{"id":366293,"date":"2018-06-22T03:32:24","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T02:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?p=366293"},"modified":"2018-06-22T03:35:53","modified_gmt":"2018-06-22T02:35:53","slug":"the-diseased-lying-condition-of-americas-newsmedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/the-diseased-lying-condition-of-americas-newsmedia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Diseased, Lying, Condition, of America’s ‘News’Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Zuesse, originally posted at strategic-culture.org<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Both President Trump and former President Obama are commonly said in America\u2019s \u2018news\u2019 media to be or to have been \u201cceding Syria to Russia\u201d<\/b> or \u201cceding Syria to Russia and Iran,\u201d<\/b> or similar allegations. They imply that \u2018we\u2019 own (or have some right to control) Syria. That\u2019s not only a lie; it is a very evil and harmful one, dangerously goading the U.S. President to go even more against Russia (and Iran) (and, of course, against Syria<\/i>) than has yet been done \u2014 but the \u2018news\u2019media don\u2019t care about that evil, and that falsehood, and that dangerousness \u2014 they do it anyway, and none of them attacks the others for perpetrating this vicious war-mongering lie, that lying provocation to yet more and worse war than already exists there. And the fact that none is exposing the fraudulence of the others on this important matter, is a yet-bigger additional scandal, beyond and amplifying the media\u2019s common lying itself. Because they all function here like a mob, goading to more and worse invasions, and doing it on the the basis of dangerous lies \u2014 that America, and not the Syrians themselves, own Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n

These lies simply assume that America (probably referring to the U.S. Government, but whatever) somehow \u201chas\u201d or else \u201chad\u201d Syria (so that America can now \u2018cede\u2019 it, to anyone); and this assumption (that the U.S. somehow owns<\/i> Syria) is not only an imperialistic one (which is bad, and wrong, in itself), but it reduces to nothingness the rights (in the minds of the American public) of the Syrian people, to control their own land<\/i>. That lie is what America\u2019s \u2018news\u2019media won\u2019t expose, but instead they all cooperate with it, when they\u2019re not actually participating, themselves, in spreading these lies. <\/span><\/p>\n

What they are doing is also to slur Russia, and to slur Iran, for having accepted the request from Syria\u2019s Government, for assistance in protecting Syria\u2019s Government<\/i>, against the tens of thousands of jihadists who had been recruited throughout the world by the Saudi-American alliance, to overthrow and replace Syria\u2019s Government, to replace it with one that would be appointed by the Saud family (\u2019America\u2019s ally\u2019), the fundamentalist-Sunni royal family who (as the absolute monarchy there) do actually own Saudi Arabia \u2014 a monarchical dictatorship, which the U.S. Government calls an \u2018ally\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

The evilness of this imperialistic assumption, which is being constantly spread by the U.S.-and-allied \u2018news\u2019media, is as bad as is its falseness, because \u201cAmerica\u201d (however one wishes to use that term) never had, never possessed, any right whatsoever to control Syria. Of course, neither does Russia possess such a right, nor does Iran, but neither Russia nor Iran is asserting<\/i> any such right; both instead are there to protect Syria\u2019s national sovereignty, against the invaders (including the U.S., and the Sauds\u2019 regime). But the U.S.-and-allied \u2018news\u2019media don\u2019t present it that way \u2014 the honest way \u2014 not at all. Such truths are instead suppressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was immediately struck by this false and evil assumption that the U.S. owns Syria, when reading the June 15th issue of The Week<\/i> magazine. It contained, under its \u201cBest Columns\u201d section, a piece by Matthew Continetti (“Obama Too Good for America\u201d<\/span><\/a>), which says, among other falsehoods, \u201cObama was wrong about a lot of other things, too, like \u2026 ceding Syria to Russia.\u201d That phrase, \u201cceding Syria to Russia\u201d rose straight out from the page to me as being remarkable, stunning, and not only because it suggests that America owns that sovereign nation, Syria. I was especially struck by it because the CIA has several times attempted Syrian coups and once did briefly, in 1949, overthrow and replace Syria’s democratically elected President. But is that really something which today’s America\u2019s \u2018news\u2019media should encourage<\/i> the American public to be demanding today\u2019s American politicians to be demanding from today\u2019s American President? How bizarre, even evil, an idea is that? But it is so normal that it\u2019s a fair indication of how evil and untrustworthy today\u2019s American \u2018news\u2019media actually are. I just hadn\u2019t noticed it before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Publishing such a false and evil idea, without any accompanying commentary that truthfully presents its context and that doesn\u2019t simply let the false and evil allegation stand unchallenged \u2014 that instead lets it be unchallenged both factually and morally \u2014 is not acceptable either factually or morally, but then I checked and found that it\u2019s the almost universal norm, in today\u2019s U.S. \u2018news\u2019media. For examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

