Tucker Carlson praises terrorism

For those of you who don't remember, the sinking of the Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior was straight up state-sponsored terrorism. Agents of the French secret service travelled to New Zealand and planted explosives in the vessel's hull. The Rainbow Warrior went down in her home port, killing a Greenpeace photographer. (Correction: Fernando Pereira was the only person killed in the attack.) The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior was an act of political violence. French operatives were trying to prevent the Rainbow Warrior from participating in peaceful demonstrations against France's nuclear testing in Moruroa. French government alluded to the fact that Francois Mitterand was personally responsible for this international incident, but not until twenty years after the fact. Tucker Carlson thinks that was just great:

Tucker Carlson says on the air, twice, that he thinks it's a good thing the French government blew up the Greenpeace ship and killed some of its crew, unprovoked. He then goes on to call this "vandalism" rather than "terrorism." Greenpeace is, understandably, not pleased. [Read the rest at Americablog.]

This isn't just a joke or an off-the-cuff remark. Tucker seems to have the considered and frequently repeated opinon that the French government was right to blow up the Rainbow Warrior. Here's just one of several examples culled by John Aravosis of Americablog:

July 15

From the transcript of MSNBC’s “The Situation with Tucker Carson”

Full transcript at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8551916/.

CARLSON: Yes, yes. Third, they blew up the Rainbow Warrior. Twenty years ago on Sunday, they blew up the Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland Harbor. It was a bold and good thing to do.

Comments

[LeisureGuy]

It was neither bold nor good. I'm amazed that Carlson can so complacently accept government murder to two people who have done nothing except to plan to protest.

[frylockfreak]

Well I am sure that you will somehow find a way to blame the sinking of the "Rainbow Warrior" on Shrubya and the Rethuglicans..thus restoring the French to their untarnished reputation as having a sophisticated, urbane, and civilized government.

[LM]

Disturbing if true.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

sophisticated, urbane, and civilized government

French politics isn't your strong subject, is it?

[frylockfreak]

Obviously picking up on sarcasem isn't yours...

[frylockfreak]

Obviously picking up on sarcasm isn't yours...

[Thomas]

Frylockfreak, any general progressive support for France is merely an alliance of convenience because the French opposed entering into our current Mesopotamian quagmire. If there is a government that progressives stand behind anywhere, look to the Netherlands or to Scandinavia. The conflation of "American liberal" and "French" is an invention of the right-wing noise machine, intended to suggest that opposition to the present administration's policies is somehow unpatriotic.

[Trystero]

Wait, I'm confused. So the French are the good guys now?

[stephen judd]

For accuracy's sake, they killed one crew member, Fernando Pereira. The others were on shore having dinner. He had stayed behind. In court the agents (Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur) claimed that they thought there was no one on the boat. Personally, I don't see how someone attaching a limpet mine could possibly know that for sure.

Unfortunately the French strong-armed us into letting their agents go by threatening to cut off our access to EU markets.

It was not a bold or a good thing for the French to do, and these days even they have the grace to be ashamed of it.

[stephen judd]

By way of a PS, is this clown seriously suggesting it is acceptable for a country's agents to commit serious acts of violence in another? How about New Zealand starts blowing up American ships when they're in port in Sydney? Would that be ok? How do morons like this get their own television programmes?

Sometimes what I hear about American television just blows my mind.

[pebird]

As we are learing, state-sponsored terriorism is an oxymoron - it is more accurately called business as usual.

Only governments have the right to label activities as terrorism.

We now return to your regularily scheduled program.

[VICTOR]

AGAIN, FINE WORK LINDSAY,


THIS COMPLACENT SUPPORT BY A CONSERVATIVE FOR WHAT IS, IN EFFECT, A TERRORIST ACT, EXPOSES
THE HYPOCRISY OF POLITICAL EXTREMISM, IN THIS CASE, OF THE RIGHTWING SORT.

