The Times' Michael Gordon: A "Message Force Multiplier?"
A few months back the United States' top 16 intelligence agencies produced a "National Intelligence Estimate" on Iran that exposed almost everything the Bush administration had been saying for years about the threatening nature of Iran's nuclear program as an elaborate web of lies. So embarrassing to the administration was the Iran NIE, which brought to mind the "smoking guns" and "mushroom clouds" that proved to be total fabrications leading up to the Iraq invasion, that even President George W. Bush found himself on the defensive and had to backtrack. Before the NIE threw dirt in the gears of the Bush war machine Michael Gordon had been a loud and prominent mouthpiece at The New York Times providing endless stenography for Bush and Cheney's most fear-inducing claims about Iran's nuclear capacity.
Michael Gordon shifted gears after the administration's new "mushroom cloud" stories failed to generate much buzz, and he then began flogging another anti-Iran story that the Bush administration and General David Petraeus wanted disseminated: the scary-sounding "explosively formed penetrators" (EFPs) coming from Iran into Iraq and doing harm to American soldiers. But after the EFP stories didn't do the trick to provoke an already war-weary American public into calling for US military action against Iran, Gordon is at it again, dutifully turning to his official sources -- the only ones he knows or cares about -- to generate more alarmist claims that just happen to serve perfectly the Bush administration's calls for some kind of an attack on Iran.
And what is the new pretext for war against Iran that US officials and their underlings inside the Iraqi government are now spoon-feeding Michael Gordon so he can splash it on the front page of The New York Times? Gordon's below-the-fold story in today's Times is entitled: "Hezbollah Trains Iraqi Militants In Iran, American Officials Say."
Now sometimes I'll bother to go in and dissect Gordon's articles and point out that he always quotes from official sources with no apparent effort at all on his part to place their claims in context -- especially the context of the fact that these same kinds of official sources lied to him about Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction." Gordon keeps flogging the attack Iran story for the Bush administration.
We recently found out the extent of the Pentagon's control of an elaborate propaganda network that sent dozens of retired military officers onto the public's television airwaves equipped with talking points so they could perform their duty as "message force multipliers." They told us that there was "no doubt" that Saddam had WMD, aluminum tubes to be used as nuclear centrifuges, flying drones that could gas an American city, that we'd be greeted as liberators, etc.
Gordon was the co-author with the infamous Judith Miller on a front-page article on Sunday, September 8, 2002 that probably did more to further the Bush administration's calls for war against Iraq than any other article published by anyone anywhere (mainly because Dick Cheney and other officials pointed to the Gordon-Miller article on the Sunday political talk shows giving their bogus claims legitimacy in the establishment "liberal" press).
We have become accustomed to having the views of people who were so wrong about Iraq thrown in our faces without accountability or even an acknowledgment that maybe we shouldn't listen to these people anymore. Yesterday's Times had short opinion pieces on what the US should do in Iraq from Frederick Kagan, Richard Perle, and Kenneth Pollack. Today's paper has Gordon's shrill stenography on the front page and William Kristol's sage views in the opinion section. These people never lose their high perches no matter how many of their past lies are exposed so they can tell us over and over again that this time they really can be trusted to interpret world.
I find it curious, and so should Michael Gordon, that every single time he gets an exclusive "scoop" from his official sources they invariably lead him to report events or issues that lead to greater tension between the US and Iran, and more importantly, they fit perfectly into the Bush Administration's goal of massaging public opinion into accepting the wisdom of a military strike against that country. Gordon knows that if the US did not invade and occupy Iraq and overthrow the Sunni government in Baghdad -- all actions his reporting helped facilitate -- the Shia would not be empowered in Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has its hands full dealing with Israel, would be only a marginal player in Iraq if at all. But Gordon wants us to forget that history as if it is just a "back story" and become alarmed about Iran's role in Iraq and stiffen our spines for yet another war, which is exactly what the Bush administration wants. Thanks Again Mike!
