This War Has Been Approved By Your Government

DAVE LINDORFF
Counterpunch
Thursday, Aug 14, 2008

We Americans got a graphic illustration of the demise of any independent American corporate news media these past few days as the coverage on TV and in print was saturated with reports about John Edwards’ infidelity and, equally important, Russia’s invasion of Georgia.

In the first case, we had the completely pointless if prurient airing of Edwards’ sordid extra-marital affair. Pointless because Edwards at this time is a has-been politician. If there were any point to the coverage it should have been, as Alex Cockburn pointed out in his journal Counterpunch, the abject failure of those same reporters and “news” organizations to cover the story back last fall, when it might have mattered. Back then, when the only paper covering the story was the National Enquirer, Edwards was still a viable candidate for the presidency, or a possible contender for vice president again. It’s not that his personal sex-life has any news value in and of itself. The point is that had he won the nomination, or been picked as a vice presidential running mate, its inevitable exposure later during the general election would have destroyed any Democratic presidential chances. And the corporate media knew back then all about this story. They just weren’t pursuing it (and the current blitz of stories proves that they weren’t holding back out of principle!).

Then there’s the Georgia war. I was stunned by the graphic depictions of Russian brutality in Gori and other cities that were massively bombed and shelled, with apartment buildings collapsed into rubble, children killed, and civilians targeted. The New York Times, in particular, had photographic images of dead Georgian soldiers, of charred bodies, of hysterical mothers. On NBC News, Russian planes were shown dropping their loads of bombs on apartments.

(Article continues below)

We read that President Bush condemned the Russian invasion of another nation and called for an immediate ceasefire. Yet there was not one word of astonishment or challenge from reporters or commentators or editorial writers at this stunningly cynical statement coming from a leader who himself is responsible for the blatantly illegal and much more destructive invasion of another nation. And remember, while Georgia is on Russia’s border, and was at least possibly guilty of oppressing and attacking and perhaps even killing members of the Russian minority in two of its provinces, Iraq is half a world away from America and was minding its own business, not threatening Americans in any way. Russia, thus far, has at most killed a few thousand Georgians. America has, by most accounts killed hundreds of thousands and perhaps as many as 1.2 million Iraqis, very few of them combatants.

We watch and read voluminous reports on this relatively small Russian war against its neighbor and former domestic province (Georgia was one of the SSRs in the old USSR), and meanwhile there is almost nothing being reported about the continuing five-year-old war launched by Bush and Cheney against Iraq. And certainly, over the course of five years we have gotten no visual depiction of that war even approaching the scenes that were on display from the front in Georgia.

Apparently, in the view of our corporate news editors and managers, it is important for Americans to fully witness the bloody horrors of war when that war is being fought by Russia, but we are to be carefully protected from seeing such things when they are being perpetrated by our own centurions. We aren’t even allowed to see the grievous injuries and death being suffered by our own troops.

This is not news. This is propaganda, pure and simple.

American corporate news media broadcasts and articles should include a disclaimer: “This report was approved by the media managers of the Bush/Cheney administration.”

• 
• Social bookmarks
• 
• Email this article
• 
• Print this page

Comment Terms Of Use

4 Responses to “This War Has Been Approved By Your Government”

1. LibertyTreeBud Says:
   August 14th, 2008 at 10:08 am

   Georgia is strategic for EmpireUSA. Got the same people who screwed this country up to go over there and ’straighten out’ the Georgians to ‘Our way of thinkin”. Promises to include Georgia into NATO mercenaries to the Global Cabal. Sent killers in to show ‘um how it’s done. USgundealers supply weapons. Georgia attacks Ossetia. Genocide of citizens and Russian peacekeepers. Russia stifles Georgia’s attack. Three pipelines in Georgia. Israel needs free/flow of oil. Read about it but not lying sacks of poop news in CorporateUSA. All owned/bought by evilEmpire. Wake up to reality. Turn OFF TV!

2. Joe from Joshua Tree Says:
   August 14th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

   What I’ve seen on major news networks makes me want to vomit. It makes you wonder, what is the main purpose of this evil plan by the Neocons (Cheney, and don’t forget fuckin Leiberman that fuckin Jew)what is their real purpose of training Georgian troops, and setting them out on a killing spree to South Ossetia. They knew what Russia’s response would be. What is the plan of these evil bastards. Iran is coming. I feel so sorry for the honorable Navy and Marine personel aboard ship. Because there is going to be loss of life. I still can’t believe the steady rhetoric our news media hoses out, lock stock and barrel from the “deciders” master. Who writes “W’s” cue cards? I wonder.

3. Masonic traitor Says:
   August 14th, 2008 at 5:40 pm

   Joe the answer is here, watch all 440 videos and you will have the truth…God help us all.

   http://hashemsfilms.com/index2.....&cid=1

4. Karmakaze Says:
   August 15th, 2008 at 4:15 am

   @Everyone

   Don’t get fooled, this was NEVER about the pipelines. Think about it if Russia really had a problem with the pipelines they would have bombed the crap out of them when they had the chance – they didn’t.

   I posted this on another thread, but it applies here too:

   Have a look at a map. See how far away Russia is from Iran? See what hostile country they would have to go through to get there?

   Now, ask yourself why the US and ISRAEL (of all places) would be interested in arming Georgia? Look when they started: 2002. What was going on then that might make having a strong Georgian military desirable… Why yes, Iran was being named as part of the “Axis of Evil”!

   This war was a DISASTER for the US and Israel. It is approximately 400km from South Ossetia to Iran, and most of that passes through Armenia, an ally of both Iran and Russia. Russian tanks can make that journey on a single tank of gas. Do you REALLY think they would want thousands of Russian Army tanks, IFV’s and other weapons, plus tens of thousands of troops, to be THAT CLOSE to Iran and not have ANY blocking force to stop them?

   That is what Georgia was meant to be, and that is what they just CEASED to be! Russia now has a clear path to Iran, and a very good reason to build up their forces there.

   That is the LAST thing the US and Israel ever wanted. By the way, did you notice that the Israelis suddenly announced that they weren’t going to be given permission to attack Iran… I wonder why???