"The Danger of False Narrative" published March 27th

[snappyturtle]

I'm bringing this article to the attention of DUers who are interested for a more in-depth look at the Ukrainian situation. I'm only putting it out there because I think we can handle more than our M$M puts out for us to digest in not much more than sound bites.

I found this article most interesting and worthy of thought. If you don't like thinking about more than you've been told, this article may not be for you.

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/03/27/the-danger-of-false-narrative/

snip......

Today, Official Washington is marching in lockstep just as it did in 2002-03 when it enforced the misguided consensus on Iraq’s WMD. The latest case is Ukraine where Russian President Vladimir Putin is accused of committing “aggression” to expand Russian territory at the expense of noble ”democratic” reformers in Kiev.

Not only is this the dominant storyline in the U.S. media; it is virtually the only narrative permitted in the mainstream press. But the real narrative is that the United States and the European Union provoked this crisis by trying to take Ukraine out of its traditional sphere of influence, Russia, and put it in to a new association with the EU.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with Ukraine joining with the EU or staying with Russia (or a combination of the two) – depending on the will of the people and their elected representatives – this latest U.S./EU plan was motivated, at least in part, by hostility toward Russia.

That attitude was expressed in a Sept. 26, 2013, op-ed in the Washington Post by Carl Gershman, the neoconservative president of the National Endowment for Democracy, which doles out more than $100 million in U.S. funds a year to help organize “activists,” support “journalists” and finance programs that can be used to destabilize targeted governments.

snip....

[cthulu2016]

1. Apparently from the prestigious Journal of Irony Impairment

[snappyturtle]

2. You must be a speed reader...three min.! nt

[truth2power]

21. S/he doesn't read. S/he attacks the messenger, a technique that would earn a zero

in any high school English class. You'd think s/he would be embarrassed.


I already read this article over at Common Dreams. It's been widely distributed around the internet and presents a coherent account of the whole awful mess since day one.

I understand that Yanukovich had to reject that financial deal with the West because it came with IMF strings attached. Whenever the acronym IMF comes up you know you're in trouble. Just read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins to understand that it's the same pattern over and over.

But when Yanukovich wouldn't play ball he had to be gotten rid of; cue the riots. And so forth.

Always follow the money. So now we have our own guy, "Yats". Oh, and some anti-Semites as an extra bonus. Be careful what you wish for.

Of course, this knowledge has to be suppressed in some quarters. Demonizing Putin and calling people the equivalent of "Putin-lovers" is a good way to scare the bejeezus out of them.

Interesting that back in the '60's people who believed Blacks were entitled to equal rights were frequently called "N----- lovers". The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[snappyturtle]

22. I think the article is a coherent account of the situation too especially in contrast to the

fairy-tale the U.S. press is presenting. What gave the article credence to me was Parry's recognition of the grass root protestors....who were legitimately protesting only to beinfiltrated by a nefarious group with a totally different agenda. The whole mess just escalated.

Yanukovych, I think, was responding with his offer to up the election date to the legitimate protestors. I heard and wish I had made a note that Putin advised him to strengthen his police forces which he obviously didn't do and the infiltrators got the upper hand. I know when I watched the protests I couldn't believe what the protestors were doing to the police and the police had nothing more than helmuts, shields and a clubs. They resorted to Roman like tactics and formed themselves into a 'turtle' with their shields guarding their condensed formation. Unreal.

I was a teenager in the sixties...in high school in a northern integrated school. I didn't even know what integrated meant! We all got along fine so what I was seeing on tv was mind blowing. You're right...some things never really change.

[truth2power]

25. Yes, for anyone who takes the time to read that article, the fact that Yanukovych offered

to up the election date was a "tell" as far as I'm concerned.

If anyone wanted him out, legitimately, they could have taken him up on the offer. But, you see, when you screw with the IMF your goose is cooked.

The hypocrisy of Kerry and Obama in this is just astounding.

[snappyturtle]

26. Yanukovych offerred protection to his opponents who sought his ouster as well!

Very reasonable to me. I am aware that there was corruption with Yanukovych but I think his decision to go with the 15 billion dollar offer from the Russian Federation along with generous reductions in gas prices was an offer that served the Ukrainian people better than the IMF which basically enslaves them. It's nuts.

[libodem]

3. A very deep read to wade through

Way over my head but I took a dive and went swimming. Our news outlets suck. We can't believe anything we are told. One take I got out of this is something is seriously deranged in John McCain's neural synapses. Poor fuck mushy all up in his head.

