Greenwald - Middle East propaganda 101

[slipslidingaway]

http://www.salon.com/2011/10/31/middle_east_propaganda_101/singleton/

photo...

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shakes hands with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa after delivering a statement, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011, at the State Department in Washington.


"When it comes to American propaganda about the Middle East, this New York Times article — detailing U.S. plans to bolster its influence in the region after it “withdraws” from Iraq — is a masterpiece. Here’s the crux of the new American strategy and its ostensible rationale:

With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. While the United States has close bilateral military relationships with each, the administration and the military are trying to foster a new “security architecture” for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.

The U.S. has Iran completely encircled. It has over 100,000 troops in the nation on Iran’s eastern border (Afghanistan, where, just incidentally, the U.S. continued through this year to turn over detainees to a prison notorious for torture) and has occupied the nation on Iran’s western border (Iraq) for eight years, and will continue to maintain a “small army” of private contractors and CIA officials after it “withdraws.” The U.S. continuously flies drone aircraft over and drops bombs on the nation on Iran’s southeastern border (Pakistan). Its NATO ally (Turkey) is situated on Iran’s northwestern border. The U.S. has troops stationed in multiple countries just a few hundred miles across the Persian Gulf from Iran, virtually all of which are client states. The U.S. has its Fifth Fleet stationed in a country less than 500 miles from Iran (Bahrain) containing “US warships and contingents of U.S. Marines.” And the U.S. routinely arms Iran’s two most virulent rivals (Israel and Saudi Arabia) with sophisticated weaponry.

But, New York Times readers were told today, the U.S. must increase its military presence still further in that region because . . . it is Iran (which has no military bases in countries bordering the U.S. or fleets stationed off its coast) that is “belligerent” and poses a “threat” (after all, they just dispatched a failed Texan used car salesman who constantly loses his own keys and can’t pay his bills to hire teams of Mexican drug cartel gunmen to attack a Saudi ambassador on American soil!).

But the best proclamation in this article comes from the Secretary of State in explaining why this increased American presence is so very needed and so very noble:

..."

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[slipslidingaway]

2. If this was Bush ...

attitudes would be So different.

:(

[Luminous Animal]

3. I just bought his new book and I am looking forward to hearing him speak in San Francisco

tomorrow evening.

[Electric Monk]

5. I just hit recommend, and it went down from 5 to 4, meaning it got 2 unrecs

during the time it took me to read the OP.

Funny, that...

[slipslidingaway]

7. Wow, I do not remember the post that was deleted ...

but if it was totally 'off the wall' I probably would not have responded.

Greenwald raises questions that some would rather not think about.

Thans for the rec.

;-)

[sabrina 1]

10. Still getting unrec'd. The truth hurts, some people. But a majority

of Americans are waking up now and those who would prefer to censor the truth are diminishing in number as more and more people are learning the facts not reported on the Corporate Media.

[slipslidingaway]

12. Yes the truth hurts, but better to wake up today ...

then, or is it than :) and wonder what the hell happened tomorrow. More and more people are seeing how opinions are shaped by the corporate media ... by both sides.

[Luminous Animal]

16. In my opinion, unreccing without comment

is a chickenshit move.

[sabrina 1]

21. Yes, what it says is that someone knows the truth is being told

and they have no argument against it, but they want to censor it so that other people will not learn the facts. I can't imagine what kind of people would want to bury the truth.

Greenwald always tells the truth, and if he ever makes an error, he corrects it which is why he is one of the most credible bloggers on the Internet.

[sabrina 1]

4. And the hypocrisy of meeting with Bahrain's Foreign Minister

while their people are being murdered by their government for asking for reforms in their country, while telling us they went to Libya for 'humanitarian' reasons, is simply stunning.

Did she say anything about the murder of his people by their government I wonder? And they wonder why the US has lost all moral authority in this world.

They are going to push this world into war because Iran is not Iraq for one thing, and if Pakistan and Iran and Afghanistan (which has already stated they will side with Pakistan in any conflict that may arise) join forces, together with all the other nations sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which way the wind blows, not to mention what China and Russia's role in all of this might be, all this is doing is inflaming a situation that was not necessary.

