The original falsehood behind the Iraq War was that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and intended to use them against America either directly or by giving them to al-Qaeda. The opening lie about the Ukraine crisis was that Russian President Vladimir Putin instigated the conflict as part of some Hitlerian plan to conquer much of Europe.
Leading Americans by the nose is so easy its pitiful.
âThe most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.â
â Joseph Goebbels
New screen name for a former âBlame U.S. citizensâ repeat meme poster?
Those who blame the person conned rather than the experts doing the con-job identify with authoritarian power. The subtext of this belief is that âmight makes rightâ and that âanyone stupid enough to believe the con deserves whatever they get.â
This is a âlaw of the jungleâ viewpoint and one that accords with power and its abuses⌠in other words, it gives Power a pass.
Also, many citizens in Australia, Canada, the U.K., and other places influenced by NATO and Western media believe likewise.
When lies are told often by most media venues and the same lies are repeated by numerous heads of state, apart from natural rebels and those with the time, intelligence, and inclination to ferret out alternative news⌠most will believe them. This is hardly an American issue. Itâs about covert manipulation of weaknesses in human nature.
There is so much missed in the ongoing saga of Ukraine/Russia relations that the bulk of this article can be simply tossed out as being coined by RT.com. Russia had been manipulating Ukraine for many years, giving Eastern Ukrainians Russian passports to set up the eventual take over. Why did Yanukovich suddenly drop the EU integration? Why march into Crimea? âthe Crimeans requested Russiaâs interventionâ is the biggest lie Iâve heard all year. Why sent all the tanks into Ukraine with thousands of Russian troops? Why miss out on Putinâs blatant calls for NovaRussya, which stretches around the Black sea to Moldova?
I ashamed to be even vaguely associated with an organization that publishes this kind of blatant Russian propaganda.
Oh, PuleazeâŚâŚâŚ
"but Official Washingtonâs gross misunderstanding "âŚâŚ
PNAC neocon agenda meets neoliberals right in the bowels of the State Department.
Victoria Nuland, the official agent-provacauteur of the overthrow of the elected (albeit corrupt Ukrainian government) is married to arch-neocon Robert Kagan whose early 90s agenda with Jeb Bush and the usual âthink-tankâ neocons from Reaganâs days included taking out countries left and right whose governments might impede both Israelâs and the US agenda.
The âgross misunderstandingâ is laughable if it werenât so perverse and flat-out sick in its absurdity.
BTW, show me a Ukrainian government not riddled with corruption, evah!
Itâs easy to defend Putin while living safely in America on the other side of the ocean. Being from Poland, neighbor of Ukraine, Iâm really glad that US is trying to defend the region and I am almost sure Putin wouldnât hesitate to occupy my countryâŚif he could. And Itâs actually absurd trying to defend him - the rebels would never have a chance to hold up for so long without Russiaâs support. You compare it to the mistake of the war in Irak, but this is a totally different story.
Iâd say you sound a little bit like western leftists at the times of Stalin. Safely, and comfortably living in their Capitalist countries and defending his version of Communism, which came down to total oppression, torture, disregard for human rights. I say, go to Russia and start writing articles critiquing their government - Iâm pretty sure they would cure you of your âloveâ for Putin in an instant.
I know that you know this, but perhaps worth reiterating in hopes that people unwrap it and other insidious phrasings- Regarding âlaw of the jungleâ trope, its origin with Rudyard Kipling, immersed in colonization exceptionalism, popularized by the disney organization colonizing minds epitomizes the dissociative attitude toward nature as a âthingâ for perpetual extraction - the consequences of which have become obvious.
A jungle is climaxed rainforest biome fully integrating equilibrium processes. The dissociative mindset with its limitations on observational, perceptual and integrative capacities so eroded that it can neither recognize nor respect this essential nature and destroys it. This also epitomizes the dehumanization of peoples who DO live the ancestral cosmovision with which this elegance of balance having evolved with and in support of such biomes.
The mindset is so severely dissociative that its consequences beget devolution of healthy biomes into short lived monoculture for âintravenousâ infusion to maintain the its âgrowthâ all the while in denial of its own death rattles.
