wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

NP never explained just what he meant by saying that 'four years' of diplomacy with Iran hasn't worked (you didn't ask him to justify that statement either). You were great by asking "haven't they lost all credibility...?"

Given the 'intractable' problem in Ireland solved itself because of better economic and social conditions in Ireland, isn't there a better argument for ending this isolationism and draw Iran and occupied territories into our seductive material prosperity?

The US and Israel helped to create this regressive fundamentalist Iranian realpolitik through 30 years of isolation. What did we think would happen? Although we've waited so long and allowed the hatred to grow, we need to do something about it by recognizing that culpability and changing policy now.

Let's BOMB each other. You drop ONE. We drop ONE. We both keep on BOMBING each other until both parties are tired of BOMBING each other. I'll let you know what to do after the Big Aftermath if I'm still alive! If I was not able to make it; I'll post the plan on this space prior to your BOMBING that will cause my death. If vice versa, drop me an e-mail. If both parties were miraculously still alive; let's TALK!
Norman Podhoretz;
There is only one ISM left:
DOLLARISM. I really like this ISM. Because it's crystal clear & straight like an arrow. BUT I really hate the ways you politicians plan to bring the DOLLAR of the DOLLARISM back home.
ENJOY the DOLLAR!
Cheers.
Hamid.
www.videopix.co.uk
http://videopix.zenfolio.com

If Rudy Giuliani is elected President, which country will those who don't like him emigrate to?

I hope it isn't Canada, that would be continuing an occupation of Native American lands.

This segment really brought out the comments.

NP never really fully explained just what was the nature of this 'diplomacy' he claims has been going on the last four years with Iran. You were great to ask "haven't the neo-cons lost all credibility...?"

Given that in our own lifetime, the 'intractable' Northern Ireland problem seems to have resolved itself due to changes in social conditions and rising economic prosperity in Ireland, isn't there a more useful argument for bringing Iran and other nations into our seductive material prosperity orbit?

Where has this Neo-Con war approach ever worked in our recent memory? Did it work in Vietnam? By all accounts, Vietnam is still a communist country, albeit an economically prospering one.

By isolating Iran all these years, the US and Israel helped to create this regressive fundamentalist Iranian realpolitik. What did we honestly expect would happen after 30 years of isolation? or 40 years of occupation for that matter?

It'd be great if Brian followed-up with a guest who is as critical of Israel as Podhoretz is pro-Israel, but don't expect that on Mr. Brian (not a barrier but a fence) Lehrer.

Unfortunately Peter, it's wishful thinking and the media will continue to take these neo-con fascists seriously

Is it just wishful thinking or did Podhoretz really just self-destruct on live radio?

Apart from the labored delivery and obnoxious tone, he hardly answered any questions, and when asked to justify the ahistorical notion of islamofascism, he ventured into the realm of the surreal by lumping the secular, socialist Baath Party in with religious extremists.

Essentially, Podhoretz said "World War IV" a lot and delivered rather a desperate pitch for his new book.

Barry -- my issue is not with the idea of identifying religious extremists, nor with the idea of "Islamic Fascists." My point is that by casually, thoughtlessly changing the word "islamic" to "islamo-" you mock the faith of Muslims. (Again, think about how people would feel if politicians everywhere were describing Right-wing Israeli Zionists as "Jewy Expansionists".) Read narrowly, this is religious bigotry. However, I would contend that the fact that we do it so casually to people other, far-away cultures and not to white americans is based in racism, or at least an amazing anglo-centrism.

Thankfully...for now, it appears as if Ghouliani's star is falling...let us all hope it stays that way

My fear is that after the unfavorable NIE report, the Neo-Cons will push harder for a war in Iran.

Islamofascists is a new word in the expansive english dictionary where anything can mean anything. And the language has been controlled by the right for a long time... so they can make anything up and it'll stick.

My jaw was on the floor listening to this maniac... truly frightening that this man is an "advisor" to ANYONE. If I wasn't already terrified by the idea of a Giuliani administration, I am now. God help us all.

