Freedom Rider: Media Silent as Trump Declares Wars

Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist

22 Jul 2020

Donald Trump’s attacks on Venezuela, Syria and Iran are criminal, but Joe Biden vows to be even worse.

“There is no congressional opposition to Trump’s acts of aggression which are literally killing people around the world.”

The corporate media in this country can endlessly repeat lies about Russia paying Taliban bounties, but ignore important information that is public and easily provable. A recent example is President Donald Trump’s announcement of some sort of an attack against Venezuela.

While visiting the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Florida, Trump gave an interview to Noticias Telemundo and said the following, “Something will happen with Venezuela. That’s all I can tell you. Something will be happening with Venezuela.”

The United States chose a puppet president to replace the elected president Nicolas Maduro, increased sanctions, attempted to send mercenaries to destabilize the country, and charged Maduro and his wife with drug trafficking. The U.S. puppet state known as the United Kingdom ruled that it will keep more than $1 billion worth of Venezuelan gold instead of turning it over to its rightful owners. The heist against Venezuela totals $24 billion in stolen and frozen assets. The wall that Trump said Mexico would pay for was actually paid for with ill gotten gains from Venezuela.

“The heist against Venezuela totals $24 billion in stolen and frozen assets.”

Venezuela has been under constant attack from the United States and its allies for years with the Trump administration making the most blatant regime change efforts. But the media who ordinarily pillory Trump are either silent or support these attacks. Trump’s remarks should have made headlines. The president of the United States once again declared some sort of hostilities against Venezuela but his words garnered hardly any attention.

Trump has placed the United States on the precipice of war in a variety of ways. He has withdrawn the U.S. from nuclear treaties with Russia that were ratified decades ago. His war of words against China is not merely rhetorical. Uttering slurs about the “Wuhan virus” and always adding the word communist along with the word China are not just stunts. Inciting violence in Hong Kong was part of a larger scheme to weaken an economic and political rival.

The U.S. is waging war by other means all over the world. The war against Syria is lost. There will be no regime change there by military means, so Trump resorts to stealing oil, burning wheat crops and increasing sanctions that restrict access to food and medicine. Israel, the U.S. partner in crime, bombs Iranian defense facilities in hopes that they can finally see their war fantasy come to reality.

“Waging war by other means all over the world.”

But none of these incidents receive sufficient coverage. If they are commented upon at all, the news relies on the ubiquitous anonymous intelligence source, or others who will parrot the official line. One must know where to look to find decent analysis.

The new devastation wrought upon Syria is either unreported or celebrated by the corporate media. There has been no critique of the policy, no one pointing out that a war crime is being committed in the name of the American people. In fact, the Washington Postapplauded the fact that the aptly named Caesar Act has “helped crash the Syrian currency.” They could have added that it helped increase suffering too.

Shrieking about Russiagate, Ukrainegate, Bountygate or any other gate that will be cooked up is smoke and mirrors for the masses and propaganda for the duopoly. There is no congressional opposition to Trump’s acts of aggression which are literally killing people around the world.

“War crimes are being committed in the name of the American people.”

Sadly, neither these policies nor the corporate media response will be different if Joe Biden becomes president. Biden’s Venezuela policy is the same as Trump’s. His attacks have in fact been further to the right. When Trump expressed a willingness to talk to Maduro, he backtracked after Biden condemned any effort to talk. “Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro,” was Biden’s twitter rejoinder.

The end result of these machinations is that Russia and China are closer than ever, as both countries seek protection from U.S. imperialism. They try to keep the U.S. and its puppet state allies from interfering in their countries or destroying Syria or Iran or Venezuela and thereby making themselves impotent. Iran and China recently reached an agreement which will build Iran’s infrastructure and supply China with discounted oil for the next 25 years. While the media here keep Americans ignorant with ridiculous stories about Russian bounties, the targeted nations work together for their own benefit.

Only people with the interest and wherewithal to seek out independent media know how their country threatens the world. After all, Trump issued a public threat against Venezuela and it hardly registered as a blip on a screen. When the U.S. goes too far and the world faces a hot war, ignorant Americans will not know what hit them. They may babble about the latest fake scandal or cry out “They hate us for our freedoms,” but the rest of the world won’t care and ignorance will be no defense.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well at patreon.com/margaretkimberley and she regularly posts on Twitter @freedomrideblog. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.

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