GALVESTON — Retired U.S. Marine Col. Oliver North offered what he called an alternative perspective on the war in Iraq to more than 400 people gathered Saturday night for a Republican Party fund-raiser.
“Even the so-called mainstream media has to acknowledge there is a march to freedom in the Arab world,” North said.
Still, he said, both print and broadcast journalists largely ignore the positive developments in Iraq and Afghanistan, concentrating instead on acts of terrorism.
“How many schools have been rebuilt?” he asked. “How many homes now have electricity that never had it before? You can’t tell me because the so-called mainstream media isn’t covering that story.”
North, a Fox News commentator and syndicated columnist, said he would soon make his sixth trip to Iraq.
“I don’t want to give an exact date,” he said. “I don’t need a welcoming committee.”
Aside from Fox News, he said, not many journalists are getting out into the countryside to report what’s really going on.
“There are a lot of reporters sitting around inside the Green Zone,” he said, referring to a heavily guarded area of closed-off streets where U.S. occupation forces live and work, “but when was the last time you saw a report from anywhere outside Baghdad?”
North said he would not label as insurgents the groups involved in the Iraq resistance.
“There’s no political platform for any of those groups out there,” he said. “What they’re saying is that they want the Americans out.”
North answered a brief series of questions from reporters at Saturday’s event before being escorted off to shake hands with guests who had paid $250 for an invitation to an exclusive reception in a room adjoining the main banquet hall in the Galveston Island Convention Center. Those who opted just for dinner paid $110 a head, but organizers were hustling right up to the time of the dinner to find seats for everyone who wanted to get in.
North will make another appearance this morning at Abundant Life Christian Center in La Marque. Chris Stevens, chairman of the county Republican Party and a member of the church, said the church had helped to pay for North’s appearance.
The Web site for a speakers’ bureau lists North’s fee as $30,000, but Stevens indicated the local groups had not paid that much. He declined to specify an amount, but he did say that Saturday night’s event had raised more than $20,000, the bulk of which will go to the local party. Some of the proceeds of the dinner were set to go to Freedom Alliance, an organization North founded to provide scholarships for the children of service members killed in action.
North said he didn’t make many such appearances.
“I enjoy them,” he said. “I like politics. But I spend very little time doing these sorts of things. I spend a lot of time traveling, accumulating a lot of frequent flier miles, but most of it is for Fox News.”
North, a combat-decorated Marine, became a household name during the Iran Contra scandal in the Reagan administration. He testified before Congress regarding his involvement in negotiating arms for hostages deal with the Iranians.
He is the author of five books, all of which have made the New York Times best seller list. The books were available for sale at Saturday’s dinner, and many of the guests carried copies in hopes of obtaining an autograph.
North was born in San Antonio, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and spent 22 years in the Marine Corps. His awards for service in combat include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