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We have legitimate reasons for scrutinizing any claims coming out of this Administration - no argument there. But the analysis degenerates into raw cynicism.
You are picking and choosing intelligence reports you like, and dismissing those you dont like. You like the NIE of 2007 that supports your ideological perspective, the NIE that concludes that Iran stopped nuclear warhead development in 2003. So that is Gospel truth. But other intelligence reports, that the Quds force is training Arabs to train militias in Iraq, and that Iranian explosive devices are being shipped into Iraq to kill our guys - those you casually dismiss. Because if they are correct, your argument turns into a house of cards.
And the NIE of 2007 just concluded that Iran had stopped nuclear warhead development; but they continue to enrich uranium (and want all phases of the fuel cycle, which makes no economic sense) and continue to build long range missiles. As Intelligence head McConnell has since stated, the NIE was poorly conceived; warhead development is the easier part of developing a nuclear weapon, enrichment and missile development - which continue - are the harder parts. And even the NIE concluded that Iran is keeping its nuclear option open. Also, both the UK and the French (yes, the French!) disagreed with the NIE report and have a bleaker assessment of Iran's plans.
This is not an argument for war with Iran, there are a surfeit of diplomatic options, but rather for realism over cynicism.
Your reply has too many White House talking points in it to counter them all, so I'll just stick to the keystone: Iran "wants all phases of the fuel cycle, which makes no economic sense." You say this even as you fill your gas tank with $4/gallon gas.
With oil topping $126/bbl, the mullahs have every reason to find an alternative way to feed growing electric demands without using their hydrocarbon resources. Every drop of oil or gas used to create a watt of electric power is money down the drain.
Electric power is one of the few successes of the revolution, but the exploding population threatens that success. Iran has uranium. Iran also has a long history of dependence on Russia. Their desire to control the fuel cycle is rooted in economics, domestic power, and nationalism -- Israel ain't got nothin' to do with it.
"Raw cynicism"? As Molly Ivins said, "No matter how cynical you get, it's hard to keep up."
Whats up blues cat? The Israelis created Hezabullah and Hamas. These groups are the most highly evolved and effective resistance fighters the world has seen. Iran is evolving into a formidable enemy under the constant threat of American invasion or bombardment. It is conceivable that the U.S. and Israel could lose the oil wars. Will they forgo the temptation to go nuclear? We hope so. It is my personal opinion that the U.S. and Israel should make peace with the rest of the world while they can still negotiate from a position of strength. If it were up to the people, I think most Americans would gladly give up the enterprise of empire. A lot of us would prefer to live within our means and within our borders.
HuffPost's Pick
The sky is falling.
The sky is falling.
The sky is falling.
OOPS!!!
That's been used before???
Iran is bad.
Iran is bad.
Iran is bad.
OOPS!!!
That didn't work???
What is going on???
Did the public start to think for itself or what???
Don't be fooled. The "public" eats up soap advertising and political advertising, either propaganda from the mass media or 30 second soundbites from that world class working class blue collar beer swizzling gun toting race baiting hillary clinton.
How else to explain john mcshame.
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I feel sorry, in a way, for those of us under 25....they have to learn firsthand the threes rules of Ameican Capitalism.
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.
Get a tatoo. It's all you need to know.
Thought you'd like to know.
..
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See Joseph A. Palermo's Profile
I also wondered why Gordon, with all his official sources, didn't t discover that the NIE on Iran was going to contradict the Bush Administration's assertions about Iran's nuclear program. One would think that story would be a big "scoop" -- but it didn't lead to warmongering against Iran, so Gordon just dropped the ball.
This is why I hate the Times. It cant go broke soon enough.
Yeah why is it that these articles never mention that the biggest force in Iraq that Iran is ACTUALLY supporting is the same Iraqi government that the US is?
Then there's the laughable/cryable accusation from the US government that Iran is "meddling" in Iraq. HAH!
