Syria: We Can Learn a Lot From the “Small Stuff”
Reading Time: 6 minutes Really interesting material on Syria flies by, largely unnoticed and unremarked upon. Here’s a grab bag of potentially consequential items from the past couple of months.
TVWho: Gen. Wesley Clark Shocker on 9/11 “Policy Coup”
Reading Time: < 1 minute Most people do not know about Gen. Wesley Clark’s astonishing assertion: that he was told of US plans to use 9/11 as an excuse to invade seven countries in five years.
Quick Thought: Alawites and Other Religious Minorities
Reading Time: 2 minutes In Syria, the regime is criticized for being from a religious minority. So how do we feel about that issue when it’s the United States we’re talking about?
War, Syrian Style? Has Assad Ordered Mass Rapes?
Reading Time: 12 minutes As pressure grows for military intervention in Syria, we are now hearing that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is behind alleged widespread rape in his country. Didn’t we hear the same thing about Muammar Qaddafi, followed by mounting Western calls for his ouster? As before, when you read the fine print, it gets more complicated.
Syria, The Movie: Monsters and Defectors
Reading Time: 5 minutes Another massacre in Syria, more rush to blame the side Western governments oppose, followed by corrections. Journalists owe the public better, more careful reporting.
Everything They’re Telling Us About Syria….is False?
Reading Time: 5 minutes A “defecting” general, the Houla massacre, and more—so much of the news out of Syria seems pretty far from the truth. If you’re not asking questions yet, you should be.
The Hijacking of Arab Spring, and the Media’s Complicity
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Western coup against Syria’s Assad marches along under humanitarian cover, the lemming-like media does its part, and the rest of us miss the whole thing. George Orwell would be so, so impressed.
TVWhoWhatWhy: Russ Baker on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria
Reading Time: < 1 minute WhoWhatWhy editor Russ Baker interviewed on drone strikes, strategy regarding the Taliban, policy towards Pakistan, and the situation in Syria.
Syria: The Dangers of One-Sided Reporting
Reading Time: 5 minutes We keep getting reports of atrocities committed by the Syrian government. Those reports may well be accurate. But the truth is usually a bit more complicated in war zones. If news organizations don’t start adopting a higher standard for their reports, another Libyan-style intervention, complete with massive bombing and untold civilian casualties, may be inevitable.
Why We Can’t Stand Anyone CNN Likes
Reading Time: 3 minutes Fareed Zakaria, the favorite pundit of the Council on Foreign Relations, is bewildered that the Saudis aren’t more welcoming toward Arab Spring. And he loves George W. Bush’s love of freedom. Maybe this is why CNN ratings are at record lows.