Editorial comment
The US claims that theirs is a humanitarian intervention in Syria is sheer gobbledegook!
Dear friends,
It goes without saying that most of what the media in general, and especially the western media, dishes out must be taken with the proverbial ‘pinch of salt’. Time after time, a trusting readership/viewership absorbs and internalizes what the print media and television deal out.
The truth is most falsified when western interests come into play as in the case of war. The media control information with just one design – to justify the ambitions that the goals of each war hide. In the case of Iraq we were first told that the US was intervening to evict an occupation army. The discerning public was left clueless about why Iraq’s occupation was not justifiable whereas the Israel occupation- then in its 44th year – was. In one swift turn, the long standing ally- Saddam Hussein- became the ‘mother of all enemies’! When the first Iraqi invasion was over the war scheme remained incomplete. It was the oil that the US wanted control over- not the head of the dictator. The western media then turned its attention to be the voice of their political bosses and the corporate magnates who managed them. Suddenly, we were told that Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction had to be snatched away lest a ‘mad and reckless’ dictator gets lose and abuses them. At the end of the day Iraq was left to bleed while the oil companies bled Iraq and today live in opulence at the expense of Iraqi oil.
Nowadays, the media has changed its lyrics and sings the same tune. It is now Iran’s turn to be the villain and Syria is the side dish. Iran is told that any form of nuclearization is unacceptable to the US and its allies- whether it is for peaceful purposes or war. That same media obfuscates the real threat in the region- the only nuclear power in the region, Israel. Easily, the best known secret about Israel is that it holds a deadly range of nuclear weapons which it won’t declare. And so war drums are beating over Iran much to the uneasiness in the rest of the world. But the media has convinced the average reader/viewer that Obama and his allies are right and that Iran is wrong.
In Syria- a friend of Iran and enemy of Israel, the western media churns out a one-sided version of events. That version berates the blemishes and misdoings of Bashar al-Assad and paints him as the brutal, oppressive dictator. It describes Assad as the lone villain in a conflict whose complexities may be just too sophisticated for the simplistic western media mindset. And/or, it may just be the usual ‘Let’s dance to the tune of owners and political bosses’. Syria is the western world’s latest beating boy.
Few have any doubts that Assad has committed serious human rights violations. But the reason why the west intervenes has little or nothing to do with their abhorrence for dictators. The West has always thrived on them and still does. For if the West was serious about prompting and promoting democracy in the Middle East, why drag its feet on Bahrain? Why did they slow the Mubarak overthrow? Why remain Saudi Arabia’s close friend? Why? Why? Why? A million ‘why’s’.
Larry Everest, a correspondent for Revolution newspaper argues: “The conflict with Iran is increasingly driving and shaping all U.S. policy in the region. This is one reason why, after refraining from demanding that Assad step down for the first five months of the uprising, the U.S. shifted its position and calls for more forceful intervention in Syria to weaken and surround Iran continue to grow”. He further disputes the US claims: “… look at what U.S. officials and strategists actually say about their motives for intervening in Syria and removing Assad, and it’s evident that moves by the rulers of the U.S. in relation to Syria have nothing whatsoever to do with stopping violence in the region or emancipating the Syrian people from tyranny and oppression… the imperialists’ own words make clear that their manoeuvres and machinations are aimed at seizing on the Syrian uprising to get rid of a troublesome regime, and strengthen Israel and overall U.S. imperialist control of the Middle East —and that any humanitarian relief they may (or may not) provide is window dressing to facilitate that goal”.
The U.S. moves in Syria need to be seen in the context of this battle for dominance in this region, which is most acutely focused now in the intensifying confrontation between the U.S. and Israel against Iran, and the growing possibility of a military attack by the U.S. and Israel on Iran.
Its time to call large parts of the mainstream western media what it is – the smokescreens for the truth about reality.
For more insights about the war in Syria also read: