'No Spin' on the Impending War With Iraq

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Hi.  I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thank you for watching us tonight.

No Spin coverage on the impending war on Iraq, that is the subject of this evening Talking Points Memo.

Since war against Saddam Hussein is getting closer and since much of the coverage and analysis of that action is politically driven, we hope you depend on us for the truth, because we're going to report the situation in Iraq without an agenda or any ideological prejudice.

Let's begin with two solid facts:  The Bush administration believes that fighting a war on terror will be easier if Saddam Hussein is removed and therefore wants to initiate military action against him.  There's no question about that.  Just today, Secretary of State Colin Powell reportedly told the German press that America does have solid evidence that Saddam is hiding weapons of mass destruction and will make that evidence public by the end of January.

Now, the president sees this war as a big plus for the USA.  There is also no question that many opponents of the war are objecting to it for political reasons.  Here in the United States, very few of the current anti-war voices spoke out against President Clinton's bombing of Serbia, which was designed to remove Milosevic, who was not a direct threat to America.

Isn't it interesting that Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, and the rest of the high-profile partisans said not a word when Mr. Clinton ordered the bombing of Belgrade, resulting in the deaths of civilians and a regime change?  In fact, it was the far right that pilloried Clinton, not the left.

Overseas, the press coverage on Iraq is overwhelming slanted against Mr. Bush and America.  And politicians like Germany's Schroeder and France's Chirac are playing to that.  The no-spin truth is that these guys and many of their countrymen couldn't care less about the war on terror.  If American civilians are killed, well, somehow the USA has brought it upon itself.  That is the misguided and callous thinking among many in the world.

Back home, the president and his advisers know that, if they are successful in Iraq and can keep the economy growing just a little, they will easily win reelection again in 2004.  And the left knows that as well, which is why there is an urgency in the liberal camp to undermine anything that will make Mr. Bush stronger.  I mean, come on, do you think there is any proof on this earth that would allow Jesse Jackson, for example, to support military action against Iraq?  Anything?  No.

So, what we have here, in words spoken to Cool Hand Luke, is failure to communicate -- the truth, that is.  Both the conservative and liberal ideologues have serious dogs in this hunt.  Thus, their points of view will reflect far more than just what to do with Saddam.

As a result, Talking Points is dedicated to cutting through the political baloney to tell you what we know and how we know it.  We hope our Iraqi coverage will be the most honest in the world.

And that's The Memo .

The Villain of the Week Day

Time now for our Villain of the Week segment.

It has now been a month and a half since a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy engaged openly in oral sex on a Massachusetts school bus.  The incident shocked Americans, but the principal of the high school involved, Richard Kelley, still refuses to say how he has disciplined those students, citing their privacy, if you can believe it.

Now nobody's asking for names, but I believe everybody in the Silver Lake school district knows who these kids are.  But what clear-thinking Americans are demanding is that a message be sent that this kind of conduct is not acceptable, and that message includes a publicly stated penalty of those students.

Since Kelley refuses to do that, he becomes our Villain of the Week and a shameful example of public school leadership.  He should be fired.

— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com