War propaganda is in many ways more dangerous than war. While (non-defensive) war may be pure evil, it is war propaganda that is the root of that evil. It is lubrication for the dogs of war seeking release. Offensive wars must count on propaganda to fertilize of the seed of fear, hatred, and evil sadly planted in us all.
If most Americans were not successfully made to believe that Saddam Hussein was an unhinged madman who not only had WMDs but was also responsible for 9/11, the US would not today, eleven years later, still be at war with Iraq. The same is true with all previous US wars of memory. Gaddafi was the most dangerous lunatic on earth, ditto Noriega. Imagine the warmongers’ Tweets about Arbenz or Mossadegh had that preferred weapon of the laptop brigades been invented by the 1950s.
If the public were not so susceptible to the sophisticated war Sirens bombarding them steadily from government and the media, we would not be witnessing demands for another war in the Middle East even among many who had opposed that last most unfortunate adventure. One beheading is a tragedy, a general war in which thousands or millions may die is, apparently, in the words of Stalin, a mere statistic.
The madness generated by the war-mentality was captured brilliantly today by one of the best observers of our modern and tragic scene. David Stockman points out the real madness — that of the warmongers and their propagandists — as he tells us of the US plan to bomb both ISIS in Syria AND the Assad government in Syria!
Yesterday I posted the following tweet here on LRC Blog because I thought it was the most hilarious critique of US policy I had seen in some time:
White House policy on Syria: “What if we, like, just bombed _everyone_?”
— Charles Davis (@charliearchy) August 27, 2014
Today, thanks to David Stockman, I find out it is a serious proposal!
War propaganda is the father of those lies. I have long felt it most important to oppose and debunk war propaganda, perhaps even more vigorously than war itself. When the bombs fall, voices of opposition can be often counted to speak out. But when the propaganda offensive that leads to war is in overdrive, many seem to lose their voice.
But the war propagandists are not satisfied with the Middle East. They have their sights set on a US war with Russia and they are pulling out all stops. Their brigades are well-organized in the social media that State Department spokespersons so strongly encourage us to visit. Daily we see postings on Twitter from such dubious sources as “Ukraine Reporter” that yet another Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken place. Mainstream media reporters also make these claims on a daily basis, but strangely they never have their cameras handy when these invasions take place.
Even a former US ambassador gets in on the war propaganda action.
I think it is important to challenge these dubious assertions, because they are designed to inflame US opinion in favor of conflict with Russia over the completely unimportant matter of whether people in eastern Ukraine want to be ruled by Kiev or want to rule themselves. Even if Russia were assisting those in east Ukraine who are seeking independence from Kiev it should be of absolutely no concern to the United States. Particularly a United States which has bombed Libya into Somalia to dictate how they should be ruled; which has armed groups in Syria to overthrow that government that are so evil that US Defense Secretary Hagel calls them a threat “beyond anything we have seen.”
What happens to those who oppose war propaganda? They are accused of working for the other side! Eugene Debs is perhaps a fitting example of what happens to those who oppose the state’s war propaganda.
These days, to oppose the propaganda of those pushing a US war on Russia is to be in the employ of Putin. A traitor every bit as much as Debs. Organized Twitter brigades attack opponents of this war propaganda, in my own case using hashtags intending to be ominous such as #staysafeDaniel.
Oppose war, but most of all oppose war propaganda!
7:29 pm on August 27, 2014
