\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Yogi Berra<\/span><\/p>\n Some thoughts on the corporate media\u2019s coverage of the Middle East crisis in the two weeks since President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Suleimani:<\/span><\/p>\n The corporate media\u2019s initial response was uncritical acceptance of the Trump administration\u2019s justification for the attack.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n There is near universal agreement that media coverage of the George W. Bush administration\u2019s justifications for the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a total failure. The media reported without skepticism our government\u2019s false claims that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and that he had participated indirectly in the 9\/11 attacks. A 2003 study by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting<\/a> (FAIR) found that pro-war commentators greatly outnumbered anti-war voices on the major networks during the run-up to and early days of the invasion. If fact, only 3% of American sources could be classified as anti-war. People\u2019s misperceptions continued long after the war and were systematically related to the coverage<\/a> provided by their preferred news sources.<\/span><\/p>\n This month, the media are continuing in their traditional role<\/a> as \u201cstenographers to power,\u201d<\/a> dutifully reporting that Suleimani\u2019s assassination was necessary to prevent \u201cimminent\u201d future attacks on Americans. Following unwritten rules, it was only after Congresspeople began to question the administration\u2019s claims that the media began to focus on technicalities such as Trump\u2019s failure to consult Congress. Unfortunately, this \u201che said\/she said\u201d journalism was not followed by any serious attempt to discover the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump eventually contributed to the partial unraveling of the rationale for his attack by making embarrassingly inconsistent claims that his own subordinates were unwilling to confirm, i.e.<\/i>, \u201cI believe it would have been four embassies.\u201d In the end, Trump concluded that whether Suleimani posed an imminent threat \u201cdoesn\u2019t really matter because of his horrible past.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, there was almost a consensus among politicians and media commentators that Suleimani deserved to die<\/a>, since he was a \u201cterrorist.\u201d He was said to have helped Iraqi dissidents to kill American soldiers with roadside bombs. (Trump: \u201cGreat percentages of people don\u2019t have legs right now, or arms, because of this son of a bitch.\u201d) Presumably, the Iraqis are too dumb to have constructed such bombs on their own. But even if this charge is true, terrorism is defined as violence directed at civilians<\/i>, not at soldiers and \u201ccontractors,\u201d i.e.<\/i>, mercenaries, who have occupied Iraq since our illegal invasion in 2003.<\/span><\/p>\n The media\u2019s pro-war bias is facilitated by their almost exclusive reliance on \u201cexpert\u201d commentators who are current and former government employees, including retired generals.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Within a few weeks, someone will undoubtedly publish an analysis similar to the 2003 FAIR study showing that hawkish voices predominated during these past two weeks. As we wait, I want to make two points.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran may well be another Iraq waiting to happen. That Trump and his advisors believe that we can get Iran to capitulate with \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d shows how little they know about the Middle East. Trump, like Obama before him, is testing the limits of presidential war powers<\/a>. But short of a mass movement taking to the streets, what\u2019s to stop him? A recent survey shows<\/a> that over two-thirds (69%) of voters want an end to the \u201cwar on terror\u201d in Afghanistan and the Middle East. But does public opinion make any difference?<\/span><\/p>\n You may also be interested in reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n Worthy and Unworthy Victims<\/a><\/p>\n The World According to the Donald<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s deja vu all over again. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Yogi Berra Some thoughts on the corporate media\u2019s coverage of the Middle East crisis in the two … Continue reading Things That Never Change<\/span> ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/l-stires.com\/thinking-slowly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TMW2020-01-08color.png?resize=604%2C566\")
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