On 17 April 2018, CBS News headlined “Lindsey Graham \u2018unnerved’ after Syria briefing: ‘Everything in that briefing made me more worried\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/a> and presented that U.S. Senator saying, \u201cIt seems to me we are willing to give Syria to Assad, Russia, and Iran.\u201d He was criticizing President Trump as being \u201call tweet and no action.\u201d He wanted more war, and more threat of war. But when President Obama had repeatedly denied in public that only<\/i> the Syrian people should have any say-so over whom Syria\u2019s leaders ought to be, U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon repeatedly contradicted the U.S. President\u2019s viewpoint on this, and he said, \u201cThe future of Assad must be determined by the Syrian people.\u201d<\/span><\/a> If the American people have become so dismissive of international law as this, then is it because the U.S. \u2018news\u2019media start with the ridiculously false presumption that \u201cAmerica\u201d (whatever that refers to) is the arbiter of international law, and therefore has the right to dictate to the entire world what that law is, and what it means? Is America, as being the dictator over the whole planet, supposed to be something that Americans\u2019 tax-dollars ought to be funding \u2014 that objective: global dictatorship? How does that viewpoint differ, then, from perpetual war for perpetual \u2018peace\u2019 \u2014 a dictum that\u2019s enormously profitable for America\u2019s big \u2018Defense\u2019 contractors, such as Lockheed Martin, but that impoverishes the general public, both in America, and especially in the countries (such as Syria) where \u2018our\u2019 Government drops bombs in order to enforce its own will and demand, that: \u201cAssad must go!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, as any journalist who writes or speaks about the Syrian situation and who isn\u2019t a complete ignoramus knows, Bashar al-Assad would easily win any free and fair Presidential election in Syria, against any contender. His public support, as shown not only in the 2014 Syrian Presidential election<\/span><\/a>, but also in the many Western-sponsored opinion-polls in Syria<\/span><\/a> (since the CIA is always eager to find potential candidates to support against him), show this. <\/span><\/p>\n