I guess Syria is next on their list of 'humanitarian' ventures. That would strike one more PNAC country of the list. And here we thought we voting them OUT.

[slipslidingaway]

6. Yes, Bahrain can shoot their protestors, Gates visited shortly afterwards...

we pick and choose who we will support and it has nothing to do with humanitarian reasons. Why do they hate us :(

Hopefully war can be averted, but the drums of war still beat for Iran, nothing changed very much with the last election.

PNAC or a Clean Break - we should not forget that document.


The Neo-Con plan for Syria is all in "A Clean Break"........

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1635763&mesg_id=1635763

[sabrina 1]

9. Thanks, it looks like Bush just ran out of time, although I did

read somewhere that he refused to go to war with Iran that it was Cheney who was pushing for that and Bush resisted. Wiser heads must have prevailed. But the PNAC plans are going ahead anyhow. Ledeen et al must be thrilled with the progress so far.

And Greenwald is one of the best commentators on this period of our history. His work will be a huge contribution when the history of these times is written, I hope.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out.

[slipslidingaway]

13. Yes, Greenwald's opinions do not change with the party in power ...

so his support among party loyalists wavers, he was on great on DU under Bush, not so much today.


"And Greenwald is one of the best commentators on this period of our history. His work will be a huge contribution when the history of these times is written, I hope."

I hope so as well!

[sabrina 1]

11. Thanks for that link. Just read it. And that was five years ago.

War is the only way they can think of to get what they want. I hope something puts a stop to all of this before more people die. Syria claims that there are outside forces inside Syria causing the unrest. I would not doubt it as that is what they always do.

[slipslidingaway]

14. Yes outside forces are an easy way ...

remembering the outside forces mobilized against Mosaddegh in 1953. Then again I'm sure there is a combination of internal and external forces.

You're welcome :)

A Real Clean Break in the Middle East

http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/articles/display/A_Real_Clean_Break_in_the_Middle_East

"In 1996, a group of American neoconservatives participated in a study group organized by the Israel-based Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies. The group produced a paper entitled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," which advocated an ambitious set of policies aimed at ensuring Israel's security. Although originally directed at Israel's then-incoming Likud government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, the ideas discussed in the paper parallel to a remarkable degree U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, which has resulted in disastrous consequences for American interests in and out of the region. It's time for the Bush administration to make a clean break with this flawed strategy and to implement a new policy that promotes peace and security in the Middle East.

Members of the "Clean Break" study group included Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, David Wurmser, Meyrav Wurmser, and several other like-minded ideologues, many of whom would later be given posts in the administration of President George W. Bush..."

[sabrina 1]

17. Douglas Feith, who should be in jail. As for Israel, many changes

may be on the way there also. Although our media has not covered it, Israelis are not at all happy with Netanyahu and have been demonstrating in huge numbers against his government for several months now. They are against the military spending of his government and pretty much have the same complaints people around the world have. Imagine of the Israelis managed to make peace with their neighbors, WITHOUT their government. It's possible. That government and the rest of the warmongers in our government, are the primary threats to world peace.

[slipslidingaway]

18. Yes, the corporate media controlling the news and even the internet forums in some case do not ...

want the protests covered, a gentle reminder to not look at one source for current events.

Peace would come about sooner if we did not have the divide and conquer attitude were not so powerful.

:)

[Electric Monk]

22. That last sentence sounds drunk, not that I blame you.

[slipslidingaway]

25. Sure does ...

Peace would come about sooner if we did not have the divide and conquer attitude by the powerful, and if people did not buy into it.

:)

[KoKo]

8. K&R...

[slipslidingaway]

15. Thanks :) n/t

[polly7]

19. I always wonder at the arrogance of believing Iran is without

allies. Russia and China in particular. Or do they know, but not care? They push and push ... eventually someone may push back. It's insane.

[slipslidingaway]

23. Agreed and eventually some do push back :( n/t

[eridani]

20. The ;threat that Iran poses is that--

--it is one of the largest countries in the Middle East, and it is not under the US military boot yet.

[slipslidingaway]

24. Yes, lost that years ago, people pushed back when the Shah used too much ...

money to purchase US military equipment.