FYI there's a great piece about this guy Gordon by Chris Floyd www.chris-
The most important line from the post:
"Gordon was the co-author with the infamous Judith Miller... "
That says it all. We've got his number now.
They "Leaked" the story to Gordon and Miller. Then they "cited" the article as the final proof they needed. Goebbels would have been so proud.
Those who call loudest for war are the ones least likely to be fighting it. But until the American People decide to stop being sheep, and stand up against the WARMONGERS, the slow, inexorable push toward war with Iran will continue.
The claim that Hezbollah is training Iraqi Shiite militias is almost as laughable on the face of it as the breathless revelations of squadrons of unmanned aerial vehicles that Saddam Hussein had poised to spray biological agents along the East Coast.
The deeply troubling part is how many people will believe it.
I reminds me of the Mel Brooks movie, Blazing Saddles, where in one scene were gathered all the stereotypical villains to do their evil acts to the hero:
"Them militias is bad. Bad. They look at freedom-loving 'Merkans as evil foreign invaders, like Nazis or something. But they're the bad ones. Iran's helping them. Yeah, even Hezbollah. And the Hells Angels too. And, and, and... gangsta rappers. Yeah, that's the ticket. And the IRA, and skinheads. They don't understand how we're trying to help them."
Tom Engelhardt writes it Truthout today,
“American troops are fighting the Shiite militia of Muqtada al-Sadr, and they are fighting the Sadrist Mahdi Army militia in the name of an Iraqi government dominated by another Shiite militia, the Badr Corps of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, whose ties to Iran are even closer.
“And it no longer makes any particular sense, even by the standards of the Bush administration; nor, in the post-surge atmosphere, is anybody trying to make much sense of it.”
http://www
Somewhere back in World War II we had a President that went on Radio to educate the American public about the War. These days the American public is fed bullshit about AlQaeda and Iran and couldn’t name a single group actually involved in the conflict.
If Americans understood whom we’ve been supporting, there wouldn’t be a single Republican re-elected. When it comes right down to it, at the end of the day the terrorists we support are virtually indistinguishable from the ones we are fighting, and none of them are worth another American life.
Almost every attribution in Gordon's article is anonymous.
"Hezbollah Trains Iraqis in Iran, Officials Say"
"according to American interrogation reports "
"An American official said the account of Hezbollah’s role was provided by four Shiite militia members"
I think you get the point here. This is the same crap that led to the Iraq War/Occupation.
We must put an end to this march to war with Iran. I have been writing my representatives all morning, pleading with them to reject Bush's warmongering. Have we learned nothing from our invasion of Iraq?
Iranian sources say that Iran wants to negotiate and strengthen ties with the US - just not while Bush is in office. I don't blame them at all.
Take action now! Get informed!
"This aggression will not stand, man!"
Besides Bush appointees and journalists what line of work would allow huge mistakes and deceptive tactics to be rewarded?
Mortgage banker. CEO/CFO of now bankrupt corporation (take your pick).
High-time we face what we are up against.
These people are plants. Not many independent actors anymore. Just a few rogue reporters and the web. BTW, corporations have basically stolen print, radio, and tv away from the people...o
The admin knows as well as anyone that media rules. Eyeballs, Hearts and Minds. I guess it would be ludicrous NOT to suspect rightwingers with a touch of shadyness of tampering with the media.
But these guys have more than a Touch of Shady. Consider that the biggest corporations on earth own our media and most of this admin and a large chunk of every politician
Everything is rigged, everything is slanted. THEIR PR Pirouettes come off without a hitch....t
The only hard part is actually pretending that the game isn't rigged. Carrying off the farce everyday is the challenge.
The profits the money the ratings the buzz - that stuff comes with owning all the airwaves,w
So stop looking for coincidenc
There is still Air America, Democracy Now, INN World News, and the "Rock Creek Free Press" to get at the truth.
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