Hidden agendas and the peace protesters. That's the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo. Over the past three weeks, we've interviewed a number of peace advocates, including Phil Donahue and a member of the Quakers. And I was very interested in what they had to say, because I see the issue in very stark terms.
There's no question, if you believe in our Constitution, that the federal government has to punish all the people who made the terror attack possible. It is mandated that the Feds provide secure borders and protect we, the people, from foreign aggression. There's simply no debate on that fact.
The peace people believe that our response should be contained, measured, that we should do various things to accommodate foreign governments that are aren't necessarily our friends. Now I respect that opinion, but I feel that it's wrong. And I believe many of the compromisers have hidden agendas. From all the interviews I've done on the topic, including the one last night with Woody Powell, the President of the Veteran's for Peace Organization, a vivid picture emerges.
Mr. Powell believes the United States has exploited the Third World economically, so they have a right to hate us. Others on the left embrace socialism in America, to create a world where everyone has a level playing field. Of course, that's impossible.
On the right, the Timothy McVeighs of the world hate America because it controls anarchy. It demands that people behave in a certain manner.
Remember Jane Fonda's embrace of the Communists in Southeast Asia? I've always believed that Ms. Fonda's rage against our government was driven by the situation with her father, Henry Fonda, who was by her account, authoritarian and cold.
The key here is that when the Khmer Rouge Communists in Cambodia slaughtered millions of their own people, you didn't hear a word from Jane Fonda. Parallel agendas are very common with protesters of all kinds, which brings us to Bill Moyers.
In a speech broadcast on a National Public Radio affiliate, Mr. Bill Moyers blasted me for approving of the bombing in Afghanistan. It is my contention that the 26 millions citizens of those citizens of that country bear a certain amount of responsibility for the Taliban government, which number just a few thousand. That government, as you know, brutalizes women. And a popular uprising by the Afghan people would surely overthrow it.
Anyway, Moyers said this about me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MOYERS: My business, the media, doesn't much like complexity. Bill O'Reilly is the most popular host on Fox News. I was listening on the 17th of September when he said we should bomb the Afghan infrastructure to rubble, the airport, the power plants, the water facilities, the roads. That passion is equaled only by his ignorance, by his stubborn ignorant denial of complexity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Wow. Well, once again, Moyers is entitled to his opinion. But when we called him to debate, he declined. I even said, look, just do a phone-in. Just call in. He wouldn't even come to the phone. His poor sister had to take the calls. He's hiding.
So now I've lost all respect for Bill Moyers. The reason he came after me, I believe, is that I strong challenged his son, John Moyers, a left-wing journalist for tompaine.com, when that Web site, unfairly in my opinion, attacked the Fox News channel.
Now I might be wrong, but I see another agenda from Bill Moyers that is not about Afghanistan. And this is not about me and Bill Moyers. It is about protesters and commentators with agendas other than the subject at hand. Always beware of that. And that's the memo.
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