ABC World News was responsible for a flagrantly propagandistic report about Iran on January 31.
They’re still at it.
At the top of the March 5 report, anchor Diane Sawyer announced that Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were talking about “the growing nuclear threat from Iran.” Sawyer warned that it might be the “last chance” for the two to meet face to face before a possible Israeli attack.
The two agreed, as Jake Tapper put it, that Iran “cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.” And what if they did? Jake Tapper asks, “What might result?” And then he provides this answer:
A nuclear arms race in one of the most unstable parts of the world. An attack on Israel. And/or terrorism.
Those could be three possibilities. But there’s also at least one other possibility–that none of those things would happen.
The piece includes some warnings about Iran’s response to an unprovoked attack (which, news outlets like ABC should tell viewers, would be an brazen violation of international law). For that perspective, we get former U.S. counterterrorism official Richard Clarke, who says this:
If the Iranians use the terror weapon in retaliation, they use it against Israelis, they use it against Jewish institutions throughout the world. If the United States gets involved, then they use it against Americans and American facilities.
So an illegal attack on Iran is something we talk about as a matter of timing, consequences, and so forth. If Iran responds to that attack, it’s described as the unleashing of a “terror weapon.”
Avoiding to waste my time by talking to a 10 ft. thick Wailing Wall – I will rather quote a British-born Israeli Jewish author, Susan Nathan, who made the following statement during an interview she gave to newspaper in India.
â┚¬Ã…“I am supporting Iran. I come from a country (Israel) that the world knows has nuclear armaments. How can I deny the same right to develop nuclear power to another country? How do we know for certain that the nuclear power is not meant for peaceful purposes?â┚¬Ã‚Â
Susan believes that western media has been propagating lies about Iran and its president Ahmadinejad for calling for â┚¬Ã…“Wipe Israel off mapâ┚¬Ã‚ or â┚¬Ã…“we will push the Jews into Seaâ┚¬Ã‚Â.
â┚¬Ã…“I think it’s very wrong for any government Jewish or otherwise to become hysterical over what people say. It is not what people say that matters it is what people do. Therefore I am taking it all very calmly. That’s what I suggest the rest of the world should do too,â┚¬Ã‚ said Susan.
http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/india-to-deport-pro-iran-israeli-jewish-writer/
Boy, this is just getting downright sick! The warmongering coming from Netanyahu & the US right-wingers is beyond obvious, it’s in-your-face blatant and disgusting. Hitler could’ve used these people to help legitimatize his invasion of Poland, their reasoning is just as specious. I wish all these people that are so enthusiastically embracing military attacks would remember that these aren’t chess games or ‘World of Warcraft’ or bar-room bluster – – – when the bombs start falling and possible retaliations occur there’ll be real, live people (including civilian women and children, just like in the neighborhoods WE live in) getting killed or horribly maimed, like we saw during ‘Shock and Awe’ in Iraq or previously in Afghanistan, for instance.
In spite of all the pious pseudo religiosity that some of these politicians offer up as their ‘guiding principles’, they’d better hope there’s NOT an omniscient, benevolent god NOR a just afterlife, because there’s NO reason to ever believe that they would ever escape some horrible retributions for these earthly actions of theirs…
I hope the presidential news conference today on the 6 march puts an end to this war predicting by uninformed media types. Once the dogs of war are unleashed, the outcomes are always unpleasant and unexpected.
Consider that the greatest collapse of capitalism occurred after the â┚¬Ã…“End of Historyâ┚¬Ã‚Âin 2008; at this time when the financial system was thought to be so stable that nothing could throw it off balance is precisely when the greatest assaults against its stability were tolerated, and stabilizing regulations were violated with impunity.
War with other world powers is now considered as so improbable as to be only a minor consideration while the violations of international law by the USA move the world toward greater instability by removal of inhibitions against destabilizing actions.
The faith in the impossibility of World War III makes World War III more probable by disregarding overt provocations as inconsequential just as the Great Financial Collapse became more likely to occur just as it was generally thought to be least likely to occur.
Though all the corporate media are bad, ABC News is the worst. Tonight they LEAD with a story about a disturbed flight attendant telling passengers the plane is going to crash, a story of absolutely no significance. Does ABC have no shame? What about journalism as a way to educate the public about issues, present different points of view, and uncover stories heretofore unknown? Apparently that network’s news staff never attended journalism school, perhaps majoring in something more lucrative–like the fashion industry
The “weapons of mass destruction” mantra worked so well the first time, I guess ABC feels fine about doing it again…for Obama this time instead of Bush…truly sickening!!!