I'm annoyed by the term Islamofascist mainly because it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Islamic extremism and fascism and how they relate to each other. Fascism, unfortunately, has become this sort of catch all phrase for scary people we don't like without actually understanding any of the pillars of fascism. The Baathists fall more in line with fascism.

i wouldnt let podhoretz be the manager of a shoe store, let alone a foriegn policy advisor to a presidential candidate!... wow someone get some help for that guy ASAP!!!

Yes lets bomb Iran, Lets give them a new reason for wanting a Nuclear weapon. Even Better lets bomb every country in the middle east turn the whole middle east into a big sheet of glass.

For sure no bombing go for the soft kill all the way

I just dont thing bombing is going to get the job done.

Has this person ever set foot in Iraq, has he spent a week in palestine? He seems to live in a parallel universe. Why is Brian giving a person like this a forum? The scary, but not surprising, thing is that he is an advisor to Julianni... Imagine this guy in the white house.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia

most of our forces have been withdrawn from saudi arabia

I think Islamofacist is pretty close to the truth and is not bigoted in that is has nothing to do with race.
It is about religious extremist. No matter what their race.

Rudy is disqualified for many reasons...having this nutjob advise him is just consistent, quite frankly

To a hammer everything looks like a nail. If Podhoretz and his ideas continue to be adopted by the next administration we will always have a global enemy and be in a world war. Buy your tickets to V, VI, VII . . .

I recommend that everyone actually do some research on the goals of Al Quaida before they start talking as if they know what they're talking about. Al Quaida DOES NOT WANT TO HAVE A CALIPHATE IN THE US.

HAMAS in Isreal was nourished by Isrealis.

why is it ok to deny the very existence of Palestinian but a crime to question the number of Jewish people killed by Hitler?

barry,

yes the Nazi/bathist connection is documented

But Podhoretz conflates the connection and comparison

Yea I know

I just want to point out that the term "Islamofascist" is at least religiously bigoted, if not racist, even if you agree with the fascist characterization. The mocking tone of "islamo" is to blame. If I called someone a "Christ-y Conservative" I don't think that Christians would appreciate the term as respectful.

Podhoretz said Islamofascism is a 2-headed monster - Osama on one hand, Saddam's Baathists on the other. They are enemies of course with each other. But he forgot today's Islamic enemy: Iran. So it is a 3-headed monster, but Iran hates Saddam, and Iran hates al Qaeda, and vice versa. So they all hate and fight each other, but they represent our enemies in World War 4. It is a disastrous, incoherent, and really racist (Arabs, Muslims) idea - that is all that is left.

Rudy is disqualified for having this guy advise him.

I'm with poster, JD---doesn't anyone have another plan outside of bombing other countries? And how's that going to solve the problem when it'll just galavanize world opinion against the US?
I do think that pressure has to be put on Iran to dissuade them from a nuclear program, but after nearly 8 years of constant war isn't it time that we pursue diplomacy to its furthest ends?

The Nazi / Bathist connection actually has a kernel of truth.

The term "homeland" this shell of a man repeatedly used is derived from a term Hitler himself used to name his Germany, the "hietmat".
How many times did he mention 9/11???
Keep your eye on your , chuckle, Miranda Rights...

lol, barry, I was talking about Podhoretz... you said "he's driving off the cliff", and I said "No, he's driving America off the cliff."

Doesn't change my opinion of Ghouliani...it reinforces it

Short racist garbage is still racist garbage. Podhoretz could not better summarize his racist, imperialist idiocy than with a comment like "making the Middle East safe for America". (Given Podhoretz extraordinary bigotry, we should add "making the Middle East safe for Israeli occupation").

My reactions? IT reminds me clearly why I'm scared of the right, and why I often feel I need to leave the country.

I note with some interest how NP seems to completely bypass the fact that we MADE these folks.

Sigh.

M.

here's an excuse not to read his tome. it's a fantasy and a fear mongers nightmare.

JUST SAY NO!!

I dont think Obama will drive Amerikka off the cliff, you Facist!

