Real Time with Bill Maher, Blackwater, Petraeus and Scheuer discussed

By Stone Martindale Sep 22, 2007, 21:33 GMT

Bill Maher - © Lee Roth / RothStock / PR Photos

HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" featured singer Rob Thomas, novelist Sir Salman Rushdie, and comedian Janeane Garofalo. Plus, via satellite, terrorism expert Michael Scheuer and environmentalist/author Bjorn Lomborg.  

Maher weighed in on the President's reaction to the MoveOn ad "Did General Petraeusor General Betray Us?" ad. 

Janeane

Comedienne Janeane Garofalo, musician Rob Thomas and author Salman Rushdie shared their opinions.

"The Republicans, in order to not talk about the war--any excuse to not discuss the actual war," said Rushdie, "means that you attack people who talk about the war in ways they don't like."

Rob

"So you talk about 'talking about the war,' instead of talking about the war."

"General Petraeus," said Garofalo, "has been dishonest; that is sort of the role of a soldier like that. Just like General Westmoreland and the 5:00 reports of Vietnam -- of course they are dishonest."

Garofalo blamed mainstream media as "complicit" in pretending that MoveOn.org is the problem by "allowing the nonsense to continue" instead of analyzing the real news.

Sir Salman

"I don't know why there aren't more brave Democrats who will come out and say 'Yeah, [Petraeus] is [betraying us]," said Garofalo.

"A politician in a military outfit," piped up Thomas, of Petaeus

Janeane Garofalo also made the comment that if "Colin Powell had found his integrity, he could have changed the course of history."

Maher was angry about the "after the fact" comments made by Alan Greenspan's indictment of the Republican Party for "abandoning their principles."

"Wouldn't that have been a good thing for him to say while he was the Fed Chairman, perhaps?"

Thomas noted it was career protection that held tongues. "They don't speak out when it can affect their career."

"It's extremely cowardly," said Garofalo. "Colin Powell knew he was lying in that 'war of the worlds' scenario in front of the United Nations."

"There is no glory," continues Garofalo. "In fact, it's worse afterwards to say 'You know, I knew this was wrong' -- or 'I knew this was a lie.' And, if Colin Powell had found his integrity on that day he addressed the United Nations, he could have changed the entire history of most of the world, on that day."

"He probably would have been taken out by a sniper, I'm sure."

Maher then recalled the past  Rolling Stone interview where President Bill Clinton said that marijuana should be decriminalized.

"Gee, it's too bad you weren't in a position of power for the last eight years to make that point," Maher stated.

The most telling part of the evening was the interesting discussion of the "Blackwater" corporate pillaging going on in Iraq at the taxpayer's expense, and the shocking satellite interview with terrorism expert Michael Scheuer.

Scheuer floored Maher with the suggestion that the US stop supporting Israel and leave the area.  Maher had declared himself a Zionist.

Maher was then shocked to find out his attending guests agreed on many levels with Scheuer.  Garofalo supported the Scheuer statement that Israel was not worth an American life or an American dollar. 

WATCH-VIDEO

"I'm most interested in the survival of the United States, sir," said a curt Scheuer to an incredulous Maher.