In keynote speech renowned journalist says there is no hope for Mideast with Bush, Cheney

DETROIT — Renowned investigative journalist Seymour Hersh spoke with blunt pessimism about various Middle East conflicts and the Bush administration at a banquet in Detroit on Thursday. The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter keynoted the American Arab Chamber of Commerce’s 15th annual banquet at the Detroit Marriott in the Renaissance Center. The group’s chairman Nasser Beydoun said that Hersh was someone whose perspective could help the crowd of about 900 “view our world with crystal clarity,” which was the theme of the event celebrating the chamber’s crystal anniversary. Attorney Michael Berry and Michigan Department of Human Services Director Ismael Ahmed were honored at the event.

Seymour Hersh

Local television news anchor Huel Perkins served as emcee. “I think that peace can be achieved not through an increase of force but through an increase of opportunity for all of us,” Perkins said. “I think that’s happening right here.”

A clip from the upcoming documentary “Our Arab American Story,” set to air on WXYZ television on December 15, was shown. Hersh said the film should be shown in the White House as he relentlessly criticized the administration throughout the speech. “After 9-11 it was as if a cult took over the U.S. government,” he said. “In 45 years of being a reporter I’ve never met anybody who never thought they did anything wrong.”

He said that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney really do think that they are spreading democracy in the Middle East through war. “The terrifying thing about George Bush is that he believes what he says… They believe they are saving America from a holocaust.”

He spoke about hopelessness in the Middle East and the war on terror. “You don’t go to war against an idea… You can fight the underlying reason for an idea.”

Hersh described persistent violence in Iraq as ethnic cleansing and said that the Afghani people are now turning back to the Taliban for security. “There’s no solution in Lebanon,” he continued. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you. It’s going to be a stalemate.”

He said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is losing credibility with his own people as he receives support from the U.S., and he disparaged Bush and Cheney for refusing to talk to Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria or Iran. “They believe that no matter what the intelligence says, Iran is going to get the bomb…

There’s a lot of time to deal with Iran.”

“It’s really wacky… He’s a truly dangerous radical,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do. We just wait.”

He said that the only hope is the upcoming election and that everyone should put extra effort into whomever they support, Democrat or Republican. “You have to get more engaged. Give more money than you would normally give.”

When asked why he speaks out so candidly, he said that the same values and expectations that are held within families should be applied to leaders. “We don’t lie to our children. We don’t want our children to lie to us.”

Hersh said he was once questioned by a two or three-star military general about having exposed the 1968 My Lai Massacre, in which hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers. He said he responded by saying: “With all due respect, you may have stars, but I’m every bit as good an American as you are.” The general conceded.