SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer gestures as he speaks to reporters at the White House briefing room April 2, 2003 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Ari & I: September 19, 2002
Russell Mokhiber questions White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
Sep 19, 2002
Russell Mokhiber: Ari, you said earlier that "Democracy is God-given." Didn't Thomas Jefferson have something to do with it?
Ari Fleischer: I cited the Declaration of Independence and the author of our inalienable rights.
Mokhiber: Who is the author of our inalienable rights?
Ari Fleischer: That's what I said -- it's Jefferson.
Mokhiber: Oh, I thought you said "Democracy is God-given"?
Ari Fleischer: Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independent rights that we hold these truths, these self-evident truths that these rights were created by, given by the creator. Our Declaration of Independence says that.
Mokhiber: Second question. Has the Bush Administration estimated how many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will be killed in the event of an invasion?
Ari Fleischer: The question the President worries about -- and much of the world worries about -- is how many people will be killed if Saddam Hussein is allowed to develop nuclear weapons. And he has a history of showing that once he gets his hands on a weapon, he uses it.
Mokhiber: But has the estimate been made by the Administration of how many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will be killed if we invade?
Ari Fleischer: I'm not aware of it, I don't know, I'm not aware.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Russell Mokhiber: Ari, you said earlier that "Democracy is God-given." Didn't Thomas Jefferson have something to do with it?
Ari Fleischer: I cited the Declaration of Independence and the author of our inalienable rights.
Mokhiber: Who is the author of our inalienable rights?
Ari Fleischer: That's what I said -- it's Jefferson.
Mokhiber: Oh, I thought you said "Democracy is God-given"?
Ari Fleischer: Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independent rights that we hold these truths, these self-evident truths that these rights were created by, given by the creator. Our Declaration of Independence says that.
Mokhiber: Second question. Has the Bush Administration estimated how many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will be killed in the event of an invasion?
Ari Fleischer: The question the President worries about -- and much of the world worries about -- is how many people will be killed if Saddam Hussein is allowed to develop nuclear weapons. And he has a history of showing that once he gets his hands on a weapon, he uses it.
Mokhiber: But has the estimate been made by the Administration of how many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will be killed if we invade?
Ari Fleischer: I'm not aware of it, I don't know, I'm not aware.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Russell Mokhiber: Ari, you said earlier that "Democracy is God-given." Didn't Thomas Jefferson have something to do with it?
Ari Fleischer: I cited the Declaration of Independence and the author of our inalienable rights.
Mokhiber: Who is the author of our inalienable rights?
Ari Fleischer: That's what I said -- it's Jefferson.
Mokhiber: Oh, I thought you said "Democracy is God-given"?
Ari Fleischer: Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independent rights that we hold these truths, these self-evident truths that these rights were created by, given by the creator. Our Declaration of Independence says that.
Mokhiber: Second question. Has the Bush Administration estimated how many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will be killed in the event of an invasion?
Ari Fleischer: The question the President worries about -- and much of the world worries about -- is how many people will be killed if Saddam Hussein is allowed to develop nuclear weapons. And he has a history of showing that once he gets his hands on a weapon, he uses it.
Mokhiber: But has the estimate been made by the Administration of how many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will be killed if we invade?
Ari Fleischer: I'm not aware of it, I don't know, I'm not aware.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.