[IP] Farbrications and War are not limited to the Bushes. The inner workings of the war-propaganda machine

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

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From: Joseph Reagle <reagle@mit.edu>
Organization: MIT
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2003 09:57:07 -0400
To: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: Re: [IP] The inner workings of the war-propaganda machine


Farbrications and War are not limited to the Bushes.
  

http://goatee.net/2003/deadly-deceit.html
Birds of a Feather: War and Deceit

    "The enormous gap between what US leaders do in the world and what
    Americans think their leaders are doing is one of the great
    propaganda accomplishments of the dominant political mythology."
    -- Michael Parenti, Democracy for the Few.

There have been few military actions undertaken by the United States
in modern history wherein the true intent is consistent with the
rationalized motive. Consider the following historical anecdotes since
the 1940s:

  * Japan, August 1945: Aside from the debate regarding the
    provocation of war with Japan, Americans use atomic weapons to
    kill at least 100,000 Japanese civilians. [URC] Truman justified
    his actions by citing figures regarding potential American
    military deaths resulting from a protracted conclusion to the war.
    Those figures were unsubstantiated (to the point of being
    fabricated); his action ignored other options recommended by his
    own advisers; the Japanese had made numerous attempts (known of by
    Truman) of reaching an agreement regarding surrender; and after
    the conclusion of the war, the U.S.'s own Strategic Bombing Survey
    reported that "in all probability" Japan would have surrendered
    before November 1, 1945. [Shalom] While some still continue to
    uncritically accept the rationalization [Correll], it is clear
    Truman's priority was not the preservation of human life nor
    democratic principles, but vengeance and a desire to intimidate
    the Soviet Union.

        "My staff was unanimous in believing that Japan was on the
        point of collapse and surrender." General Douglas MacArthur [
        Weber]

        "This is the greatest thing in history." President Truman
        hearing of the destruction of Hiroshima. [Shalom]

  * Cambodia, 1955-1973. Nixon and Kissenger conduct secret "carpet
    bombings" of Cambodia (killing thousands) during 1969-70 to
    destabilize the government, resulting in the overthrow and
    establishment of the Khmer Rouge by Pol Pot whom the US later
    supported though it was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
    thousands.

        "There are no American combat troops in Cambodia. There are no
        American combat advisers in Cambodia. There will be no
        American combat troops or advisers in Cambodia. We will aid
        Cambodia. Cambodia is the Nixon doctrine in its purest
        form...." President Richard M. Nixon, November 1971.

        "In the event press inquiries are received following the
        execution of the Breakfast Plan as to whether or not US B-52s
        have struck in Cambodia, US spokesman will confirm that B-52s
        did strike on routine missions adjacent to the Cambodian
        border but state that he has no details and will look into the
        question." President Richard M. Nixon, November 1971. [
        Shawcross, via [Carvin]]

  * Cuba, 1961: Americans orchestrate the attempted overthrow of Fidel
    Castro. Arthor Schlesinger advices the Kennedy administration that
    deceit was necessary because "a great many people simply do not at
    this moment see that Cuba presents so grave and compelling a
    threat to our national security as to justify a course of action
    which much of the world will interpret as calculated aggression
    against a small nation." Furthermore, "The character and repute of
    President Kennedy constitute one of our greatest national
    resources. Nothing should be done to jeopardize this invaluable
    asset. When lies must be told, they should be told by subordinate
    officials." [Zinn-M]
  * Chile, 1963-76: Americans support the fascist Augusto Pinochet,
    whom overthrew the democratically elected President Salvador
    Allende three years earlier. While Pinochet was a bloody despot
    who had thousands of civilians tortured and murdered, he was also
    favorable to American corporate interests. [Cooper] Many of his
    killers were trained in the "School of the Americas," in Fort
    Benning, Georgia. [Anon1]


        "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go
        communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people."
        Henry Kissenger. [Cooper]

  * Vietnam, 1964: In the infamous "Tonkin Gulf Incident" President
    Johnson begins our involvement in Vietnam War by ordering a
    retaliation against an attack on a U.S. destroyer off the Vietnam
    coast. Unfortunately, we responded to an attack that never
    happened. [Cohen and Solomon]


        "I had the best seat in the house to watch that event, and our
        destroyers were just shooting at phantom targets - there were
        no PT boats there.... There was nothing there but black water
        and American fire power." James Stockdale, Navy pilot
        patrolling over the gulf at the time of the "incident."

  * Iraq, 1993: The Pentagon insisted that Hussein's troops were
    poised on the border of Saudi Arabia and President Bush repeatedly
    mentioned the allegations that Iraqi troops were taking Kuwaiti
    babies from incubators and leaving them on the floor to die. Both
    claims were false. The first claim was never substantiated and was
    shown to be false by the subsequent release of Russian satellite
    photographs of the area. [Peterson] The second claim was based on
    a media campaign by the Hill & Knowlton PR firm and purgered
    reports of a supposed "eyewitness" who was actually the daughter
    of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the US. [Stauber]

  * Iraq, 2002: The Bush Administration's continued "floating" of
    unsubstantiated allegations contribute to a warped perception of
    events by the public. Bush claimed proof of terrorists meeting
    with Saddam Hussein prior to September 11, that an International
    Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] report concluded that Iraq was six
    months away from developing nuclear weapons, and that Iraq has
    attempted to purchase high strength aluminum tubes suitable for
    nuclear weapon production. All of these allegations were false.
    Confusion continues during the prosecution of the war.


        "I don't know what more evidence we need." George Bush.

        "... based on all credible information available to date ...
        the IAEA has found no indication of Iraq having achieved its
        program goal of producing nuclear weapons or of Iraq having
        retained a physical capability for the production of
        weapon-usable nuclear material or having clandestinely
        obtained such material." IAEA. [Benlays]

This is only a sampling of the most prominent deceits which I've had
the time to investigate. In each case, independent of the actual
campaigns, the U.S. government claimed its actions were responses to
acts of despots and violence. Many of these claims were purposeful
lies. In some cases, they were mistakes that were exploited for
aggression but never corrected. In those instances where there was
some legitimacy to a claim, truth was abused so as to justify
America's complicity in the very same evils.

In no way am I excusing the crimes of any nation. Japan, Germany,
Russia and many others have committed horrible crimes, but few have
managed to do it under such a self-deluded banner of self-serving
hypocrisy. One simply can not trust what government officials say and
they must be held to a level of scrutiny that - unfortunately - does
not exist. Instead, these incidents show half a century of deceit and
media failure because of a reliance upon government sources for
information, little verification of stories before reporting them as
predicates for aggressive action, and an acceptance of
rationalizations that are merely excuses for a course of action that
has already been planned.



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