The Truth About Rev. Wright: No Media Conspiracy - Just Lazy Journalists?

By BlackJack

After a weeks worth of hearing talking heads and pundits argue back and forth about how much damage Rev. Wrights sermon did to Barack Obama, I decided to track down the video so I could see it in context. What I found out made me sick to my stomach.

The incendiary words in the sermon were not those of Rev. Wright - he was quoting former Ambassador Edward Peck (whom Rev. Wright misattributed as Anthony Peck) who had appeared on Fox News in an interview. Peck served as Chief of Mission in Iraq (1977 -1980) and is a career diplomat who has been critical of the U.S. policy in the Middle East.

According to Wikipedia, Ambassador Peck also served as a Foreign Service Officer in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, and as Ambassador in Mauritania. At the State Department he served as Deputy Director of Covert Intelligence Programs, Director of the Office of Egyptian Affairs and as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. He served as deputy director of the White House Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan Administration. He is president of Foreign Services International, a consulting firm that works with governments, businesses and educational institutions across the world.

Ambassador Peck was highly critical of President Bush before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 saying"when you take out Saddam Hussein, the key question you have to ask then is, what happens after that? And we don't have a clue. Nobody knows, but it's probably going to be bad." Peck has been highly critical of U.S. policy toward Israel, arguing that the U.S. should be more even handed in its Middle East policy. He argues that while Hezbollah could be considered a terrorist organization, it is no more terrorist than Israel or the U.S. itself.

Rev. Wright gave attribution to Ambassador Peck more than once in the sermon, but the media edited the video to fit the purpose. The words do more damage to Senator Obama if Ambassador Peck's name isn't mentioned.

Please watch the video and listen for Rev. Wright closely:

I have a feeling there are not many "journalists" who actually watched the entire video before condemning Rev. Wright, and in turn Barack Obama. They'd rather jump on the bandwagon and keep the news cycle turning. Unfortunately for us, they're lack of accuracy could have long-term outcomes in our election.

This isn't the first time major media has been able to move American politics by what it chooses to report. Fox News, of course, would know that Rev. Wrights comments were taken out of context if they did indeed host the interview of the ambassador as claimed. Is anybody out there willing to help me do some video research for the original Fox News clip?

No matter your political leanings or loyalties, the truth is more important than the spin. This is an opportunity for bloggers and readers to get the facts to the people. In the interest of fairness and truth, let's get to work!