‘Boy, this is just getting downright sick! The warmongering coming from Netanyahu & the US right-wingers is beyond obvious, it’s in-your-face blatant and disgusting.` The right wing of the United States includes the leadership and most of the rank and file of both major political parties, as well as the great bulk of the politically independent. Apparently most people believe this bunk, and it could be this time there is no turning back. I hope for the survival of the planet, the end of the empire, and that as many innocent people as possible are spared.
I worked for an ABC-owned radio outlet for a while back in the early 70s. When re-writing the AP ticker for the half-hour update, I was instructed that the lede should be “attention-grabbing,” in the tradition of “If it bleeds, it leads.”
As far as I can tell, ABC’s stylebook has not changed.
i live in france now and it is so much a relief to not have to be exposed to the racist US mainstream media. here in france even the right wing tries to at least sound cogent.
A (Anything) B (But) C (Coverage).
My original. No copy catting, and no copy kittening allowed!
“If the Iranians use the terror weapon in retaliation, they use it against Israelis, they use it against Jewish institutions throughout the world. If the United States gets involved, then they use it against Americans and American facilities.”
IF the United States gets involved ?
IF ?
They give Israel $3.175 billion/year in foreign aid – Israel buys US world-class weapons systems, and has been known to steal the ideas for even more.
Iran has been VERY clear about this, for years – any attack by Israel will be seen as being an attack by Israel/U.S. and the retaliation will be against both of them. Mainly by destroying the oil infrastructure of the Middle East, to sabotage The West’s economic system – moving up the schedule on when China become the top Superpower.
The corporate media might want to mention this warning, maybe after they mention the mistranslation about “Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map”.
Do Conservatives even know that Iranians don’t speak English ?
Unbelievable that there is still crap oozing out of the MSM and even some Independent media like the American Prospect and author of an article called “How to Contain a Nuclear Iran.” by Suzanne Maloney, who is so full of s**t her eyes are brown. She writes about Iran as though they’re actually in pursuit of a nuclear weapons program assuming it is really true. But time after time in interview after interview Ahmadinejad keeps saying they are not looking to get a bomb cuz’ it is not in their best interest and each time he gives good reasons why they are not. One being that even if they did, does anyone think they would use it, since if they did it would be a complete suicide, cuz’ they’d be dead as a country soon after they did. It is all to sensationalize and get ratings for the fluff-o-tainment the corporate media likes. I mean if they want to do real news then they should be able to figure out that news runs over a few days and requires updates, not completely running from topic to superficial topic, as they are wont to do. Iran does not want to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ it was never said. Many Middle Eastern countries may not like Israel, but can you blame them? Their fellow Arabs the Palestinians are treated like second class citizens on land occupied by a foreign force on their own land that is theirs which the Zionists have stolen and robbed them of and continue to do so with Israeli settlers all whom are violent a**holes, they did it by using some of the same Nazi tactics that were used on them only now they are doing it to others, and it began soon after the Holocaust that the Germans policies unleashed that they were victims of. Yet they think they should be recognized as a normal Democratic state, a nation that came into being by the will of all the people involved, only it didn’t happen that way. Israel’s nation is built on the bloodshed of innocent people of Palestine, and they continue to ethnically cleanse what’s left of Palestine through generous subsidies from the gov’t to Israeli settlers for building settlements on the occupied territories. The real insecurity of the Middle East is the presence of the Israelis and their apartheid state and their mistreatment of the people there. Israel is not a victim here and just how long are the Zionists going to milk world sympathy for the Holocaust? What about the Holocaust type crimes done to the Palestinians? Iran is the destabliser in the region, and the Zionists have a map which shows Israeli borders from the Mediterranean Sea in the West and halfway across Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Israel is stirring up this stuff with complicity from the US about Iran and it is bogus nonsense. Iran has after 9/11 tried to reach out to the US, but was rebuffed by Bush and his administration. You can only abuse a dog so many times before he stops happily coming to you for affection if you beat every time. Go to wideasleepinamerica.com for a timeline of MSM misreports about Iran and its nucleqr bomb program. Look up an article called: http://www.wideasleepinamerica.com/2010/12/phantom-menace-fantasies-falsehoods-and.html
‘Nuff said.