On 17 December 2016, Eric Chenoweth, a typical neocon Democratic Party hack, headlined “Let Hamilton Speak: Recapturing American Democracy\u201d<\/span><\/a>, and he wrote: \u201cTrump\u2019s statements and appointments make clear he intends to tilt American policy to serve Russian interests: ceding Syria to Russia by ending support to pro-Western rebels; possibly lifting economic sanctions and recognizing the annexation of Crimea; proposing an alliance with Russia in the war on terror while remaining uncommitted to the defense of NATO allies, in particular the Baltic countries vulnerable to Russian aggression. Restoring American Democracy When they meet on December 19, Republican Electors who reflect on their constitutional duty should not then affirm Trump\u2019s election.\u201d Those \u201cpro-Western rebels\u201d in Syria were actually led by Al Qaeda\u2019s Syrian branch. Without them, the U.S. regime wouldn\u2019t have had any \u201cboots on the ground\u201d forces to speak of there.<\/span><\/a> In fact, the U.S. regime has actually been fronting for the Saud family to take over control of Syria if and when Syria\u2019s Government falls.<\/span><\/a> The Saud family even selected the people who in the U.N. peace talks on Syria represent \u2018the rebels\u2019<\/span><\/a> \u2014 the Sauds, who have been Syria\u2019s enemy ever since 1950, selected \u2018Syria\u2019s opposition\u2019, who were now seeking to take over Syria if and when \u2018America\u2019s moderate rebels\u2019 succeed. Both Al Qaeda and ISIS are actually fundamentalist-Sunnis, like the Saud family are, and Assad\u2019s Government is resolutely non-sectarian. Assad himself is a non-Islamist Alawite Shiite secularist, which virtually all fundamentalist Sunnis (such as the Sauds are) are taught to despise and to hate \u2014 especially because he\u2019s Shiite. The U.S. regime knows that neither it, which is considered Christian, nor Israel, which is theocratically Jewish, could practically succeed at imposing rule in Syria, but that maybe the Sauds could \u2014 so, they are the actual leaders of the \u2018pro-Western\u2019 forces, seeking to replace Syria\u2019s secularist Government. Overthrowing Syria\u2019s Government would be their<\/i> victory. It would be the Saud family\u2019s victory.<\/span><\/a> But this fact is kept a secret from the American public, by the U.S.\u2019news\u2019media.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back on 17 September 2016, shortly before the change in U.S. Administrations, Obama bombed the Syrian Government\u2019s garrison in Der Zor, or Deir Ezzor, which is the capital of Syria\u2019s oil-producing region. He did it in order to enable ISIS forces, which surrounded the city, to rush in and conquer it. Obama did this only eight days after his Secretary of State, John Kerry, had conceded to the demand by Sergei Lavrov, Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister, Russia’s demand that in a cease fire, Russia be allowed to continue bombing not only ISIS there, which Kerry agreed should continue to be bombed by both the U.S. and Russia, but also Al Qaeda\u2019s forces \u2014 which until 9 September 2016, Obama refused to allow to be bombed during a cease-fire.<\/span><\/a> But, finally, after a year of deadlock between Russia and the United States on that crucial issue, Kerry and Lavrov both signed a cease-fire agreement, and it allowed both ISIS and Al Qaeda-led forces to continue being bombed. (Russia had been bombing both, ever since 30 September 2015, when Russia began its bombing campaign in Syria.) That cease-fire went into effect on September 12th. Then Obama, unannounced \u2014 and a great disappointment to his Secretary of State, who wasn\u2019t informed of this in advance \u2014 broke the agreement, by bombing the Syrian outpost in Deir Ezzor \u2014 and that\u2019s the moment when Vladimir Putin quit his efforts to get agreements from Obama, because Putin now recognized that Obama was totally untrustworthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Already by late September of 2015, even prior to Russia\u2019s having been requested by President Assad to enter the war in order to speed up the defeat of what Washington still calls \u2018the rebels\u2019, it was clear that Washington (actually Riyadh) wasn\u2019t going to take over Syria; and Americans were \u2014 and are \u2014 being taught by the \u2018news\u2019media, that this was because Obama was \u2018weak\u2019 and didn\u2019t care enough about \u2018human rights\u2019 in Syria, and about \u2018democracy\u2019 in Syria. So, on 28 September 2015, Matt Purple<\/span><\/a> at the libertarian \u201cRare Politics\u201d site, headlined “Pentagon admits that the Syrian rebels it trained handed over weapons to al Qaeda\u201d<\/span><\/a>, and he wrote \u201cNeoconservatives wail that President Obama is ceding Syria to Russia \u2014 but the reason the Russians are taking the lead is precisely because America has sidelined itself.\u201d But the U.S. regime hadn\u2019t at all \u201csidelined itself\u201d; it continued \u2014 and it continues to this day \u2014 its invasion and occupation of that land. Trump\u2019s policy on Syria is basically a continuation of Obama’s<\/span><\/a> \u2014 and it\u2019s not at all “ceding Syria to Russia,\u201d or \u201cceding Syria to Russia and Iran.\u201d<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Because of America\u2019s \u2018news\u2019media, it still<\/b> isn\u2019t \u201cceding Syria to the Syrians\u201d \u2014 as Ban ki-Moon and international law would. That wouldn\u2019t be profitable for Lockheed Martin etc. (whose biggest customers other than the U.S. Government are the Sauds, and Trump alone sold $400 billion of U.S. weapons to them<\/span><\/a>); so, it\u2019s not done.<\/span><\/p>\n

Syria\u2019s sovereignty is utterly denied by the U.S. regime, but if the U.S. regime were to succeed, the big winners would actually be the Saud family. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do the American people have sovereignty, over \u2018their\u2019 (our<\/i>) Government? U.S. \u2018news\u2019media effectively ban that question. Perhaps what controls the U.S. Government is the Saudi-Israeli alliance: the Sauds have the money, and the Israelis have the lobbyists.<\/span><\/a> Of course, the U.S. \u2018news\u2019media are obsessed whether Russia<\/i> controls the U.S. Government. That diversionary tactic is extremely profitable to companies such as General Dynamics, and America\u2019s other weapons-manufacturers, which thrive on wars \u2014 especially by selling to the Sauds, and to their allies (and, obviously, not at all<\/i> to Russia).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of\u00a0 They\u2019re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010<\/i><\/span><\/a>,<\/i> and of<\/span> \u00a0<\/i>CHRIST\u2019S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eric Zuesse, originally posted at strategic-culture.org Both President Trump and former President Obama are commonly said in America\u2019s \u2018news\u2019 media to be or to have been \u201cceding Syria to Russia\u201d or \u201cceding Syria to Russia and Iran,\u201d or similar allegations. They imply that \u2018we\u2019 own (or have some right to control) Syria. That\u2019s not only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1254,"featured_media":366294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461,519],"tags":[30,96,59,526,524,754,523,1235,1024],"class_list":{"0":"post-366293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editorials","8":"category-newswire","9":"tag-big-brother","10":"tag-cover-up","11":"tag-military","12":"tag-propaganda","13":"tag-russia","14":"tag-syria","15":"tag-ukraine","16":"tag-war","17":"tag-ww3"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":366295,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366293\/revisions\/366295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}