cigar back"...
Posted by: murray on June 29, 2005 12:55 PMMurray, don't fall for the bait. Is it coincidence that this little inflamatory piece of smoke and mirrors was posted within the hour of Bush's delivering a weak and platitude-filled speech to buck up his sagging approval numbers?
Posted by: mike on June 29, 2005 01:27 PMOh, I know it's bait. It's all he does. But replying helps pass the time
Posted by: murray on June 29, 2005 02:11 PMDude, you need a hobby. Have you tried whittlin' on the back porch?
Posted by: mike on June 29, 2005 02:16 PMMe too. I should be getting bored of it by now, but Sterling is a gift that keeps on giving. It is rare to see a straw man in the flesh, as it were, but once you have found one you must hold on to him. Stefan, it was a stroke of genius when you invited him to MF.
Posted by: eurof on June 29, 2005 02:17 PMActually, I was checking the newswire and lost my patience over the low quality of the stories. I flamed the AP at Blottered, over a flag burning story.
Posted by: Sterling on June 29, 2005 02:54 PMMike, sorry, I forgot to add "...while I should be working." I only give into the mock sterling urges rarely these days. Eurof does a much better job, dear boy that he is.
And Sterlign, shit man, I thought I got annoyed about pointless shit, but you beat me hands down
Posted by: murray on June 29, 2005 04:49 PM