Published time: October 11, 2013 02:42
AFP Photo / Kevin C. Cox
Nearly two dozen of the commentators who appeared on major media outlets to discuss a possible US military strike on Syria had relationships with contractors and other organizations with a vested interest in the conflict, according to a new report.
The Public Accountability Initiative, a non-profit research group
dedicated to “investigating power and corruption at the
heights of business and government,” determined that 22 of
the pundits who spoke to the media during the public debate over
whether the US should bomb Syria appeared to have conflicts of
interest. Seven think tanks with murky affiliations were also
involved in the debate.
Some analysts held board positions or held stock in companies
that produce weapons for the US military, while others conducted
work for private firms with the relationships not disclosed to
the public.
Perhaps the most notable example is that of Stephen Hadley, a
former national security advisor to President George Bush who
argued in favor of striking Syria in appearances on CNN, MSNBC,
Fox News and Bloomberg TV. He also wrote an editorial in The
Washington Post with the headline, “To stop Iran, Obama must
enforce red lines with Assad.”
Nowhere in those appearances was it disclosed, according to the
report, that Hadley is a director with Raytheon, a weapons
manufacturer that produces the Tomahawk cruise missiles the US
almost certainly would have used had it intervened in Syria.
Hadley earns an annual salary of $128,5000 from Raytheon and owns
11,477 shares of Raytheon stock. His holdings were worth $891,189
as of August 23.
“We found lots of industry ties. Some of them are stronger
than others. Some really rise to the level of clear conflicts of
interest,” Kevin Connor, co-author of the report, told The
Washington Post. “These networks and these commentators should
err on the side of disclosure.”
The report found that, out of 37 appearances of the pundits
named, CNN attempted to disclose that individual’s ties a mere
seven times. In 23 appearances on Fox News there was not a single
attempt to disclose industry ties. And in 16 appearances on NBC
or its umbrella networks, attempts at disclosure were made five
times.
Retired General Anthony Zinni, former Commander-in-Chief of US
Central Command, made multiple appearances on CNN and CBS. He is
an outside director at BAE Systems, which is among the largest
military service companies in the world and one that received
$6.1 billion in federal contracts in 2012, serves on the Advisory
Board of DC Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests
in defense contractors, and a Distinguished Senior Advisor at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Zinni advocated a strike not just on Syria, but told CNN’s Candy
Crowley that American hesitation in the Middle East has pushed US
adversaries to act.
“Knowing the Iranians, they see everything as a potential
opportunity to exploit,” he said. “And I’m sure they are
calculating much how they could take advantage of this and maybe
push the edge of the envelope.”
The retired general, speaking to the Post via email, said his
membership is publicly available online.
“The media who contact me for comment should post any relevant
info re my background including my board positions if they
desire,” he wrote.
This report comes after Syria researcher Elizabeth O’Bagy was
fired from the Institute for the Study of War think-tank for
lying about her credentials. Multiple US lawmakers, most notably
Secretary of State John Kerry, cited an opinion piece O’Bagy
wrote in the Wall Street Journal when calling for a military
intervention. It was soon revealed that O’Bagy did not disclose
her ties to a lobby group advocating for Syrian opposition forces
when penning the column for the Journal.
Copyright: RT