Howard Kurtz broadcast a long interview with former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw on today's "Reliable Sources," allotting the entire first half of the show to the newsman's thoughts on a wide range of subjects, including his new book, "Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today," for which he has recently been making the rounds. Brokaw had a lot to offer in the interview — the transcript of which is available here — clearly the result of Howie Kurtz's flickering-candle decor loosening Brokaw up, presumably after welcoming him to the strains of Barry White on the stereo and a little Courvoisier . At any rate, Brokaw had much to say but we found the below excerpt putting the recent progress in Iraq into context to be of interest:
Here's the full excerpt:
KURTZ: In recent months, though, casualties are down in Iraq. Some would say that the surge is having some modest success. Yet conservatives say that is not getting enough coverage. Is that because of Iraq fatigue? Is that because only bad news is news?
BROKAW: No, I think it is time to take a look at it again. You know, what, Howie? These are small signs of some progress four years later.
KURTZ: Sure.
BROKAW: And the Iraqi government still doesn't have it together. And after four years, if the Iraqis can't take care of themselves with all of the money that has been poured in there, all of the help that they have been given, that's a truer measurement, I think, of what is going on in Iraq.
It does not mean that we ought not to take notice of the fact that the attacks are down, that the insurgency has been hurt. I had a briefing the other day about what is going on with IEDs. After billions of dollars, we have finally found a way to be more effective at protecting our troops from them and detonating them early. But it has taken a long time. That won't solve the political issue about whether Iraq can handle its own destiny.
- On not being a cokehead, though pot was cool: "There was this early benign attitude, certainly toward marijuana, and then even toward cocaine later on, which was not an area for me. I didn't go there. But you know, marijuana was being passed around at very establishment cocktails parties like an after-dinner drink of some kind." (Brokaw has admitted to inhaling, as the kids say, but has said it "didn't agree" with him.)
We don't have language for dealing with race. Everybody hides behind political correctness or a certain mythology. No one wants to offend, no one wants to get at the facts of it. You are in danger of being a racist if you go against the merits of some issues and just try to look at it objectively.