The Best Coverage of the Iraq Situation

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

The best coverage of the Iraq situation.  That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

When I say The Factor does have the best coverage, I get all kinds of hooting, and you're conceited, O'Reilly.  All that kind of stuff.  But let me back it up.

Earlier this week almost every news organization in America reported this alleged dirty bomb threat, hyping the hysteria with the duct tape solution.  We didn't mention it, not once.

To be honest, some of my producers wanted to, but I quickly declared a no duct tape zone.  Because the evidence simply wasn't there.  I looked at the government's dispatch, they had nothing but vague allegations.

Today, it turns out, the al Qaeda guy who gave the government the dirty bomb story, lied.  So there we go.  Once again, we will give you the straight story on terrorism, not the hype.

Just a few moments we'll have analysis of Hans Blix' remarks to the United Nations, but the big story is that military action has already begun.  And we'll have precise details about that coming up, as well.

Now, President Bush finds himself in a very difficult situation.  That is obvious.  He has a P.R. problem.  He wants the world to see the situation as he sees it.  Some in the world will never do that.

Here's what's going on.  Bush believes there are at least six countries in the world causing that are causing instability: North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Syria and Iraq.

The president thinks that world peace and prosperity will rise dramatically if those countries are controlled.  He also thinks that if they remain chaotic, they will feed terrorism and destruction worldwide.

So, Iraq is the first domino.  And the legal basis for removing Saddam is there because he's violated 16 U.N. mandates.  That's the big picture.  And as we said, some will never buy it.

"Talking Points" supports Mr. Bush's position, because there's no question that Saddam and others applaud terrorism, and with anthrax, smallpox and other death agents available, we simply cannot allow the threat to go unchecked.

Put it another way: the world is a better place if Saddam Hussein is not in it.  And we have more than enough reason to remove him.

Now, it is true there will be short-term pain after military action begins.  It will be easier for al Qaeda and others to recruit.

But if the USA is successful, we'll be more secure here and in the long run, it will be more difficult for the terrorists to operate worldwide.

The world's a very dangerous place, as you know.  It is no longer anywhere to hide.  True villains must be confronted.

And that's The Memo .

The Villain of the Week

Time now for The Villain of the Week... And it is a celebrity named Lorenzo Lamas.  He is one of the judges of that awful program Are You Hot? on ABC, which should be renamed, "Are You Stupid to Go On This?"

Here's a sample of what Lamas does.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORENZO LAMAS, ARE YOU HOT? JUDGE:  You've got a 9.5 on the body for me, because at some point between the hip and the knee, your legs have to touch.  There's just too big of a gap in there.

I'm saving the body for last.  It's an 8.7, OK?  And the reason being, you know, there's just a little too much thigh there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY:  How anybody would take money to mock other people's bodies is beyond me.  This guy is a villain and Lamas should be ashamed of himself.  Because of course he's not because that would require thinking that is far beyond his capacity.  Did I just make fun of the guy's mind?