“The sky is falling!” and Other Tales of War Hungry Politicians

Fox has been actively selling a pre-emptive attack on Iran for quite some time, but I suspect most viewers have become anesthetized to it. When the aim of a network is to create and editorialized propaganda instead of actual news reporting minus the commentary, they have lost their perspective as journalists and are no longer an unbiased source that can be trusted to inform.

I know Gingrich and North aren’t the only ones spreading the “political fertilizer” around – the Religious Right has been doing that for quite awhile, too. Pat Robertson is a great example of why politics and religion should never be mixed; the sheep who watch him tend to believe what he says. After all, would you expect a “man of the cloth” to lie to you? Generally the answer would be no…until we look at Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, Oral Roberts, and now Ted Haggard as examples of why a Christian needs to read the Bible for themselves and stop listening to liars.

Poor Pat Roberson. He tries so hard and yet he opens his mouth long enough to switch out feet. “ It’s amazing that Iran has come to the fore as it has with a president who says Israel should be wiped off the map, who — it now has atomic weapons. ” This was said in May – a full three months before Mohamed ElBaradei came out and called the intelligence the White House was peddling, “outrageous”. Again, here is the case of a man with a large TV audience following on multiple stations all over the country, spouting a lie. Normally I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but after his “ Christian fatwah ” on Hugo Chavez last year, then the denials he said any such thing, and finally calling for it again this year, it’s kind of hard to justify what comes out of his mouth. He was caught lying to a broad audience he has influence over, and that’s worthy of concern.

“ We call our stuff information and the enemy’s propaganda, says Col. Jack N. Summe, former commander of the Fourth Psychological Operations Group. ” Wow, talk about hypocrisy! When our government engages in propaganda, the idea is that it’s good, but when the enemy does it…it’s bad. I’ll give him style points for falling somewhere on the scale between politically correct and incredible mileage on a euphemistic term.

The US government has its own P.R. factory, and those who do not have any concept of this are doomed to fall for the lies produced out of the machine. There’s the Office of Media Outreach , the White House Information Group (also known as the White House Iraq Group), Operation Home front , Office of Strategic Communications , Office of Strategic Influence , Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization , Counter Information Team , and the Coalition Information Center (also known as the Office of Global Communications). These are only the most common groups and is by no means should not be viewed as a complete listing. It is meant to whet your awareness appetite.

There have been a lot of notable news stories I’ve come across while writing this piece, but apart from the beginning, I haven’t touched on the Israeli politicians and the fear they are manufacturing.

“ Thus, without prior warning, the Israeli barometer has soared to 10 on the panic scale. Ten out of 10. The warnings came in rapid succession from Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, Olmert and Netanyahu. At the General Assembly, the annual convention of the UJC, which was almost entirely devoted to Israel, they spoke about the last war, in Lebanon, but were thinking scary thoughts about other wars. ”

It is one thing to inform, it’s another thing to instill terror. This speech wasn’t given in Israel, it was given in the United States by Israeli politicians. By influencing American Jews, it would seem they are hoping they will rise up and scream for the President to do something for a land they won’t live in, but enjoy visiting once in awhile. The other reason this speech was given in America versus Israel might be the credibility gap Olmert lacks at home. Polls show him to be a very unpopular man based upon the poor performance of the Lebanese war he engaged in. He also has hints of scandal hanging over his head surrounding a real estate deal .

Olmert’s rhetoric has been high for quite some time now; he seems to enjoy the idea of screaming about Iran wanting to wipe Israel off the map. He seems to thoroughly love the idea of the United States doing it for him. The logic is twisted; if the United States initiated a first strike attack on Iran, Israel would be the recepient of a barage of missiles, possibly even nuclear warheads if they actually possess them. I personally fail to understand how a first strike by Israel or the United States would not end in the destruction of Israel – it is a complete lose-lose scenario. In addition to the annihilation of Israel, Iran would be the the recepient of incredible hated from the rest of the Arab world should the Dome of the Rock be destroyed. They would also be the unfortunate beneficiaries of radioactive fallout in the region, causing massive health problems. No matter how you view Iran, it cannot be dealt with in a first strike scenario.

The irony of the situation would be entertaining when you take into account the fact Israel had to fight the war in Lebanon instead of US troops marching in and doing their bidding. Olmert’s cabinet denied any pre-planning for the Lebanon invasion had taken place, but later blamed Bush for their war . Can you imagine the bloody murder screaming on a pre-emptive attack?

Of course try telling that to AIPAC, who has been seriously angered with President Bush over some of his decisions.

“ In lengthy news releases and talking points circulated to supporters on Capitol Hill, AIPAC describes the Bush administration’s recent policy decisions on Iran as ‘dangerous,’ ‘disturbing’ and ‘inappropriate.’ One background paper suggests that White House policies are actually helping Iran — a sworn enemy of the Jewish state — to acquire nuclear weapons . ”

This is a very bold accusation, and AIPAC should know better. They do hold a strange amount of weight in America’s foreign affairs policy making, which is completely unacceptable and flat out wrong. If one takes into account all the Christian groups who are supporting Israel, it’s akin to slapping every Christian supporter squarely across the face since many believe Bush to be a Christian man. Their political reach inside this country cannot be denied , although I am lost to understand why they hold such power beyond a voting bloc.

The best thing we can do for humanity is to see all the screaming as nothing more than paid for rhetoric working hard to install a climate of fear, and call them on it. We do need to watch Iran, but we have to stop clubbing them as if they were a baby seal. This is smelling like another oil grab, shrouded under the WMD game, pissing billions into the back pockets of political donors and war profiteering hacks.

quazen.com articles by this writer can be found here
socyberty.com articles can be located here
relijournal.com articles are here
picable.com photographic images are here