Michael Ware

Journalist

Feb 2007

TSR: "This meeting is really only a pre-meeting meeting."



Michael talks to John King about an upcoming meeting (or pre-meeting) where the US will sit down with representatives of Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

Length: 4:24

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NR: Conflicting reports about the Ramadi bombing




A brief update on the Ramadi bombing, which now appears to have been a very different situation from that described by the Iraqi Minister of Interior.

Length: 1:20

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YWT: Reports of 18 children killed in bombing



Michael talks to Hala Gorlani about a report that 18 boys were killed by a suicide bomber in Ramadi while playing soccer.

Length: 2:51

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AAM: "America is wrapping itself up in word games..."



Miles O'Brien talks to Michael about the latest show & tell of seized munitions, and whether the message of Iran's involvement is a casualty of the pre-Iraq-invasion intelligence manipulations.

Length: 3:28

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LDT: More on Talabani and Abdul Mahdi



Michael recaps the health scare of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the assassination attempt against VP Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Length: 2:09

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TSR: "You'll never see their fingerprints on anything."



Wolf plays a clip from his interview yesterday with the Iraqi NSA. Michael points put that the guy did a "I don't beat my wife anymore" while explaining that Iran has stopped supplying the EFPs.

Length: 3:52

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YWT: Iraqi President health scare; VP target of bomb



Michael speaks to Jim Clancy about the hospitalization of President Talabani, and the bombing that targeted the Shiite VP.

Length: 4:18

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AC: "These people don't have to die to spread the fear."



Anderson talks to Michael about the chlorine gas and asks why there seems to be a sudden "surge" of its use by the insurgents.

Length: 3:18

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LDT: "...the use of chlorine as a weapon is extremely difficult."



A brief pre-recorded clip regarding the chlorine gas.

Length: 2:19

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TSR: "That’s the real power."



Michael speaks to Wolf about the use of chlorine gas and points out that it is a far greater weapon of terror than it is an actual killing agent.

Length: 4:18

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AC: Chlorine gas and a grim anniversary



On the one-year anniversary of the bombing of the Golden Dome mosque in Samarra, we get two reports from Michael during AC360.
 
In the first hour, Michael talks to former-FNC'er Kiran Chetry about the addition of tanks of chlorine to the suicide car/truck bombs in order to release poisonous gas.
 
In the second hour, John King intros possibly the most honest look we've seen at the daily reality of life in Baghdad -- the executions, the horrors of bound and tortured bodies discovered every morning, the unbelievable grief and hate and fear. The piece comes with a graphic-content warning.
 
(In the prepared piece as well as John King's interview with him afterwards, Michael discusses the plan Zarqawi laid out in the infamous letter to Osama bin Laden in 2003. If you care to read that letter, it can be found
here.)

Length: 4:06 / 7:00

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AC: More on the "dazzling success."



John King talks to Michael about the events in Baghdad (you know, that "dazzling success")

Length: 5:16 / 4:18

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TSR: "This is Maliki's last roll of the dice."



Wolf asks Michael's opinion of PM Maliki's statement that the surge has been a "dazzling success."

Length: 3:20

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LDW: "The fundamental flaw...is reliance on the Iraqi Security Forces."



On the Sunday edition of Lou Dobbs This Week, Lou interviews Michael and Gen. David Grange on the current status of the surge.

Length: 7:50

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TWAW: Operation Law and Order



John Roberts' panel discussion for the This Week in Iraq segment includes Michael, Jamie McIntyre, and Time magazine's Romesh Ratnesar.

Length: 6:52

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AC: Who and what is the Quds Force?



Michael does a prepared piece on what exactly the Quds Force is -- imagine taking our most elite, highly-trained special ops teams and adding religious zealotry. Scary stuff.

Length: 5:45

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TSR: Was al-Masri wounded? And who's in control?



Two clips: the first is breaking news coverage of an announcement by the Iraqi government that they have wounded the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq during a gun battle; the second is in regards to who has more sway in Iraq right now. (Love the "gnarly," dude!)

Length: 2:42 / 3:10

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AAM: Did he stay or did he go?



Miles O'Brien is still trying to make sense of the Muqtada al-Sadr Iraq/Iran whereabouts story.

Length: 3:03

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AC: What happened in that briefing?



John Roberts speaks with Michael, Jamie McIntyre, and Ed Henry as they try to put together a timeline as to what happened with the Baghdad briefing that DC is now trying to dial back.

Length: 10:24

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TSR: "Certainly none of them are short of weapons."



Michael talks to Wolf about the outside influences at play in Iraq.

Length: 5:00

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NR: Presidential news conference




Michael joins the commentary team for the President's press conference. Three clips, one before and one after the address, then a third clip that is a prerecorded piece regarding the whereabouts of Muqtada al-Sadr.

Length: 4:08 / 3:38 / 1:48

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AC: "It would amount to diddley squat."



John Roberts interviews Michael three times over the course of the show. The first one focuses on whether Muqtada al-Sadr is really in Iran and if so, why. The second one is whether -- if he is gone -- it will damage the Mahdi Army at all. The third also brings in David Gergen to discuss why this is all such a big story from the US all of a sudden.

Length: 4:20 / 4:31 / 5:49

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TSR: "There's a lot of disconnects there."



Michael gets dragged out of bed at 3 a.m. to respond to a breaking news story that Muqtada al-Sadr is currently in Iran. The US government paints it as his having fled there in fear for his safety; however, there is no proof that he is there and certainly none that we have him on the run.

