John Pilger "The Invisible Government" Part 4/4 Fixed!

Many people who regard themselves on the left supported Bush's attack on Afghanistan. That the CIA had supported Osama Bin Laden was ignored, that the Clinton administration had secretly backed the Taliban, even giving them high-level briefings at the CIA, is virtually unknown in the United States. The Taliban were secret partners with the oil giant Unocal in building an oil pipeline across Afghanistan. And when a Clinton official was reminded that the Taliban persecuted women, he said, "We can live with that." There is compelling evidence that Bush decided to attack the Taliban not as a result of 9-11, but two months earlier, in July of 2001. This is virtually unknown in the United States—publicly. Like the scale of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. To my knowledge only one mainstream reporter, Jonathan Steele of the Guardian in London, has investigated civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and his estimate is 20,000 dead civilians, and that was three years ago.

The enduring tragedy of Palestine is due in great part to the silence and compliance of the so-called liberal left. Hamas is described repeatedly as sworn to the destruction of Israel. The New York Times, the Associated Press, the Boston Globe—take your pick. They all use this line as a standard disclaimer, and it is false. That Hamas has called for a ten-year ceasefire is almost never reported. Even more important, that Hamas has undergone an historic ideological shift in the last few years, which amounts to a recognition of what it calls the reality of Israel, is virtually unknown; and that Israel is sworn to the destruction of Palestine is unspeakable.

There is a pioneering study by Glasgow University on the reporting of Palestine. They interviewed young people who watch TV news in Britain. More than 90 percent thought the illegal settlers were Palestinian. The more they watched, the less they knew—Danny Schecter's famous phrase.

The current most dangerous silence is over nuclear weapons and the return of the Cold War. The Russians understand clearly that the so-called American defense shield in Eastern Europe is designed to subjugate and humiliate them. Yet the front pages here talk about Putin starting a new Cold War, and there is silence about the development of an entirely new American nuclear system called Reliable Weapons Replacement (RRW), which is designed to blur the distinction between conventional war and nuclear war—a long-held ambition.


http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=446

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• War
• Iraq
• Vietnam
• 9/11
• Empire
• Terrorism
• Imperialist
• John
• Pilger
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[polito621mr]

Thumbs up for Pilger!!!!

...We need him to be multiplied by millions!!!

[zapproowsdower]

Jews are fine. It's the Zionists that need to go. As a clever man once said, you can't truly be both.

[TheMotherEagle]

Journalists have let us all down very badly. There are so few examples of real journalists like Pilger these days and we are very fortunate to have him. The fight against tyranny, it would seem, is an endless one even in supposed free societies.

[DangerousDan77777]

In June of 2001 the local paper reported that american and british planes had bombed children playing soccor in baghdad, but, of course, it was just a little byline inside the front page.

[joniindo78]

@zapproowsdower

Nice quote!!