NBC Minimizes Obama's Iraq Pullout As Contributing Factor to Islamist Advance

Matthew Balan | June 13, 2014
Font Size

[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]

On the 13 June 2014 edition of NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams strongly hinted that the recent Islamist blitzkrieg in Iraq was completely former President Bush's fault: "Make no mistake: what's happening in Iraq right now is a direct outgrowth of the U.S. decision to invade the country over a decade ago." However, he glossed over the Obama administration's failure to negotiate a continued U.S. presence and pulling out all American forces in late 2011 as a factor in the crisis.

Williams repeated his point to David Gregory: "How does the President sell any action at all to the component of the American people who feel...it's not our dance...even though...we broke it?" Gregory seconded his contention: "Right, that Pottery Barn rule: you broke it; you own it; you got to somehow fix it." Later, Stephanie Gosk did reference the troop pullout, but didn't mention President Obama by name:

STEPHANIE GOSK: Ellen Mark's husband fought in Korea. She thinks the U.S. military did pull out of Iraq too fast.

ELLEN MARK: They should have left some back, and brought them back in smaller quantities at a time.

donate