From Tuesday’s Worst Person in the World segment:
But our winners, former CIA analyst, ironically in the Bin Laden section in the ‘90s, Michael Scheuer and Glenn Beck of Fox News. A lot has been written online suggesting Scheuer merits a special comment. The man has some sort of perverse fetish about seeing part of this country destroyed by nuclear weapons. He came on this program in February, 2007 and practically drooled at the prospect.
He deserves something, but not a special comment. His comment, “the only chance we have as a country right now,” he said on Fox News last week, “is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States, because it‘s going to take a grassroots, bottom-up pressure, because these politicians prize their office, prize the praise of the media and the Europeans. It‘s an absurd situation, again. Only Osama can execute an attack that will force Americans to demand that government protect them effectively, consistently and with as much violence as necessary.”
Scheuer‘s interviewer, Glenn Beck of Fox News, did not attempt to correct him, did not scream at him, what the hell do you mean the only chance we have as a country right now. Beck did not accuse Scheuer of insanity, nor disloyalty, nor palling around with terrorists? Beck did not even burst into tears. The host merely nodded gravely, as if this made sense. “Which is why I was thinking,” he said, “if I were him,” Bin Laden, “that would be the last thing I would do right now,” Beck answered, agreeing with Scheuer, and barely containing his disappointment as he did so.
We need Bin Laden to destroy part of America in order to save America. You know, since that worked out so well for everybody on 9/11. Scheuer has already given comfort to the enemy. Now, Scheuer adds the piquant touch of disingenuousness. Criticized online, Scheuer insisted he never said what he clearly had said.
“Far from wishing for another attack,” he wrote, “I trust that Churchill‘s judgment that God looks out for drunks and the United States of America still holds good, and we remain safe. God better do the job because no one in our elite is doing it.”
Of course, here Mr. Scheuer is correct. No one in their elite is doing their job. Mr. Scheuer has issued a call for the head of al Qaeda to “detonate a major weapon in the United States,” and yet for some reason, to my knowledge at least, the Department of Homeland Security has not yet been to see him, nor been to see Mr. Beck, nor Fox News for having provided him a platform and passive assent, for approving of not just a terrorist attack which could kill Americans, but approving of one that might even kill Fox viewers.
If we‘re going to continue to prevent terrorism in this country, international or domestic, we have to legally stop the people who view terrorism as acceptable means of affecting political change in this country, people like Michael Scheuer. And we have to legally stop the people like Glenn Beck, the enablers who simply nod gravely, as if the idea and the speaker were not treasonous. Author Michael Scheuer and Glenn Beck of Fox News, today‘s worst persons in the world.
Newsbusters has more. An excerpt:
On the June 30 editon of Beck’s show, former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer said: “the only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to detonate a major weapon in the United States.” Apparently Scheuer thinks that’s what it would take to shock the country and its leaders back to their senses. Olbermann was infuriated that Beck didn’t “scream at him” or otherwise jump down Scheuer’s throat, choosing instead to nod gravely while suggesting that would be the last thing OBL would do.
View video here if player not visible.
In Olbermann’s eyes, nodding in the third degree is a crime warranting legal action to “stop” Beck.