Fox Flu Story Denied by White House

While so many Americans are wondering when -- or whether -- they'll receive scarce flu vaccine, Fox News this week inflamed passions with claims the Obama administration planned to vaccinate Guantánamo detainees.  The White House denied that, but Fox is sticking to its story.  Whom do you believe and why?

AP and CBS were among those reporting by Monday that "terrorism suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will soon get swine flu vaccines, despite complaints that American civilians should have priority, a military spokesman said Sunday."

Critical of the reported decision of the administration to use scarce vaccine on detainees, Fox News launched a series of reports including one headlined "Pentagon: Gitmo Detainees to Receive H1N1 Vaccine, Despite White House Claim."

When White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied the Fox report, that network responded by publishing Mr. Gibbs' denial in a report headlined "White House Responds to Report Terror Suspects Get Priority Treatment for H1N1 Virus."

Fox included a video clip and transcript, which reads:

  WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS: There is no vaccine in Guantanamo, and there's no vaccine on the way to Guantanamo.

  QUESTION: So the Pentagon was wrong when they confirmed that on Friday?

  GIBBS: I — I don't know what the Pentagon said. I — I know, in asking yesterday, whether or not there was any vaccine there or whether there was any vaccine that was on its way, the answer to both those questions was — was no.

  QUESTION: Is that because of the White House stopped it or...

  GIBBS: No, that was because there wasn't any there, and there wasn't any on the way.

What do _you_ think is happening and why?  Whom do you believe?

[Views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of CompuServe, Netscape, any government, agency, or news organization.]

Now it's Fox News versus the White House on a question of truth and credibility:

In your opinion, who's telling the truth: Fox or the White House?

Right wingers & Republicans always claim that the liberal media manipulates voters to vote against them, yet here is FOX, caught in the act, reporting a story that is not true.

Who do I believe? Not Fox.

Thanks, Ed! :)

But what will be the "proof" by means of which Americans can judge who's telling the truth in this case?

Very best wishes,

      -  John

I agree Ed. I agree that FOX is probably using this to manipulate voters today. I don't claim to know the validity of their story, for all I know it could be true, but I know enough about the track record of FOX news to be near certain that they timed this to coincide with the voting.

About the vaccine, I had not heard Gibbs speak, if he claims it is not true, then I am inclined to believe him over FOX and will wait for the truth to come out before I firm up my opinion.

BUT... If it's true, is there a reason that it should not be allowed? We have people locked up who may or may not be terrorists. The key part of that is naturally the "or MAY NOT" part. I don't see where we can morally refuse vaccine to people who we could possibly have locked up illegally, and who have done nothing. I'm sure I'll hear all the other views on this as soon as I send it to post, where it's perfectly moral to kill a few innocent people in the process, and I won't be agreeing, so in the words of GWB... Bring it on!

<<CNN was among those to broadcast the _correct_ information this morning, straight from the mouth of White House spokesman Gibbs.>>

<<What do _you_ think happened?>>

But just what is the correct information?

Until this morning all of the major news outlets including CNN had stories about the Pentagon saying that detainees at GITMO would be getting the H1N1 vacine.

Fox News only reported on what they were  told by a Pentagon spokesman, which should be easy to verify,  AFTER Gibbs made his remarks. At least they didn't say they got the information thru an anonymous source.

[Guantanamo Bay detainees will be receiving the H1N1 vaccine, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday, even though White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said minutes earlier that the vaccine is not "on the way." 

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Gibbs was correct in saying the vaccine is not currently on its way, but clarified that it will be at the naval base on Cuba by the end of November. 

"The department has an obligation to care for persons in its custody and we take that seriously," Whitman told Fox News. "There is a limited supply of this vaccine so we have prioritized our population." 

Whitman said the vaccine would go first to deployed forces, then active duty, then health care workers, then detainees and then non-American contractors working for the Department of Defense.] 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/03/pentagon-gitmo-detainees-receive-hn-vaccine-despite-white-house-claim/

As to who is "lying". Surely not Gibbs, the White House or Fox !! So it must be the Pentagon.

Lulu

 "Anti-Choice = Pro female slavery"

About the vaccine, I had not heard Gibbs speak, if he claims it is not true, then I am inclined to believe him over FOX....

But do we know about what precisely we're being asked to believe Mr. Gibbs?

Here's Fox's transcript: 

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS: There is no vaccine in Guantanamo, and there's no vaccine on the way to Guantanamo.

  QUESTION: So the Pentagon was wrong when they confirmed that on Friday?

  GIBBS: I — I don't know what the Pentagon said. I — I know, in asking yesterday, whether or not there was any vaccine there or whether there was any vaccine that was on its way, the answer to both those questions was — was no.

  QUESTION: Is that because of the White House stopped it or...

  GIBBS: No, that was because there wasn't any there, and there wasn't any on the way.

Thoughts, anyone?

Very best wishes,

       -  John