by B. R. GOWANI
an explosion on US carrier USS Maine was blamed on Spain
such a rallying cry in the US led to a US/Spain war in 1898
The US heavily profited, it usurped:
Guam, the Philippines, & Puerto Rico from Spain
Although, Cuba got independence from Spain …
it remained in US shackles till 1959, when Castro and Che freed it
before Fox News, CNN, Washington Post …
there were other rumour mongers and war mongers
William Hearst’s New York World & Joseph Pulitzer’s New York Journal
Hearst quoted an “officer high in authority”
“The idea that the catastrophe resulted from an internal accident [on USS Maine] is preposterous. In the first place, such a thing has never occurred before that I have ever heard of either in the British navy or ours.
a blatant lie from Hearst
nowadays, BBC, NYT etc quote “Western sources,” “government sources” …
in 1964, President Johnson wanted to escalate the US war in Vietnam
so he falsely claimed that Viet Minh naval forces had attacked US vessels
the result:
war was intensified with huge devastation and millions of deaths
Colin Powell didn’t need big ships to convince people for a war
on February 5, 2003, Powell spoke at the United Nations:
“My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we’re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.”
one of the sources was Rafid al-Janabi who later admitted that he was lying:
“I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the [Saddam] regime. I and my sons are proud of that and we are proud that we were the reason to give Iraq the margin of democracy.”
common people feel they’ve caused certain devastating events
as if Bush and his team of rogues needed al-Janabi to go to war
al-Janabi was quoted in the Guardian whose headline itself was a lie:
“Curveball: How US was duped by Iraqi fantasist looking to topple Saddam“
nobody dupes the US; the US always pretends that it’s being duped
was Colin Powell duped? hell no!
Powell wanted to save his ass as much as he could
so to strengthen his case
he and his state department tried to get whatever they could
in 2009, Powell lamely defended the war to CNN’s Larry King:
“You are always his voice. It’s just like in the military — you argue, you debate something, but once the president has made a decision, that becomes a decision for the cabinet.”
Collin was his master’s voice, literally
to King’s query, “And if it’s immoral, you quit, right?” Powell replied:
“If it’s immoral, you quit.”
one wonders what was moral about the horrific war against the Iraqis?
…
the vial Powell displayed at the UN should be placed in his coffin
he’s dead so it would be inapt to suggest any other place for that vial
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com