Oliver Stone Wants to Put Hitler, Stalin in ‘Context’ [incl. Rashid Khalidi]

This is a rush transcript from “Glenn Beck,” July 27, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GLENN BECK, HOST: All right. Here’s a really tough task. Oliver Stone is trying to put Adolf Hitler into context. Yes, that we can all agree that too many have focused on Hitler’s fascist, dictating, genocidal years and we haven’t devoted enough time studying the softer side, maybe his painting.

How exactly do you — I’m sorry, we missed something on Hitler? Well, I guess you can put it in context as long as you understand what Stone does. He says, quote, “Hitler was a Frankenstein, but there was also a Dr. Frankenstein. German industrialists,” i.e. capitalists, “Americans and the British,” the imperialists, “He had a lot of support,” end quote.

Isn’t it fascinating that Oliver Stone is continually searching for the best in communist or fascist dictators like Hitler, Fidel Castro and Stalin? And of course, he’s an avid admirer and the apologist for Hugo Chavez –- In fact, he just made a movie about Hugo Chavez.

But there doesn’t seem to be any kind of attempt for what he terms “the imperialist United States.” I have heard that word. That is what the Weather Underground manifesto calls us.

Anyway, affording no context nor perspective to American presidents or America, he said this to the Sunday Times, quote, “Hitler did far more damage to the Russians than the Jewish people. Twenty-five million or 30 million were killed.”

The Sunday Times interviewer then asked why there was such a focus on the holocaust. Strange question to ask. And the even stranger answer followed, quote, “The Jewish dominated media. There is a major lobby in the United States and they’re hard workers. They stay on top every comment, the most powerful lobby in Washington. Israel has f****d up United States’ foreign policy for years,” end quote.

The director of a documentary that’s coming out soon. Yes, Oliver Stone has got one coming out. It’s going to be on Showtime called “The Secret History of America.” Yes, it’s history of America. And I’m the one doing damage.

Anyway, he makes statements like these and I can’t wait to see it, and I commend Showtime for carrying that. I think that’s great.

He says, quote, “Stalin has a complete other story, not to paint him as a hero, of course, but to tell a more factual representation. He fought the German war machine more than any single person. We can’t judge people as only bad or good.”

No. Oliver, that’s crazy. You are so right. A man who killed 20 million to 40 million people — how could we possibly judge that human being as bad? Was he a painter, too? More in this story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Now, we have been talking about Oliver Stone’s comments blasting Jews and defending Hitler. That’s a new one. But it’s not for him. It’s not the first time he has taken the side of dictators.

Here’s what he had to say about Hitler back in January, “Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and has been used cheaply. He is the product of a series of actions. It’s cause and effect.”

Really? The director who also recently met with Iranian president Ahmadinejad slams U.S. policy towards Iran as “horrible.” He said about Iran and Ahmadinejad, “Iran isn’t necessarily the good guy but we don’t know the full story.”

Only Oliver Stone apparently knows the full story on the Holocaust, on Venezuela, on Iran, Fidel Castro, now, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. Oh, man. I can’t wait to hear it, Ollie.

Stone has since released an apology for his comments on the Holocaust — the rest of the stuff, no. The Holocaust, yes. That’s great. I don’t need to forgive you, Oliver. You don’t need my forgiveness.

But I think I also know you and people like you, people like Oliver Stone. There’s Sean Penn, Danny Glover, others that are slowly but surely revealing themselves for who and what they really are because they’re arrogant. They think they are in the mainstream now.

Unfortunately, this anti-Jewish, anti-Israel sentiment isn’t limited strictly to Hollywood now. I don’t know if Barack Obama knows or has any association with this particular anti-Semite, Oliver Stone.

But he does know and has had association with Rashid Khalidi, not just an anti-Semite, anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, but believed to have been part of the PLO when it was considered a terrorist organization.

He is developing a new Gaza flotilla, you know, that he can put out there. In fact, he’s calling it the “audacity of hope.” He is also a respected professor. When Barack Obama was asked about his relationship with Khalidi during the campaign, he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You mentioned Rashid Khalidi, who is a professor at Columbia. I do know him because he taught at the University of Chicago. And he is Palestinian. And I do know him. And I have had conversations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Conversations — he talks about being at the dinner table with him. Look, is there anybody on the left that is a big supporter of Israel and the Jews? Where are they?

That brings us, again, to the people that we have been talking about on the program, people like Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken to him since he was been in the White House?

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FORMER PASTOR: Them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me. I told my baby daughter that he’ll talk to me in five years when he’s a lame duck, or in eight years when he’s out of office.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BECK: OK, let’s be clear here: The vast majority of Americans support and defend Israel. They may not excuse Israel for everything or agree with Israel with everything.

But when it comes to Jews, don’t we, as human beings, have — oh, I don’t know — kind of a human connection to each other and a responsibility to never, ever, forget what happened?

I’ve been to Yad Vashem. It is a powerful, powerful place. If you truly want to remember and honor the dead, I believe you must not ever, ever excuse the actions of those who murdered six million Jews, period.

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