I. Actual Jubilation in Crimea
The first three videos embedded below are coverage of the celebrations in Crimea regarding the referendum to join Russia. The first is news and footage from western mainstream media sources and the next two contain raw footage provided by RT, the Russian-based television network.
I thought it was prudent to supply the news from the western sources so there would be no doubt as to the authenticity of the footage, just in case anyone thought that the jubilation in Crimea and Russia were orchestrated. We can now move onto Iraq, since there is nothing more to say about Ukraine and Crimea that hasn’t already been said HERE, HERE, and HERE.
II. Orchestrated Celebration in Iraq
The two videos embedded below are of the 9 April 2003 orchestrated celebration that was broadcast around the globe by mainstream media (2) supposedly of a spontaneous gathering of Iraqis marching down Firdos Square in the center of Baghdad to topple Saddam Hussein’s statue.
This event was staged. The crowd was small, gathered by the coalition forces, and surrounded by the U.S. military. To complete this farce, in response to what was taking place, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense at the time, told reporters:
“The scenes of free Iraqis celebrating in the streets, riding American tanks, tearing down the statues of Saddam Hussein in the center of Baghdad are breathtaking. Watching them, one cannot help but think of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain.”
As Robert Fisk pointed out, it was “the most staged photo-opportunity since Iwo Jima.” David Robie, professor in Auckland University of Technology School of Communication Studies, stated that:
“I watched BBC World in the lead-up to the toppling. The square was largely empty except for three strategically positioned U.S. Abrams tanks and an armored personnel carrier plus a small paltry crowd of 100 or so, many of then apparently journalists. A BBC World news presenter kept asking, ‘Where is everybody?’”The mainstream media did not report this as a staged event with barely anyone there to witness it, except for their cameras of course. They celebrated this propaganda extravaganza:
"It is absolutely, without a doubt, a vindication of the strategy." (BBC News at Six, April 9)…Below you will find four pictures: two wide angle shots of the square showing the small crowd surrounded by the U.S. military, one close up picture of the crowd surrounding the statue, and the fourth, most telling of all, a U.S. soldier draping an American flag on the head of Saddam Hussein’s statue. A video interview with this soldier follows the pictures. (click images to enlarge)
"A war of three weeks has brought an end to decades of Iraqi misery." (ITN Evening News, April 9)…
“On the BBC's News At Ten (April 9), Matt Frei pushed the accepted media interpretation of events: ‘For some, these images have legitimised the war’, he suggested….
"Frankly, the main mood [in Downing Street] is of unbridled relief. I've been watching ministers wander around with smiles like split watermelons." (BBC News At Ten, April 9)…
"[Blair] said that they would be able to take Baghdad without a bloodbath, and that in the end the Iraqis would be celebrating. And on both of those points he has been proved conclusively right." (Marr, BBC 1, News At Ten, April 9, 2003)…”
III. Can You Spot the Difference?
Can you spot the difference between what’s taking place in Crimea and what took place in Iraq? If not, below you will find three videos that will hopefully shine a light on the situation: the first is of George W. Bush declaring the end of hostilities in Iraq in his infamous 2003 ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech given on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln parked just off the coast of San Diego; the second video is of Obama flexing his muscles after NATO and its allies bombed the shit out of Libya, a country that use to have the highest living standard in Africa before we destroyed it; and the third video is of Madeline Albright valuing children’s lives based on their citizenry.
“During his presidency, Bill Clinton presided over the most devestating regime of economic sanctions in history that the UN estimated took the lives of as many as a million Iraqis, the vast majority of them children. In May of 1996, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Madeline Albright, who at the time was Clinton’s UN Ambassador. Correspondent Leslie Stahl said to Albright, ‘We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And — and you know, is the price worth it?’It’s amazing that the architects for the normalization of assassinations and those who embraced redefining ‘civilians’ as ‘combatants’ in the drone wars have the audacity to criticize the Crimea referendum, or anything else for that matter. As Ron Paul has pointed out:
“Madeline Albright replied ‘I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.’”
“Critics point to the Russian ‘occupation’ of Crimea as evidence that no fair vote could have taken place. Where were these people when an election held in an Iraq occupied by U.S. troops was called a ‘triumph of democracy’? Perhaps the U.S. officials who supported the unconstitutional overthrow of Ukraine's government should refocus their energies on learning our own Constitution, which does not allow the U.S. government to overthrow governments overseas.”
Additional Posts on Ukraine at:
- What Cold War? This Cold War: Death Follows McCain to the Ukraine as the Armenia-ultimatum to Screw over Russia Fails Again for the EU and the U.S. (Update 2)
- What’s Really Going On: Bahrain vs. Ukraine, Can You Spot the Difference?
- The Hypocrisy Is Unbearable: Iraq vs. Crimea, Can You Spot the Difference?
Pushing Toward The Final War — Paul Craig Roberts
ReplyDeleteMarch 20, 2014 - Former U.S. Ambassador: Behind Crimea Crisis, Russia Responding to Years of "Hostile" U.S. Policy
ReplyDeleteApril 29, 2014 - As Unrest Grows, Is Ukraine Paying the Price of U.S.-Russian Ties Stuck in Cold War Era?
Obama Calls Coup Government in Kiev "Duly Elected"
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