The war that we do not see
In the midst of the allied attack on Libya and glorious killing Bin Laden many recall the beginning of the US-led invasion of Iraq, since the death of Bin Laden declares the end of one of the bloodiest periods in modern history, while the events in Libya may serve as a sign of American intentions in the future.
It seems that the beardless American youth once again assail the white world, so that it instructed democracy, peace and prosperity as we overthrow the bloodthirsty dictator. As we are bringing democracy to Iraq under the pretext of searching for nuclear weapons and overthrow Saddam, who, it is understood, funded Al'Qaeda. Of course, both theses have proved totally wrong. As the U.S. sold its entire west side of the story with the world's media explored by John Pilger in the documentary The War You Do not See. J. Pilger is a Canadian journalist who began his career reporting from Vietnam, and twice received the award for best British journalists, and numerous awards for documentaries on both sides of a large pond.
Given that most, but looked at least a few documentary about the last few years in Iraq, the question is why a look at The War You Do not See? John Pilger has decided to look at things from a different perspective and to put their focus - the media. Media as a tool that is used by Western policy as its PR machinery to generate legitimacy and it is not particularly a problem after 9 / 11. Pilger's gatherings in front of him so many reporters and editors of prominent media outlets such as CNN and the BBC, ITV and The Guardian, and who somehow got his complicity in the suffering of the Iraqi people later, and that the recently revealed - hundreds one thousand civilians were killed.
Right at the beginning of the story, Pilger reaches out to World War I and Edward Bernays, a pioneer of modern propaganda, and demonstrates how the same since then hardly changed. While the first case, the streets of American cities were covered with sticky posters painted Statue of Liberty in flames, 2001., Television screens minute by minute were full scene imploded the WTC. It was enough to deal with terrorist acts linked to Saddam Hussein, it is understood, funded by al-Qaeda, and the reprobate to possess weapons of mass destruction that he is ready to take advantage of every moment of the suffering American people.
Very quickly occurred and the invasion of Iraq media coverage media report written by the Pentagon (who spent a year on PR about a billion dollars) as the military troops in Iraq has entered and 700 military reporter in the so-called 'embedded' status, ie, under contract with U.S. Army. "Embeded" status ensures the right of journalists to report, and the U.S. Army's uncritical reporting. A perfect win-win combination.
One of them was Rageh Omaar, the BBC since 2000. until 2006. who live witness entry of U.S. troops in Baghdad and in the transfer of this event called 'liberation'. What then, he and a large part of the reporter did not know was the fact that events such as the entry of U.S. units or symbolic destruction of Saddam's statue had just engineered the events staged just for the media. The other side of the majestic American campaign, it was impossible to see the larger world television, except for Al Jazeera, whose offices were later bombed Iraq and totally destroyed in a U.S. rocket attack that targeted Al Jazeera editorial board exactly.
Another interesting case is Charles Hanley, Pulitzer Prize winner who has toured the whole Iraq, checking all the sites that the American government has categorized as suspicious. Absolutely all the sites were still sealed stamps from 1991. when they were put there by inspectors of the UN. Hanley has done his research in January 2003. and the same was duly published in the Associated Press, where it was accessible to all major media outlets. Announced it was ... um, no.
Scott Ritter, chief weapons inspector for the UN and from '91 to '98 '98 just in an interview with Pilger stated that "1991. Iraq had significant potential to produce chemical and biological weapons (...), but until 1998. removed all the infrastructure to produce chemical and biological weapons and nuclear program is completely extinguished. " Scott Ritter, and is now an outspoken opponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. When the invasion began, the BBC managed to show up twice briefly, once even three hours after midnight.
John Pilger was visited by the British Armed Forces Memorial in Staffordshire, the monument is intended for entering the names of the fallen British soldiers after the 1948th year. The monument is located 16 000 names of soldiers who fought overseas in the so-called. peacetime. Another 15-one thousand empty seats waiting for some future wars. Iraqi casualties are not raised no monuments.
The systematic destruction of Iraq did not begin 2003rd observes Pilger - after the first Gulf War bombings have continued about how it was not reported. Iraq by the UN on the initiative of the United States and Britain imposed the economic sanctions that prevented the import of water and medicines. Consequences? According to the UN Children Fund, the sanctions are directly caused the death of half a million children under five years of age. Dennis Halladay, former UN humanitarian coordinator in the course of its sanctions on the position resigned after 34 years working for the UN. The sanctions called the planned genocide that targeted solely at civilians, children.
Pilger is touching the case of eternal Israeli - Palestinian conflict, which resulted mainly the expansion of Israeli territory at the expense of Palestine as the best depicts the following illustration, top image is from 1948 and the bottom image is the situation today:
There is also evidence of writers and professors Greg Philo (Glasgow University Media Group), which testifies to the reporters that his daily turn to the experiences of Israeli pressure on Western media comes from the highest positions in the Israeli government. Journalists, therefore, not only that they are afraid to report on the conflict, but there are many words used in this reporting should not be used so as not to upset Israel.
Just remember the relatively recent Israeli attacks on the humanitarian ship that sailed to Gaza and original reporting on events that did not put a question mark over Israel's response. Criticism came only after Turkey broke diplomatic relations with Israel, a UN investigation condemned Israeli actions. Israel, of course, immediately after the event started in PR offensive in which humanitarians are beaten with sticks virtually powerless specialists, although the private footage from the ship showed something else entirely. Statement of the UN on the "unnecessary and incredibly violent act" that Israel can be characterized as a "war crime" in Britain was passed just ITV, while it is the BBC completely ignored.
John Pilger is the end of the documentary touched on Barack Obama's presidential victory, "one of the greatest PR triumph in history," Wikileaks and videos of U.S. attack on unarmed civilians and journalists and the testimony of American soldiers who had been on the spot and at the end and Bryan Whitman (Ministry of Defense) who murder civilians in the Iraqi conflict as "unfortunate, isolated cases."
One hundred thousand accidents?
The War You Do not See is surely one of the best documentaries about the Allied invasion of Iraq, who with the help of editors, journalists and former employees of the UN and the British Government exposes how the media generate legitimacy for the invasion of which are partly to blame for hundreds of thousands loss of lives on all sides. And history itself teaches us that history usually do not learn anything, so even this documentary will enlighten the world population by then will no longer swallow the media propaganda, but it will certainly be interesting to observe whether the same patterns described in the documentary to apply in the case of, say, Libya or some xyz country rich black liquid ore.
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