April 2008

AC: "So it's one kind of hell or another. So the real question is what kind of hell is it that the American public wishes to choose."



The longest section of the interview we've seen so far (although still far from the "full" interview we were promised all day) has General Petraeus discussing timetables, militias, and sectarian violence. Michael then discusses the shift in the Democrat's view on ending the war and what the consequences of withdrawing too precipitously would be.

Length: 9:53

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EC: "You think gas is expensive now? Wait until a proxy war."



Michael talks to Campbell Brown about the fact that the war isn't going to be able to be wrapped up any time soon... and what might ensue after American troops leave.

Length: 4:31

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TSR: "This is your ally."



Michael is in The Sit Room and talks to Wolf about the Iranian "agents of influence" in the Iraqi government.

Length: 3:58

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NR: "I know General Petraeus wishes he had a happier story to tell the American people, but, unfortunately, he doesn't."



Michael asks General Petraeus about Iranian "agents of influence" within the Iraqi government.

Length: 5:58

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NR: "...the conflict still has a long way to go."



Michael intros a clip from his interview with General Petraeus, concerning Iranian influence in Iraq.

Length: 5:25

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CNN/I: YWT: "There's no miracle cure...in the near future."



Hala Gorani talks to Michael about his interview with General Petraeus.

Length: 5:26

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NR: "The war is far from over, isn't it?"



Brianna Keiler shows a clip from Michael's interview with General David Petraeus, which was being conducted at the time.

Length: 3:25

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AC: "There appears to be a growing realization at last among Democrats that this war is not finishing."



Michael has a new VO for the section of "Inside the Surge" that detailed the deal made with insurgents (and the death of Abu Fahad) and then talks a bit about the hearings.

Length: 7:24

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EC: "A much more nuanced view of the Democrats' view of a withdrawal from Iraq."



Campbell Brown talks with both Michael and Candy Crowley about the politics of the hearings. Michael also shows part of an interview he did last week with Senator John Kerry (and despite what Campbell says, it was conducted last Wednesday).

Length: 5:41 / 3:45

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TSR: "You hear people talking about America's strategy to curb Iran inside Iraq. It's a fallacy."



Michael visits The Situation Room and talks to Wolf about the realities of Iranian influence in Iraq.

Length: 3:36

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AC: "Some people are living this thing. It is not a campaign event."



Campbell Brown speaks with Michael, Nic Robertson, Candy Crowley, and David Gergen to get perspectives on the testimony today.

Length: 6:13 / 7:23

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EC: "They painted a good sense of what's been happening."



Campbell Brown speaks with Michael and Nic Robertson about today's testimony. "Reality check" is certainly needed in DC...!

Length: 5:09

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CNN/I: "To be honest, I wasn't impressed with any of the three."



In the hour after TSR, Michael spoke with Hugh Riminton rather than Lou Dobbs (smart man!) about the testimony and the "political theater" we were treated to yesterday. This includes his first direct comments about the presidential candidates, by the way. (Hint: check the title quote.)

Length: 3:49

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TSR: "What struck me...is the lack of probing in the questions."



Wolf talks to Candy Crowley and Michael for reactions to today's testimony. (Yes, after a few hours on Capitol Hill, I imagine heading back to Baghdad would definitely seem preferable...)

Length: 2:51

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TSR: "I just see a lot of oxygen being wasted here."



Michael is on Capitol Hill, covering the Petraeus/Crocker testimony and also gives an outsider's view on the process that allows something this vital to be turned into a campaign moment. In the second clip, Wolf asks him what questions he wished had been asked... now how can we get Michael up on the House committee dais tomorrow?

Length: 5:05 / 3:00

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Iraq: Inside the Surge



Michael's second special for CNN/International explains the surge and how the different aspects of it have lowered the levels of violence, and the costs (both military and social) of how we achieved them.

Length: 8:42 / 11:18 / 4:50

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EC: "...America's competion with Iran, which in many ways America is losing."



Campbell Brown speaks with Michael (in the NY studio), Candy Crowley (in DC), and Nic Robertson (in Baghdad) and previews tomorrow's testimony from General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Length: 8:24

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TSR: "Nuri al Maliki has little but words and some influence. Real power rests elsewhere."



Wolf shows Nic Robertson's piece from an embed with American and Iraqi troops, and then talks to Michael for a reality check: who owns the streets of Baghdad, Nuri al Maliki or Muqtada al Sadr?

Length: 6:33

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TSR: "...one must bear in mind campaigning versus actually running a war."



Suzanne Malveaux talks to Michael about the surge, the realities on the ground, and what may be mentioned next week during the hearings.

(Big thanks to BA over at ATA for pulling this clip for me!)

Length: 3:46

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Middle East Institute: "The Situation on the Ground in Iraq"

On April 3, Michael spoke at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC.

Michael spoke for over an hour on the challenges in Iraq. MEI posted a podcast of the event, which is archived below along with some photographs and brief videos that I shot.

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

Center for American Progress: "A View From the Ground in Iraq"

On April 2, Michael was one of two speakers at an event put on by the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC.

Michael, who was joined by freelance writer
Nir Rosen, gave a perspective of the war as seen by someone who has been living it at street-level for the past five years. The event was posted online by CAP, and that video is archived below, along with a couple of photographs I took and excerpts from an interview he did while at CAP with Think Progress.

Watch the clip, read the transcript...