Oh I can think of a few excuses not to read it!

That was RICH!

He's right about the next prez, because she's just like W in foreign policy.

Man this guy is crazy.

OK. This guy is a NUT. He should be institutionalized NOW - calling the Bath Party a part of Al QUeda and having taking it's ideology from the Nazis? The Bath party in Syria and Iraq - where Al Queda never existed was a SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST inspired party that had nothing to do with ANti-semitism - and just to remind everyone, Socialism is a WESTERN CONSTRUCT - Not an Islamist or non-western construct.
OK - I'm picking up the phone now to call Bellevue to rush an ambulance equiped with a psychiatric crew to Center Street - Is WNYC still located there?

barry,

You're wrong... he's driving America off the cliff.

Man, I hope Obama Wins

AKA the domino theory in reverse.

Well, he's also merging a load of different and often times atagonistic political ideologies that have spent years killing each other into one big bad guy. It's a completely manufactured alliance.

BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Yeah we removed the powers that THE US put in power in both of those countries!

Great question Brian

too bad Mr.Podhoretz sees the facts through rosey neo-con glasses

Delusional to think that Iraq has made progress since the invasion.

He's driving off the cliff,,

Norman should read "I Don't Want To Blow You Up!"

www.blowyouup.com

ergh... AND THE BATH PARTY WAS INSTALLED IN EFFECT BY THE CIA UNDER DURING JFK'S PREISDENCY. JFK EMPOWERED NEO-NAZI BAATHISTS NOW?

It's the Nazis. It's the Commies. It's two mints in one.

The fact that he laughed at the term "rights" is really all you need to know about Neo-Con philosophy because that sums it up perfectly

What are you saying?

Brian - ask him if he'll appear on your show with Shoyer if Shoyer agrees - what a debate!

"Libelous"?? So any disagreement with his opinion in libel?? Well, pack up the first amendment folks. We won't be needing that anymore...

An appropriate quote from Emerson:

A man is known by the books he reads, by the company he keeps, by the praise he gives, by his dress, by his tastes, by his distastes, by the stories he tells, by his gait, by the notion of his eye, by the look of his house, of his chamber; for nothing on earth is solitary but every thing hath affinities infinite.

Re Norman Podhoretz:

With friends like the neoconservatives and religious right, Israel does not need enemies.

He was laughing when he said "Miranda Rights"

I love how he laughed at the word "rights"

WWIV huh?

my,my,my....this guy is a complete sensationalizing idiot

Fewer than 20,000 people have died of terrorism worldwide since 1968 (excluding terrorism during hot wars). Hardly seems worthy of designating this WWIV.

Norm just called his former CIA analyst/now critic a 'disaster when in the CIA" -umm, his proof for that statement is....?

Does this person not realize what the goals of Al Quaida are? It doesn't seem so as they aspire to create a Muslim Caliphate WITH NO GOVERNMENT. The term Islamo-fascist itself fails to recognize the nature of Al Quaida and other groups who follow the teachings of Sayid Qtub. They are no more fascist than anyone else fightinf for ANY cause.

I, for one, an sick to death of listening to the Neo-Con demented world vision of unending war and domination. I wish that these blood thirsty zionists and their apocalyptic-yearning evangelical friends would once and for all be decredited for their failed and dangerous policies and their death-cultish thinking.

I find it disheartening to learn that Guiliani would have this guy as an advisor.. if this is the direction of his foreign policy, then i won't even think of voting for him.

The fact that the current admin. is trying to paint Iran as sooo dangerous is disgusting to me. knowledge to make a bomb doesn't necessarily equal the ability to make one.

the people over there probably dislike their leadership as much as we dislike ours.

it's all about oil and money... sad

Jangly1,
No, you are missing nothing. Step away from your receiver and just read the comments. (Fortunately my monitor interferes with reception, so I have to leave the room.) For extra protection by all means whip up a shiny foil hat -- there are some great ideas online -- and for goodness sake switch to herbal tea!

Best wishes,
Mary

My rule: the person who mentions Hitler first, loses the argument. Podhoritz just lost.