Correction, Iran is NOT the destabilizer in the region, Israel is. BTW, I am not anti-semitic as many like to claim I am when I criticize Israel.
We know that, Raymond. We’re not trolls, or Republicons. As you know, Ashurbanipal, the USA is good at starting wars, but is very bad at rationalizing them, and even worse at ending them, even after it becomes plain to even our war-starters that things have gone Bad with another Bad idea. Hopefully, most Americans will understand this fairly quickly if Israel does something really stupid and we decide to back them up.
Tim I agree war with Iran is a bad idea.Saying that understand that i take their threats very seriously(do you?).Beyond that -they have promised you Iranian supporters on a stack of Korans that they are not developing a bomb.Of course if they are lying about that ……Even you bunch would have to admit they are not trustworthy.
Raymond how ya feeling about the two hundred missiles fired into Israel?Bet you think it is all Israel’s fault don’t you?Read Howie Meyers peace on explaining hezbollah’s planing to down 10 British planes that was uncovered,and a planned pumping up of tensions so they could use their acquired missiles.Guess where the missiles come from?Israel is not so safe that YOU can guarantee her safety.
“Read Howie Meyers peace on explaining hezbollah’s planing to down 10 British planes that was uncovered.”
Hyperlink please.
Israel started it, as usual. Hundreds of rockets fired into Israel (in response to a targeted murder attempt) with no deaths. Twenty three dead Palestinians in the open-air concentration camp known as the Gaza strip, including several “civilians.” The Israelis make no distinction between combatants and civilians, though they usually pretend to. Along with the illegal murder strikes and and other extra-legal stuff, they appear to have taken a page from our playbook. And (or), we’ve taken a page from theirs. It’s often difficult to figure out who’s the master and who’s the slave in our sicko relationship with Israel. Right now, Bibi seems to have a leash around the President’s neck; or maybe Mr. Obama is just doing the old good-dog/bad-dog trick with Netanyahu. At any rate, I’m guessing Obama absolutely does not want war until at least after the elections. Probably Bibi gave him some sort of guarantee, but he’s a traitorous prick, and one can’t put anything past him.
P.S.: You’ll wait a real long time for that link, Mr. P. Ness. Forever, I’m guessing. Thanks for that houghtful post, Raymond. Next thing you know, those super-powerful Palestinians (their powers are indisputable!) will call up the Joint Chiefs here and “take us with a ‘phone call,” as RR might have put it.
P.P.S.: That the US and Israel are seen as the chief obstacles to peace in the “Middle East” is very clear to vast majorities of the people who actually live there. Everyone (Everyone!) who actually lives in the region, or any one who bothers to pay attention elsewhere (and not live in a fantasy world), knows that we do not act in good faith there. Couple that with our supreme mis-adventure in Afghanistan (not to mention Iraq), and only the blindly stupid and ignorant fail to see what we’ve done, and what we are doing now.
Those damnable tags.
Here is another truth/tag I won’t send you lot.Obama has made it clear that he will not move to effect our removal from Afghanistan until (wait for it)……….AFTER the election.
Israel is an open air concentration camp, where hundreds of missiles fired into it(that miss their mark)is considered a non event……………………….BY ANTI SEMITES!Israel will target those firing missiles.And has happened this past week in destroying a missile sight being manned by three terrorists on the roof of a house that turned out to have 7 people in it……people will die.Innocent people.Cowardly scum.
Tim why don’t you read and track Israeli papers,and papers from some of your favorite Arab buddies.On a tuesday you will see a rocket attack after a month of quiet.On thursday come’s the Israeli response.Now read the arab paper…..It simply says Israel attacked in a non provoked way.No mention ever of the rockets.This repeats over and over and over.This tit for tat is almost always, and I mean 90 percent of the time flowing in this way.Don’t believe me ,track it yourself.You wont see a month of quiet followed by a surprise Israeli air strike without some provocation.I don’t know if it has ever happened.Israel is not at war.She is like a rat trap spring.Ready to snap after being tapped enough.
Michael wrote “Read Howie Meyers peace on explaining hezbollah’s planing to down 10 British planes that was uncovered.”
Since you asked us to read it, could you please provide a hyperlink.