THE LONG US TRADITION OF BRUTAL, SORDID, LIFE DESTROYING POLITICAL EXPEDIENCE WHEREIN WE HAVE MATERIALLY SUPPORTED SALVADORAN DEATH SQUADS (READ "FREEDOM FIGHTERS") , HEINOUS TORTURE AND MURDER HAPPY DICTATORS INSTALLED VIA CIA COUP OF ELECTED LEADERS, AND SO ON AND ON, IN SUPPORT OF US 'INTERESTS" (READ PROFITS, OIL, CHIQUITA BANANAS, WHAT HAVE YOU) ,IS NEATLY SUMMARIZED BY CARLSON'S RIGHT WING ENDORSEMENT.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MURDER
OF IRAQI CIVILIANS BY TERRORIST BOMBS AND SIMPLE COLLATERAL DAMAGE--SAY DOZENS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN-- FROM A PINPOINT US AIR ATTACK BASED ON SUSPECT INTELLIGENCE-- WELL, ONE IS JUST MURDER AND THE OTHER IS... IS ENDURING US OIL FREEDOM.
CRIMINAL DISREGARD OF HUMAN LIFE IS COMMON TO POLITICAL EXTREMES DRIVEN BY IDEOLOGY AND/OR GREED FOR MONEY AND POWER (ALL THESE ARE JOINED AT THE HIP IN ANY CASE).
CARLSON'S ENDORSMENT JUST REPRESENTS THE LATEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BACKED VERSION.

[stephen judd]

"Only governments have the right to label activities as terrorism."

Actually, my government DID label it terrorism. It's your fruitcake television personalities who are the problem in this case.

[Chris Clarke]

The others were on shore having dinner. He had stayed behind.

Nope. Here's the scoop from Greenpeace's web site:

On board the Rainbow Warrior that night were several of the crew and a number of local Greenpeacers. Martini (Gotje, first mate), skipper Pete Willcox, engineer Davey Edwards, Bene Hoffman, radio operator Lloyd Anderson, Rien Achterberg and Fernando Pereira were all having a drink in the ship's mess. Bunny (McDiarmid) was visiting relatives and Henk was at a meeting in the ship's theatre. All the skippers of the peace flotilla were there. Relief cook and peace squadroner Margaret Mills had baked a chocolate cake for Steve's (Sawyer) birthday. After the birthday celebration the assembled skippers met in the ship's theatre to discuss schedules and routes. Margaret, Pete and Lloyd were asleep in their cabins by 11:30, all the others either departed or were up in the mess talking...

At 11:49 an electric blue flash was seen in the water beside the Warrior, quickly followed by a huge explosion. 'Bloody hell... It's from the engine room,' shouted Davey Edward after he was thrown from his chair against the wall. As everyone raced from the mess, Davey ran to the engine room. He was hardly able to open the door. It was like a huge steam bath, with water hissing in through the gaping hole torn in the ship's side.

Captain Pete Willcox, jolted awake, stumbled down to the engine room. One look was enough. 'Abandon ship, everyone get the hell out of here!' he shouted as the ship keeled over towards the wharf.

Fernando Pereira was worried about his cameras. He called out that he was going below to get them. He was quickly followed by Martini, who couldn't find his partner Hanne Sorensen and was worried she might still be in their cabin. The two men skidded down the stairs together. Martini checked out the cabin in scant seconds and made for the deck again, then the wharf. Fernando was in his cabin when the second blast went off, barely two minutes after the first.

There was panic on the wharf. No one had seen Fernando come back up. Martini was still asking, 'Where's Hanne?' Someone said they thought she's gone for a walk earlier.

Elaine (Shaw, director of Greenpeace New Zealand) had just returned home from Piha when the telephone rang. It was a New Zealand Herald reporter who wanted to talk to her about the Rainbow Warrior. 'At one o'clock in the morning!' she snapped. 'Oh I'm sorry. Didn't you know? Your ship's been sunk.' Elaine slammed the phone down in shocked disbelief. Then it rang again - a local radio station this time. 'No, I don't know anything about it,' she said firmly, heart pounding, and hung up. She rang Steve (Sawyer) and the Piha contingent immediately set off for the city.