For what itâs worth Arby, I agree. I have followed Robert Parry for some time and I find him to be an exceptional journalist.
âItâs about covert manipulation of weaknesses in human nature.â
Sounds like just a fancy way of saying âLeading Americans by the nose is so easy its pitiful.â
SR11??? What happened to the other 10?
Why did Yanukovich drop EU integration? Oh, I dunno, maybe when he found out what it was really gonna cost?
Why march into Crimea? Yoo, hoo - they were already there on their own base, just like the US is on bases all over the bloody planet âŚ
Crimea voted to join Russia, in an election no one has contested the validity of âŚ
Thousands of Russian troops? Never documented, only alleged âŚ
You and John Kerry - LOL
Greetings. I have some problems with the authors logic. He begins his argument regarding the deception justifying the Iraq conflict. Are we to believe that foreign policy under George Bush Junior should be viewed identically to the Obama administration? There are aspects to any administration that lack transparency. However, the Obama administration sans Hillary Clinton has been cautious on foreign policy. To not give the benefit of the doubt to this man who has displayed reticence in acting in any inflammatory way towards potential antagonists yet give Putin, a man who is clearly a dictator, kills and imprisons the opposition, uses state funds of patronage, is answerable to no one, and who has stated that the fall of the Soviet Union was a disaster disingenuous.
Next the author completely glosses over the grievances against the Yatsenyuk administration. If you were to believe him this is all about easy visas? Get real!!! Yatsenyukâs palatial estate should be more then enough evidence. It was easy to see for Ukrainianâs that Poles who once were as poor as they had seen their per capita GNP rise to triple that of Ukraine since entering the EU. In a system run by patronage the 15 billion promised by Putin would only benefit Yatsenyukâs followers. This anger at corruption is what fueled the Maiden uprising.
Next we are led to believe that this entire coup was somehow engineered by the Obama administration. The FSB had completely coopted Ukrainian intelligence along with other institutions. The concept that Obama snookered Russian intelligence right underneath their noses is ridiculous. US assets in Ukraine were probably not much more then a wheel barrow and a mourners cowl.
Next the author uses the new latest buzz word to describe bogymen. If your not a terrorist your a certainly a Nazi. If Ukraine is completely overrun with Naziâs how come when Ukraine ceded from the Soviet Union the Eastern Republics did not rebel? There have been a number of elections yet Ukrainian Nationalist did not go off on an ethnic cleansing campaign. The Nazi label appeared to only rear its ugly head when it was convenient for Putin. Ethnic Russians and Ukrainians only now have a problem living together when Putin says so.
There is no need for a conspiracy. I do agree with the author that Putin is acting in a reactive manner. If you look at Russian Nationalist dogma, it states that for Russiaâs greatness to be maintained Ukraine must remain in the hegemony. The Maiden revolution is not a threat because there may be NATO guns in Kiev or nuclear submarines in Crimea. Never mind why anyone would be foolish enough to park a sub in a pond of water. The real threat would be Ukrainians making three times as much as Russians just like the Poles. We know after Libya that the military prowess of NATO is much less then a paper tiger. Its more like chocolate ant. Any justification of creeping NATO is ridiculous. As I like to say it is the butter of the west that makes the depots tremble. Putin knows his days are numbered if Russians realize that even Ukrainians are better off then they. And that is the real reason for Putinâs actions.
Actually, I am born and raised in Poland, and they teach us history pretty well there, I presume ;). The history is: Stalin and Hitler partitioned Poland at the beginning of the war and both Russia and Germany attacked my country, dividing it in half. Havenât you heard of the Ribbentrop-Molotov packt? Later on, so called red army liberators, patiently waited for Hitler to finish off Warsaw uprising after which they moved in and put Poland under their influence for another 45 years (killing lots of the non-Communist independence fighters in the process).Iâd much prefer USA had liberated us, we would be a rich and prosperous nation now.
Btw. I donât understand why you put me in the same category with the âwar mongersâ, people selling out Poland etc. I see you canât see the world in other than âblack and whiteâ categories.