So they decided it would be good to label the Cold War as WWIII. Well... I'm glad that they thought, "Hey! Let's just rewrite history without regard to anyone else's input!"

Hey, we won the Cold War without ever bombing anyone (well, excepting those nasty proxy wars), so why is bombing at the top of the list for this terriss war?

Scott is right.
Iran will get the bomb and bombing first wont make much difference.
As a Neo Liberal I think we can live with Iran having the bomb, and so can Israel.

His son is a beneficiary of nepotism.

roehan
Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Of course they're allowed to enrich under NPT. Ties in with my point about inspectors.

Leo-

Good point, but I still think there is a bit of a "you build it,they will come' thing going on here...when I say mass media I don't just mean NPR...these guys get entirely too much air time everywhere,including NPR

Please ask him why he cares so much whether Iran has a bomb? If they use it, they will be wiped off the map. If they give it to terrorists who use it, they'll be wiped off the map. MAD works (thanks barry).

I think he is a good guy to have around, if only so you can hear all sides.

Right guys? You know how important it is to not be unilateral!

Ghouliani's advisor does not know what part of his advice he takes........

uh...yeah......

If the only thing worse than bombing Iran is letting Iran get the bomb then the only thing worse than letting Iran get the bomb is bombing Iran and still failing to stop Iran from getting the bomb. Could you ask Mr. Podhoretz what plan he has to go from hitting targets that are susceptible to bombing to preventing Iran from getting the bomb.

The hate in this man's heart is un-American.

AB: The 'media' takes these neo-cons seriously because they control/own the media (NEwsCorp- Fox, NYPost, WSJ, etc.) and they have lots of economic influence in this country and in Israel - for those independent media outlets like NPR who refuse to pay atttention to them they can brand them as 'anti semitic' or 'pro terrorists'. 20 years ago if you tried to challenge these money-grabbing nuts you were called a communist.

Iran is a member of the NPT. Are they allowed to enrich uranium under the treaty?

Iran has hot & cold running inspectors, and there's no evidence they ever HAD a nuke program.

And going from enriching uranium to building a bomb is MIGHTY difficult. Apparently all those spinning centrifuges spin out of control with great ease.

This man knows nothing.

Any Iranians out there listening?

well..I'm listening but it sounds like a stream of idiotic neo-con paranoid bs to me

eCAHNomics is right.. don't turn off the radio. If you turn off the radio, they still won't go away and will continue to do what they do behind the scenes.. you'll just have less information on them.

What is this a Giuliani smear job?
Come on he admits the summery was slanted, get over it.
I'm sure it was slanted.
Almost everything is slanted

Comment #14

I totally 100% agree...I would love to hear that show as well

Yes lets bomb Iran, build another base there, keep spreading the empire through out the world. America first! too bad that it doesn't include us citizen's, I guess I'll have to keep watching the dollar depreciate, and keep watching the middle class vanish, as the neo con's keep spreading their offense first mentality.

Make sure to put on your tin foil hat Brian! Otherwise the CIA will here your thoughts and start plotting against you! LOL

Great please leave or stop calling names!
Ask him who he thinks will pull the trigger?
US or Israel

Ask Mr. Podhoretz why he refuses to appear on the show with someone who disagrees with him.

Rick
I'm determined to listen, so that you don't have to. That is if I can keep it in the barf bag, so that my keyboard stays clean.

I just don't understand why the media still takes the neo-con fascists seriously considering the fact that all their ideas and policies have been a failure and they have all been completely discredited

The mass media should just ignore them and they will be irrelevant as they should be by now considering their pathetic record of failure and disaster

As if we needed any further proof that US foreign policy is being run out of Tel Aviv, ladies and gentlemen I present to you: Norman 'I helped concoct the lies that sent American lives and money straight into a black-hole" Podhoretz.

Click!

Well at least he's consistent!.
HA

His view 'remains what it was before NIE."

Yep. Those reality-creators are unimpinged by evidence.