When they arrived the wharf area was already cordoned off and they were directed to the Wharf Police Station, where the crew,some wrapped in blankets, sat pale-faced and in shock. It was 2 am. The only good news was that Hanne had turned up safe after a walk into the city.

By 4 am divers had recovered Fernando's body. He had drowned, trapped in his cabin, the straps of his camera bag tangled around one leg.

[stephen judd]

Thanks for the correction Chris. Don't ask me how I misremembered that.

[mudkitty]

He was just being deliberately glib. This is what literally passes for wit amongst so-called conservatives. So when he get's busted for his lack of logic, and for not being funny, he'll turn it around and say we're the ones with the poor sense of humor since we couldn't tell that he wasn't being literal, he was just being snarky.

[Gordo]

Someone should burn down Carlson's house. If his wife happens to be home at the time, tough luck. Not like the arsonist intended for anyone to get hurt. If he can justify blowing up the Rainbow Warrior on grounds that Greenpeace paints seals, then I can justify burning down his house on grounds that he advocates terrorism.

[Phoenician in a time of Romans]

And, by the way, look how well the terrorism worked. After the French blew up the Rainbow Warrior to prevent protests at Moruroa, IIRC, Kiwi membership in Greenpeace tripled, New Zealand went anti-nuclear, and we sent along our own frigates to observe the testing. Along with the Greenpeace replacement Rainbow Warrior.

[sennoma]

Someone should burn down Carlson's house. If his wife happens to be home at the time, tough luck.

No. No, they shouldn't. That's sick, and I hope you're embarrassed to have written it.

Carlson's an idiot, but that is not the way to respond to him.

[Herbert Browne]

Every time I hear a wingnut (or a Bushivist) say "Terrorist", my reflexive response is "WHISC" (ie Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, nee School of the Americas, at Ft. Benning, Georgia). Of course, mudkitty IS right- and Gordo is wrong. Only the rightwing is allowed the grace of excessive expressions of triumphal hubris- because of the enormous Power (& Glory) that they ride atop. And it's just fine that, given their incredible restraint with the Might that is their God-given Right to manifest, that a wee pressure relief valve or two will cause an airhorn like Carlson to sound off. It's as excusable as, say, calling one's conscience a traitor...
^..^

[Gordo]

Sennoma--

No, I'm not embarrassed. Here's the difference between me and Carlson: I satirized him by using his rhetoric, but making him the principle instead of Fernando Pereira. There's no way I would post a gleeful message if a tragedy actually did befall Carlson.

Carlson, on the other hand, is celebrating the very real murder of another human being. This was not an offhand joke that was in questionable taste--he has repeatedly expressed his approval of the murder. His comments remind me of the words of Bernadine Dohrn of the Weather Underground, referring to the LaBianca murders: "Offing those rich pigs with their own forks and knives, and then eating a meal in the same room, far out! The Weathermen dig Charles Manson"

[m]

Perhaps boot camp at Paris Island, followed by a tour at Fallujah would help Tucker reduce his aggression. Jonah Goldberg would make a good foxhole buddy for him.

[Daryl McCullough]

In the articles The Dread Pirate Bin Laden and Hiroshima, the question of what makes something terrorism is discussed. The examples of the bombing of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Cambodia, Dresden, Berlin, etc. etc. show that governments, even nice governments engage in acts that intentionally kill innocents for the purpose of terrorizing a nation and sapping their will to continue fighting. That's not considered terrorism, but why not?

Because what's really important is that terrorist organizations are extranational groups. Mass destruction and murder should only be practiced by governments.

[Kathleen]

Thanks for posting about this Lindsay. I read about Carlson's comments at Crooks and Liars, and I can't describe how appalled I was. Greenpeace has filed a complaint against Carlsonwith the FCC, so that is good! I hope they keep fighting back. I am writing a complaint to his network as well. How low of a person do you have to be to say something like that. Could you even imagine the uproar if Begala or some Dem had said something similar?