After the CNN Blog Swarm

So, the US killed some journalists in Iraq.

There was al-Jazeera’s Tariq Ayoub. Some time after he was killed the US effectively banned al-Jazeera from Iraq. In the previous US war, al-Jazeera’s offices in Afghanistan were bombed.

There were some European journalists who were killed early in the war; Fisk and others wrote about it.


So, the US killed some journalists in Iraq.

There was al-Jazeera’s Tariq Ayoub. Some time after he was killed the US effectively banned al-Jazeera from Iraq. In the previous US war, al-Jazeera’s offices in Afghanistan were bombed.

There were some European journalists who were killed early in the war; Fisk and others wrote about it.

A 23-year veteran with CNN, Eason Jordan, pointed this out at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Jordan had worked for CNN for 23 years. Since 1982. The amount of service he did for US foreign policy during that period has to be staggering. The Central American wars of the 1980s, the terrorism against Nicaragua, the support of the Duvalier dictatorship in Haiti, the arming of Iraq and Iran, the support for Saddam, the support for the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan, the the Gulf War I massacre, the Yugoslav wars… all suitably covered, covered up, justified, rationalized, and lied about. Then one off-hand remark at the global elite’s annual orgy of self-celebration (those who know what goes on at Davos will probably be upset at the understatement in this description) and the poor guy has to resign. His last memo: “I never meant to imply U.S. forces acted with ill intent when U.S. forces accidentally killed journalists, and I apologize to anyone who thought I said or believed otherwise.”

I think there’s a nice out for Jordan there: US forces may not have acted with ill intent when they accidentally killed journalists, but maybe they acted with ill intent when they killed journalists on purpose? I may be giving the retiree too much credit. He won’t take it.

This is not unrelated to the Ward Churchill flap. Here as there, the idea is to deny a platform not only to radical ideas, but to basic facts and realities. Zeynep’s question about the attacks on Ward apply as well here: “how can there be a reasonable discussion when the facts about the real world as it exists, not as it is depicted by the propaganda system, are treated as figments of one’s imagination?”

So long as the facts about the real world as it exists are kept on the lunatic fringe (by liberals no less than vicious right wingers, see the previous blog post for an example) and mainstream institutions (universities, tv stations) can be purged of the slightest sign of heresy, the world will continue to be quite safe for imperialism.

Author: Justin Podur

Author of Siegebreakers. Ecology. Environmental Science. Political Science. Anti-imperialism. Political fiction. Teach at York U's FES. Author. Writer at ZNet, TeleSUR, AlterNet, Ricochet, and the Independent Media Institute.

2 thoughts on “After the CNN Blog Swarm”

  1. Good points. It is
    Good points. It is interesting to note that it is those who decry “politcal correctness” who are the ones who consistently practice censorship.

    It is hard to keep track of all the incedents. The Reagan mini-series that they never allowed to air comes to mind as does their forcing out Peter Arnet for exposing their use of chemical weapons in Vietnam.

    And on the US military killing people – I’m still waiting for them to investigate the marines who shot dead, point blank and on tape, the wounded Iraqis in the Mosque in Falluja. But I’m not holding my breath.

  2. In the U.S., a bill
    In the U.S., a bill introduced to repeal the 22nd Ammendment.

    Note: Bill is a proposition to change a law, in this case, U.S. constituion.

    22nd Ammendment
    Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

    Section 2. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

    The Bill Link

    109th CONGRESS

    1st Session

    H. J. RES. 24

    Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.

    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
    February 17, 2005

    Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SABO, and Mr. PALLONE) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

    JOINT RESOLUTION

    Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

    `Article —

    `The twenty-second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is repealed.’.

    The George W. Bush Lead War in Iraq will continues for years. Knowing Bush, Cheney and rest of his cronies, they will proabably attack Iran too. Bush will preach, it not good to change presidents during times of war during each election. Looks like Bush and Company wants to be President of the US longer than 2 terms, 8 years. George W. Bush wants to do more damage to the US and the world.

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