Anyways, please at least go and travel in Eastern Europe, and read some basic article on wikipedia on Polish history - your knowledge clearly doesnât match your arrogance.
Iâm not a big fan of war like USA foreign policy but, in the case of the conflict in Ukraine, US approach is exemplary. The fact that US government makes lots of mistakes doesnât mean that all they do is wrong. Criticize whatâs worth of critisizing and praise whatâs worth the praise.
I tried to read your comment but as for me, too many fancy words and collocations, too little sense!! 
I appreciate Robert Parryâs analysis and his recounting of the chronological facts of the Ukraine crisis, but I think he is sidestepping an important point.
Itâs not that the NYT â or the Western media/policymakers in general â have any illusions about who really started this crisis in late 2013, early 2014, itâs just that they begin their narrative at a different time than they should. Of course it was the EU and the United States that hastened the crisis and turned a blind eye to the role of neo-Nazi thugs on the Maidan who were attempting to violently overthrow a democratically elected president. The NYT doesnât dispute this or try to claim that Putin was involved in manufacturing this crisis, it simply ignores it and pretends that it didnât happen.
The Western narrative of the Ukraine crisis is that it began with the annexation of Crimea. Everything leading up to that point is completely whitewashed. If anything, the Maidan is portrayed as a democratic revolution against a corrupt government, and the Nazi elements are just swept under the rug. But the important point is that âthe crisis,â according to the West, started only when Moscow decided to reincorporate Crimea into the Russian Federation. This is how the entire story is treated, not only in the Western media (spearheaded by the NYT) but throughout Western international organizations such as the EU, OSCE, Council of Europe, etc.
Itâs an intentional omission, not a conspiracy theory.
USA military is a severe VIRUS it enters and infects whatever countries it can and slowly destroys its host from within and without!!! Steals the resources and bombs and destroys the inhabitants who resist or complain!!! Started with native americans and they cant stop!!! It is a POWER addiction thats impossible to stop using once you get in love with it!!! EMPIRE destroy and then disappear!!! Hopefully the US will BANKRUPT soon and we may get a break from all these illegal WARS!!!
To nottheonly1, in my opinion you are over simplifying the American political landscape. The United States is not the east where one faction acts on a coherent plan. If Tea Party Republicans heard your accusations of Obamaâs plans for unfettered capitalism to take over the world they would die of laughter. The reality is that there are over a dozen different factions in the United States arguing about what our society should look like be it a Euro style Socialist economy or should it be a libertarian society where the rights of the individual reign supreme regardless of the eminent needs of the state. Of course this method is messy and power is diffuse. An ambitious man or woman who believes they have a vision is easily frustrated as they have to play by the rules of law.
Regardless of the choice the key is that it be a transparent and democratic choice. That is the choice that all native Poles of today have. One of the requirements for Poland joining the EU system is the rule of law and this transparency. This is what the people of Ukraine of today want.
Art and Intellect cannot exist without prosperity which also cannot occur without law and transparency. What nottheonly1 neglected to mention is that Poland prior to the Partitionâs had a society with Republic aspects. While other Nations still had hereditary Kings Poland was experimenting with Democracy. In the absence of such a political system the Art and Intellect that nottheonly1 craves would be much less.
It so happens that I am from a town near Lodz. Yes, there were intellectuals but not thanks to Russian influence but in spite of it. Communism dried out all the creativity, inspiration, intellect from our country.
Iâm not a big fan of western capitalism either (there is much, much room for improvement) but living in Western countries is a lot better. I grew up in Poland, lived in Ireland and now I am an immigrant in Canada. The quality of life is beyond comparison, and not only in material sphere. Also, if you look at neo-nazi movements, homophobia, racism in Europe the more to the East the bigger the problem. Nea-nazis are the aftermath of Soviet influence. Aftermath of lack of freedom of speech, stupidity, lack of interest in non-communist culture, independent thought etc. Communism wiped out our culture and identity.
No doubt, you want want to see through the deceit on all sides butâŚmaybe in that you go too far and see the deceit where it doesnât exist. And you are out of touch with real Eastern Europe. Know it only from the newspapers. Try living there for a while - it doesnât matter that you have Polish roots.
