by Brent Baker
Tom Brokaw asserted on last Thursday's Late Show that everyone shares the blame for failing to foresee the terrorist attack — the press, the Clinton administration, Republicans in Congress, think tanks and a public “living through dot-com fever” which was “more worried about P. Diddy and J. Lo” than a terrorist attack.
Brokaw also affirmed to David Letterman that a military response is required. After listing what harm the terrorists have inflicted, he declared: “I think that there is only one answer to that and that is some form of real retribution and justice — and you do that militarily.”
During his appearance on the November 1 show, Letterman asked the NBC Nightly News anchor why there wasn't a greater U.S. response after the attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa. Brokaw contended:
I think there was a failure on the part of everyone, including the press. I think it was a failure on the part Clinton administration, first of all, but I also believe that the Republicans in Congress didn't raise their hands and say 'wait a minute, what are we doing about this?' The think tanks in Washington, a number of them have said terrorism is a big problem, but they didn't make it their number one issue in many instances. We would broadcast or publish reports of terrorist incidents and we would also talk about there would be a congressional hearing about it, but the country was living through dot-com fever and good times and Page Six and more worried about P. Diddy and J. Lo than they were about a terrorist attack.
Later, after Brokaw warned that the U.S. military response could generate another generation of terrorists, Letterman wondered if there is a “better way” to respond “other than militarily.” Brokaw dismissed any alternative:
No, I think you had to do it militarily. They came to this country and killed 5,000 people and attacked the two greatest symbols of capitalism that we have in New York City, wounded the soul of New York and then went after the Pentagon and hit one of the great institutions in American life, threw us into a great psychological shock in America, disrupted our economy, caused the country to live in fear. And I think that there is only one answer to that and that is some form of real retribution and justice — and you do that militarily.
That answer earned Brokaw loud and lengthy applause from the Ed Sullivan Theater audience.
(This update courtesy of the Media Research Center.)