Length: 6:55

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AC: "You can restrict the flow, but you shall not stop it."



John Roberts talks to both Michael and Christiane Amanpour (in London) about the Iraq/Iran connections.

Length: 4:34

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LDT: More on the briefing



Mostly the prepared piece on the briefing, with a short tag at the end.

Length: 3:31

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TSR: "I know that this is not going to happen."



Michael talks to Wolf about the briefing and the reasons behind it, and weighs in with his opinion as to the likelihood of Bush invading Iran. (I've been wondering where the heck we'd get the troops, too. Unless Darth Cheney really does have that clone army...) And Jack Cafferty has another rave review.

Length: 3:29

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NR: "This evidence has definitely been out there."



Michael discusses the briefing with Kyra Phillips.

Length: 3:19

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YWT: "...a very sophisticated proxy war..."



Michael recaps the briefing again and Hala Gorani asks about the timing of the event.

Length: 2:42

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AAM: "...this cannot happen without official sanction."



Three clips summarizing yesterday's briefing regarding the possible Iranian suppling of weapons and training to Iraqi Shiite groups.

Length: 3:14 / 3:22 / 3:16

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NR: "...the supreme leader guiding the attacks against Americans."



A recorded recap of Michael's report about the military briefing regarding Iran's involvement in Iraq.

Length: 3:10

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LE: "Sniper rifles and mortars are not for protection."



Michael talks to Wolf about this morning's briefing regarding Iran supplying munitions and training to Iraqi militias.

Length: 3:37 / 3:53

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SUN: "There is no smoking gun."



Mick is just back from a Green Zone briefing by US military/intelligence reps in which proof of Iran's involvement within Iraq was laid out. Munitions that have been identified as having been manufactured within Iran (and Mick showed us those last year) and tactics that have been used by the Iranian Quds Force were the two main pieces of proof.
 
(I don't think anyone is surprised by these allegations, but let's face it... it will be a long, long time before anyone accepts US "proof" about anything again. And from this administration? They wouldn't be believed if they claimed the sky was blue.)

Length: 3:44

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AC: "Yes, this is a big deal...for many, many reasons."



Anderson (in New Orleans) speaks to Michael about today's arrest and what Muqtada al-Sadr may do about it.

Length: 2:59

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TSR: "This caused an enormous flap in parliament."



Michael talks with Wolf about today's arrest by American forces of the Deputy Health Minister, who has close ties to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi militia.

Length: 3:52

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AC: "...it can easily get worse before it gets better."



Anderson speaks with both Michael and Retired General David Grange about the possibility of all the recently downed choppers being the result of a new tactic being used against American forces.

Length: 6:10

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TSR: "...though it certainly raises questions."



Michael discusses the recent downing of several US helicopters and whether this is a new plan by the insurgents. (Although CNN reported just days after the surge was announced that the insurgents said they were going to start targeting aircraft.)

Length: 4:43

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LDT: "Little is known. Accusations are flying."



Michael recaps the parliament story for Lou, and adds some new info regarding a missing Iranian diplomat.

Length: 2:49

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TSR: "...frightfully embarrassing."



Wolf asks Michael about the big story of the day. The second clip aired in the third hour of TSR; although the audio is the same, there are some different visuals.

Length: 3:28 / 3:28

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NR: Another recap



A brief recap of the parliament story.

Length: 1:29

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AAM: More on the Terrorist Parliamentarian




Michael recaps the story he broke about the convicted terrorist elected to the Iraqi parliament.

Length: 2:57 / 1:26

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AC: The elected terrorist



Michael breaks the story of an Iraqi parliamentarian who is a convicted terrorist, mastermind of the bombing of the US embassy on Kuwait in 1983.
 

(Both clips have the same audio, but some video changes are made for the second one.)


Length: 5:05 / 5:16

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LDT: "...five million people craving security..."



More on the start of the surge, as well as the truck bomb at the market.

Length: 2:58

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TSR: "...they ultimately blame America for these deaths."



In the aftermath of a truck bomb that killed more than 125 Iraqis and injured more than 300, Michael speaks with Wolf about Shia claims that the surge of American troops has made such attacks possible.

Length: 2:38

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YWT: "So, expectations, honestly, are low."



Michael reports on how expectations of the "surge" are playing in the streets of Baghdad.

Length: 2:18

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TSR: "...no real shock value"



Michael does a phone interview to give comments about the NIE that was released today. (If you haven't read it, you can download it at dni.gov. It is 9 pages long, but only the last 3 1/2 pages are the actual report.)

Length: 2:58

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AC: "Iran remains a partner."



Anderson speaks with Michael (in Baghdad) and Christiane Amanpour (in Tehran) about the Iranian presence in Iraq.
 
The second hour was a repeat of
Iraq: The Hidden Wars, but other than some new intros from Anderson, it was the same as the Tuesday broadcast.

Length: 6:01

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TSR: More on Najaf



Michael talks to Wolf about the Najaf battle. (Just what this bloody wars-within-a-war mess needs: David Koresh wannabes...)

Length: 3:38

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YWT: Questions about the Najaf raid



Michael reports about growing questions concerning last weekend's battle in Najaf. Messianic cult? Sectarian slaughter? The reports have sounded questionable right from the start, but it seems like it will be awhile before this gets sorted out.

Length: 3:57

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