This guy is insane and should be put away in a rubber room with a straight jacket.

do you hear that? it's the sound of thousands of WNYC listeners turning their radios off rather than be subjected to this crap.

Is this really a surprise? Ghouliani is a fascist,plain and simple

Iran is going for the bomb, it is just a matter of time.
You can bomb away (which Isreal probably will) but it will just be a delay.
Iran want the bomb because MAD works.

Haven't you messed things up enough?!!! No more bright ideas from the Neo-Cons please!

Anyone worried about terrorism should read this:
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2006/08/wait-arent-you-scared.html

i'd like to hear a show about Christofascism.
the right wing's war on science, education and the enlightenment.

Bomb Iran now....and that will accomplish what?

Seriously, for the benefit of us morons out here who obviously don't understand the big bad world, what is this supposed to accomplish?

Use short words.

Rudy Giuliani is the Anti- Gravitas candidate

Giuliani has neither the intellect nor the dignity to be running for President.

I would be ashamed as an American to have Rudy Giuliani as my president. I don't agree with McCain, Romney, Huckabee, or Thompson on the issues but I wouldn't feel ashamed to have any of them as my president.

Giuliani exploited the deaths of 3,000 innocent Americans to make millions of dollars as a security consultant.

Rudy is a Bullying, Thugish, Neanderthal

Can you ask Norman Podhoretz who finances his book and if he can tell us how much money he and his neo-con associates - In the US and in Israel - stand to make by the continuous destabilization and destruction of the Middle East. This of course on the pretext of defending Israel. Let's call this policy for what it is - a policy to the benefit of some well connected Jews in Israel and the US and well connected Christians in the US who use the Bible to call out for messianic wars so they can line their pockets at the expense of the Jews and poor Palestinians who have to deal with the daily violence and cannot escape to their compounds in Europe or America and American Taxpayers who continue to fund this violence

I am already sick to my stomach thinking that this crazy S.O.B. will even be on this show. What's is with all the right wing lunatics on here lately??

at least try to balance the show with people from the "far left", please.

ps
feed and educate the world's poor, instead of supporting the despots, then the people won't hate you.

was the price for an american middle class oppression around the world?

u get what u pay for.

I think someone should bomb Norman Podhoretz--NOW!!! We really *don't* learn from history, eh?! He has the right to spew crap and I have the right to throw crap at his image...and I do.

war without end, good for business

fear without end good for terrorists. they win because they thrive on fear as does the right wing.

you get what you pay for

So many enemies, so little time. Brian, could you please ask Mr. Podhoretz how he prioritizes which country to bomb first?

And does he have plans to advise any other R candidates, now that Rudy is flaming out? Enquiring minds want to know.

is it my loss for tuning out idealogues (like NP)? Serious question -- what's the harm -- I'm trying to watch my blood pressure, also why I don't watch Fox.

Giuliani always had a fascist reputation in New York. It does not surprise me then that he has chosen Norman P. (poor Brian has to interview this man?!) as an advisor.

I read with alarm your by-line for this segment!! Is this the type of person advising Giuliani? If so, I intend to get the word out that if you vote for Giuliani then prepare for what I truly believe will result in this country starting a global conflict. Giuliani scared me anyway and this only confirmed my fears.

The usage of the terms "world war IV" and "islamofacism" in the title, combined with his stated credentials, suggest this is ill-conceived. Fascism, or corporatism, has no required link to religion, and the constant harping on this made-up term serves to demonize, not clarify.

Perhaps it would be more useful for these people to discuss the 14 characteristics of fascism by Lawrence Britt, and which of those we may be seeing today in the U.S., and exactly how previous fascist governments compare to these bad guys, the "islamofascists".

You may as well say "islamodictators" but then the lie is exposed. We are friends with dictators whenever it suits us, it seems.

i'd be interested in knowing if Norman Podhoretz has any ideas for mideast policy other than military bombings, say something along the lines of the Marshall Plan in Europe after WWll. Worked pretty well in Europe..you know, diplomacy, accountability and such. And really, isn't there a way to do this sort of thing withOUT participating directly in the extreme violence first.