Lies With a Purpose
by
Firas Al-Atraqchi
Dissident Voice
March 8, 2003
A campaign
of deceit, lies, demagoguery, arm-twisting, and bribery is currently being
committed by so-called political leaders who are responsible to their people to
provide truthful information, but in recent months have refrained from doing
so.
There have been thousands
upon thousands of lies about Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Islam and the Middle East,
lies about the intentions of France, Germany, Russia and anyone who dares raise
a voice in protest. Lies about 9-11, about Osama bin Laden, about Pakistan,
Malaysia, Indonesia. Lies in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States.
Lies to justify a war, false
hope for peace to justify a war, crocodile tears for Iraqi civilians. All to
justify war.
In his prime time news
conference, U.S. President George Bush lied to the American people, and no one
questioned him. He systematically, strategically, and surreptitiously conjured
up the painful emotions associated with 9-11 to justify a war on Iraq. The
bottom line: We were hit in 9-11; now we have to hit back.
He continuously made the
connection between Iraq and 9-11, so that when Americans remember 9-11, they
think Iraq. And the poll figures supporting the Bush war will jump.
Never mind no intelligence
outfit in the world has been able to conjure up even a paragraph of evidence
linking the two. Never mind that bin Laden has called Saddam an infidel and an
inconsequential figure.
Some six to seven thousand
innocent Afghan civilians were not enough last year. Now, there is a hunger for
Iraqi blood.
It baffles the mind that the
real reasons for invading Iraq are not imagined by mainstream media nor by the
unwittingly complicit American public. Does no one bother to ask why some
things are never mentioned? Why, we are talking about Israel, of course!
Does no one bother to ask
why White House officials have said Iraq is only the beginning and that Iran,
Syria, and Libya will follow? Does no one bother to ponder that these are
precisely the countries that refuse to make peace with Israel unless the
inalienable rights of the Palestinians are first recognized and Israel
withdraws from the West Bank? Does no one bother to ask who Israel's greatest
threat is in a conventional war? And by an incredible coincidence Iraq is
linked with al-Qaida and every other ramshackle terrorist organization.
Anything to justify a war.
The American public is not
informed that one of the reasons for going after Iraq is Israeli security, and
to scare other "non-compliants" into making hasty concessions to
Israel.
"Oh, but Sad Damn has
weapons of mass destruction which he has used against his own people and is
preparing to use against us. Why else would he have them if not to attack the
U.S.?" say U.S. politicians.
Either these politicians are
incredibly naive, have no knowledge of world politics except within their
caucus, or are purposefully misleading the American public. The fact that Iraq
is situated in a highly volatile, highly unstable, and highly hostile
neighborhood is not mentioned. The fact that Turkey wants a chunk of northern
Iraq, and Iran wants a chunk of southern Iraq, is not mentioned. The fact that
Israel is the biggest threat to Iraq is not mentioned. Nor that Israel can hit
Iraq whenever it wants to like they have in the past.. The fact that the best
deterrent to an attack from your enemies is a powerful military is not
mentioned. Oh yes, it is okay for the U.S. to beef up its military but for
others to maintain they need their military to thwart hostiles -- nope, that's
a no no.
We know he has weapons of
mass destruction, stockpiles of this and that, they repeat over and over. Fine,
Senator, tell us where they are. No can do, that's a matter of national
security. Okay, Senator, how about lending the UNMOVIC inspectors a hand and
identifying those areas. Sure, sure we will help the inspectors, wink, wink.
Too bad the American public does
not get to hear that the inspectors have called U.S. "intelligence"
on Iraq, "garbage, garbage, garbage." UNMOVIC members have been
frustrated with the erroneous and misleading information U.S.
"intelligence" has provided.
Iraq, however, fesses up to
having the al-Samoud missile program and destroys nearly 25 percent of those
missiles. Oh, now we have you Sad Damn, say the U.S. Senators. He has weapons
of mass destruction; he has been lying and now he is caught with his pants
down. Uhm, Senator, those are conventional missiles that have exceeded their
range by 23 miles in 17 out of 40 tests. No, gosh darn it, they are WMDs. Sad
Damn is lying. Let's roll!
No wonder the French and
other more reputable European nations have refused to budge on their positions
against a war.
Them damn French, we
liberated their butts in WWII, they would all be speaking German now! They only
want their oil interests in Iraq secured. But Senator, isn't Iraq's number one
client the U.S.? Isn't it true that in the past 2 years, the U.S. imported
through third parties 70 percent of Iraq's oil output?
No answer. The American
public is not told that securing U.S. oil interests is another reason for going
into Iraq.
Europe is with us, we are
told. Yes, Senator, but which Europe. Why, free New Europe! Senator, do you
mean by New Europe the former Soviet satellites who are begging to enter NATO?
Do you mean the New European countries like Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia,
Bulgaria, Hungary and so on, who know that a U.S. veto could prevent them from
entering NATO and enjoying cooperative security? Is that the New Europe you
mean, the easily intimidated and threatened?
No answer. This aspect of
Europe is not revealed to the American public.
We will liberate the people
of Iraq, we are told in a manner that insults integrity. Does no one remember
the promise in 1990, when Bush Sr. sought to convince the American public that
he would bring democracy to a liberated Kuwait? Thirteen years on, women are
barred from gaining equal representation in parliament; the Al Sabah family
rules with an iron hand; every bastard child of the Al Sabah is in every
ministry, every government office. There are no elections in Kuwait. Saddam
enters Kuwait, Al Sabah escape; Saddam is ejected from Kuwait, Al Sabah is
reinstated. No one elected him. No referendum. Nothing.
Some democratic promise. The
American public is not told this little piece of information.
Remember that small place
called Palestine? Where 87 Palestinians and 17 Israelis have been killed since
February? Where Palestinian firefighters putting out a fire were shelled by
Israeli tanks? Eleven Palestinians, among them 2 firefighters and several civilians,
were killed.
In the U.S., a firefighter
is a hero. In Palestine, just another Arab terrorist.
The sensitive American
viewer is spared that carnage. No reporting of Palestinian deaths. After all,
they are just another bunch of dead Arabs, right?
Firas Al-Atraqchi, B.Sc (Physics), M.A. (Journalism and Communications), is a Canadian journalist with eleven years of experience covering Middle East issues, oil and gas markets, and the telecom industry. He is a columnist for YellowTimes.org, where this article first appeared. He can be reached at: firas6544@rogers.com