A Corporate Media Missile Misfire

It looks like our dear cousins working for the news organizations with initials for names are coming up with interesting new ways to prop up George W. Milhous Bush.

The AP reports the following here…

BUCHAREST, Romania - President Bush won NATO's endorsement Thursday for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. The proposal also advanced with Czech officials announcing an agreement to install a missile tracking site for the system in their country.

My goodness, could it be that Captain Clueless actually has a reason for that timelessly ridiculous smirk of his?

Well, maybe…

At a news conference in Bucharest on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwartzenberg announced that negotiations with the Americans have been successfully completed and that a deal would be signed in early May. No U.S. official was in attendance, but the Czechs distributed a joint U.S.-Czech statement that said, "This agreement is an important step in our efforts to protect our nations and our NATO allies from the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction."

The Poles have yet to agree to the plan.

But then again, maybe not; apparently, based on this report, the only NATO country that has agreed to the plan is Czechoslovakia – also, how weird is it that “no U.S. official was in attendance” for the announcement?

Well then, the Czech signoff would be a big deal. I say “would be” because, as it turns out, the Czech-U.S. missile defense negotiations were regarded as “complete” over two months ago.

So exactly what is the grand, glorious news for Dubya, then? That he’s taking a bow on April 2nd for negotiations completed on January 31st?

Yeah, I guess that would be it, then, wouldn’t it?

I’ll tell you what – if you want to read an account of this story that gives you an idea of how it’s playing “across the pond,” here’s the link to the Times of London. Aside from proclaiming our ol’ buddy Vlad Putin as the winner over the issue of accepting Georgia and the Ukraine into the U.N. "the bosom of the NATO alliance" (stupidly forced by Dubya in typical fashion), here is what it has to say about Dubya’s wonderful missile “victory”…

President Putin is in Bucharest and is due to speak at a meeting of the Nato/Russia Council tomorrow. He is also being joined by President Bush at the Black Sea port of Sochi on Saturday when the issue of Ukraine and Georgia, as well as America's missile defence plans in Europe, will top the agenda.

…

The (NATO) communique (about Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro joining the alliance) also contains a strong statement about the threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and the need to include the whole of Europe under the umbrella of America's missile defence system.

That’s it. No mention of an “endorsement” for Dubya on missile defense; if anything, it sounds like negotiations for such an “endorsement” from NATO are still very much in progress.

I guess this type of reporting on this matter (once dubbed “Star Wars” under The Sainted Ronnie R) is appropriate. Make-believe reporting fits in a way when the subject is a make-believe (and ridiculously costly) means of protection from our deadliest threats.

Update 1: I know there are times when I'm not "the sharpest knife in the drawer," but I'm reading the Times account here, and I have the same reaction as I do to the AP version.

Update 2: Glad to see the meeting is going so well (what an embarrassment that this yutz actually represents this country - h/t Atrios...and now as always, take a bow, you '04 "values voters" who reinstalled this nematode for four more years).