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This week on CounterSpin: In the immediate wake of the September 1, 2001, attacks, a military official told the Washington Post of the newly minted “war on terror”: “This is the most information-intensive war you can imagine. . . . We’re going to lie about things.” If reporters don’t evidence skepticism after a declaration like that, it says more about them than anyone or anything else.
But US elite news media did the opposite of what you would hope for from an independent press corps in a country launching an illegal and baseless invasion, whose leaders had announced in advance they would lie to support it. You can dig out the reality if you read, but if you rely on the same media you were looking at 2003, you will be equally misled, and in the same, frankly, boring ways you were before: The US is great and only wants democracy; other countries are bad, and if our reasons for invading them and replacing their leadership with folks we like better, and killing anyone who doesn’t agree with that, don’t add up, well, we’ll come up with others later, and you’ll swallow those too.
What passes for debate about why we must remain at some kind of war—cold, hot, corporate, stealth, acknowledged, denied—with Russia or China or whomever else is designated tomorrow, has roots worth studying in 2003. We’ll talk about it with author, critic and longtime friend of FAIR Norman Solomon.
Transcript: ‘Media and Government Excuses Are Basically Intertwined’
Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look back at media coverage of ex-FCC nominee Gigi Sohn.
I wonder how many deciders it took to start a ridiculous war on Iraq, I wonder how many of those in power or even the elected ones , I wonder how many grew rich on this war?
And, of course, once the richness began, they simply could not stop. Rumors of all the evilness, ( while America did the same). How about what we did in Afghanistan too?
“We the People, in order to form a more perfect union…”
Hmmmm what is needed for a more perfect union? Equality, Opportunity, HONESTY,
thoughtfulness, and a desire to solve problems without bombs and poisons.
Oh darn, no one seems to have brought those last 2 items to the forefront……oh well, America had its power since the end of WW 2. I guess i’ts time for a new world leader, because honestly, America is not working for its people, though the war makers are going gangbusters. Perhaps there is time to consider and remember—–but when war and Death creates the dominion—-nobody wins—-and certainly, neither does the planet.
“We’re going to lie about things”……Murican Journalism….the most fair and balanced are hired for the job, and then they are lauded with promotions and money:
https://ibb.co/HrM7Cg7
Pulitzer worthy.
I’ll Join the campaign mentioned for a new FCC nominee. I would like to see Counterspin nominate (in articles, opinion etc) Robert McChesney as a strong candidate for the commission who has been a campaigner for net neutrality for many years, or someone of equal status like Lawrence Lessig.
Another high profile promoter of the internet is Susan Crawford whose name I had forgotten. You can find her writings or look for her lectures on Youtube.
September 1?
I happened to turn on my radio and hear your interview with Norman Solomon today… thank you for that. While the war machine poses a whole separate issue, I was mostly interested in the discourse about the media’s role in promoting a false narrative. I hope it won’t take 20 years for a similar interview with a dissenting voice regarding the pandemic — Alex Berenson? Dr. Robert Malone? Dr. Jay Bhattacharya? After 3 years of single-sided coverage about the pandemic by news sources I used to trust (NPR, CNN, NYT), I’d pretty much given up, but hearing Norman Solomon call out the media was refreshing. Just as we now know we were lied to about Iraq and WMD, we are now learning bit by bit that the public was lied to repeatedly about Covid, so it would great to hear another viewpoint.
It’s worse than most are aware: “Saddam Never Gassed Kurds”