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Commentary - May 11, 2005 - Printable Version
- Why We Matter
by Jeff Buckley
A leaked document, containing minutes of a secret July 2002 meeting during which the US and UK struck a deal to invade Iraq, surfaced just prior to the major elections in Great Britain last week. This document also referred to intelligence needing to be made to fit foreign policy concerning Iraq – Creating conditions to justify war. To break this down as simply as possible:
1. The decision to invade Iraq was made eight months before the first bombs fell on Baghdad.
2. The “evidence” for invading Iraq was concocted and manipulated to justify that invasion.
Across the big pond it’s pretty big news. And why shouldn’t it be? This is the proverbial smoking gun we’ve been looking for. This is the blue dress with a great big man-chowder stain on it. But, I’m willing to bet that not a whole lot of you have heard a peep mentioned about it here in America unless you happen to be a faithful blog comber.
Of course, we can’t exactly expect our mainstream media outlets here in America to shoulder the blame for this oversight. They had a runaway bride story to cover.
And from the flogging that that dead horse of a story received, you can be sure that there was a conscious effort made in production and editorial offices across the country to keep Jessica Wilborn’s wild-eyed mug as the focus of our attention, all other news of substance be damned. And when it turned out that Ms. Wilborn was not abducted, these producers and editors made sure that the story was bent, twisted, and spun to enrage the public into a feeling of having been duped by this woman.
It’s a great way to keep our minds off of developing events half a world away. And why wouldn’t they even want to touch a story such as one that exposes the concrete proof that Bush and Blair lied to start a war? It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that they were complicit in that lie by selling it to the American People, could it? Our trusted media juggernauts couldn’t be in cahoots with Bush’s White House, could they?
Say it ain’t so, Joe! Say it ain’t so!
Whether the mainstream media was pushing crap upon the American People in the lead-up to the Iraq war knowing full well that the facts and evidence were razor thin, if not completely false, or if they were just being “Good-Faith Patriots” in trying to rally the country around the task at hand is hardly a debatable issue. Bloggers, who have been running their website on relative chump change have been screaming, “Bullshit!” from day one and they’ve been backing their claims up. These people lack the billions of dollars in resources and the sheer manpower of media conglomerates. Yet, they have been able to expose and accurately report the Bush Administration’s blatant lies and distortions of reality from the comfort of their own homes. Compared to, stealing an acronym from Michael Rivero, ABCNNBCBS, these so-called amateurs have looked like a bunch of little freaking Nostradamuses when set side by side with big media.
How is it possible for such an egregious oversight by the mainstream media if they weren’t in on the sham from the get-go? You would think that somebody would have cracked this thing wide the hell open long before thousands of American troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians could be laid to waste. Seriously. What other explanation other than “one hand washes the other” could explain it? None.
So, why would it surprise us that they are turning a blind eye towards this story? A giant pointing, neon arrow saying, “Look! Here are the REAL lackeys! These are the ones responsible for manufacturing and spoon-feeding you the big lie!” Being in their position, wouldn’t you want to avoid swallowing that poison pill at all costs in favor of airing runaway bride coverage and Wacko Jacko trial coverage?
So, it has fallen upon us - the bloggers, the amateurs, the masses of “unchecked” and “unprofessional” armchair pundits - to pick up where the corporate talking heads have either left off or outright refused to tread. It has fallen upon us to shed light on what they won’t show us and don’t want us to see. We don’t have their resources. We don’t have their money. We don’t have their connections.
What we do have is an insatiable thirst for the truth and the simple request that we not be lied to by our government and its lap-dog media.
And that is exactly why we matter and that is exactly why we’re needed.
Editor's note: At the request of our readers, I have added two links pertinaing to the "Downing Street Memos" that Jeff Bucklet refers to in his article:
"British Documents Stir Protest in United States"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-memogate12may12,0,1760579.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"The secret Downing Street memo"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html
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