[snappyturtle]

5. But it is so interesting once you dive in! I hope people will read this.

I think Sen. McCain needs to retire or step back from foreign policy. I recently saw a photo of him with two radical new parliament members in the coup/putsch interim government of Ukraine. I wanted to puke. Why is he always out front in a critical foreign policy crisis?

Thanks for reading the article.

[libodem]

31. Meatpuppet

[malokvale77]

4. Thank you for posting this

Anyone here who questions the official narrative will be labeled a Putin lover, as you have probably already seen.

It smacks of McCarthyism and it is disgusting.

[snappyturtle]

6. If I'm labeled a Putin lover, so be it. I can't sit back when I see the narrative that is

being presented to the American people. We need to think for ourselves and take the time to read everything we have time for so we can make informed decisions.

I'm going to post a couple more OPs on NED, Carl Gershman and an article from WIlliam Blum that you may find informative. Thought about putting all in this one OP but I think it would be too much for some to swallow at one time.

[malokvale77]

14. Good luck with that informing business

Some people prefer to be hand fed the narrative. Any thing more than a sound byte is to much to comprehend.

I´ll be looking forward to those OPs. I like exercising my brain with real information.

[bvar22]

7. DURec for the Putin Lovers of DU!!!

[font size=3]
If you're not FOR WAR in [/font]
Vietnam
Afghanistan
Iraq
Libya
Syria
[font size=3]The Ukraine
and Kicking Putin's RUSSIAN Commie ASS

you're WITH [/font]
The Communists
AlQaeda
The Terrorists
Saddam
Qaddafi
Assad
[font size=3]PUTIN!!!![/font]

Terror! Terror! Terror!
Evil Dictators! Booga...Booga
Terror Drones and Freedom Bombs for Peace!!!
USA....USA...USA

They are killing their own innocent people.
Don't they know thats OUR job?[/font]


Same Shit
Different Bag

[snappyturtle]

9. Well, that about sizes it up, doesn't it? Keeps it very simple. I'll stop now before

I elaborate.

[truth2power]

24. bvar - I'd like to recommend a book..."Slouching Towards Sirte: NATO's War on Libya and Africa"

by Maxmillian Forte.

I had this book thru inter-library loan because my public library doesn't own it. I had it for 3 weeks and couldn't renew it. I'll be honest; I only got thru about one-fourth of it, mostly because it was so painful to read what we did to Libya and its people. I had to keep putting it down.

I could get it, used, from Amazon for about $20.00, including shipping. I know that's not much, but if I bought every book on foreign policy that I felt compelled to read I wouldn't have any money left at all.

Nevertheless, I think I'll have to buy this one so I can take my time reading it and make notes in the margins.

It's a sin, the shape we left Libya in. And all for Wall Street and big investors. Again.

Oh, and it was the SAME pattern with Gaddafi - demonizing him. He was talking about a pan-African bank. Tsk tsk.


Why won't people wake up??

[bvar22]

39. Thanks for the recommend.

I'll see if I can find it in the Library.

From the Asia Times:

” For all his dictatorial megalomania, Gaddafi is a committed pan-African - a fierce defender of African unity. Libya was not in debt to international bankers. It did not borrow cash from the International Monetary Fund for any "structural adjustment". It used oil money for social services - including the Great Man Made River project, and investment/aid to sub-Saharan countries. Its independent central bank was not manipulated by the Western financial system. All in all a very bad example for the developing world.”

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD27Ak01.html

NATO has become the "Enforcement Arm" of the IMF, Global Banks, and Global Resource Extraction Corporations.
Gaddafi had been blocking the IMF from "developing" North Africa for YEARS.
The Disaster Capitalists seized the opportunity to Piggy-Back on the legitimate uprisings of the Arab Spring to enter the ongoing Libyan Civil War and remove their obstruction to the riches of North Africa.

While that is frightening in itself,
it is even more frightening to me that the voice of opposition or restraint has been completely silenced in the US Media.
They were absolutely coordinated in the Demonization of Gaddafi,
and the Deification of "The Rebels" (Al Qaeda + other fundamentalist Islamic militias)
who have turned out to be quite a bit WORSE that Gaddafi on his Bad days.

The Death Toll for the IMF & Global Banks "NATO" <cough> in Libya hasn't been calculated,
and will NEVER be calculated.

What the USA participated in in Libya was a perfect example of Disaster Capitalism on a Global Scale.
If you don't have a disaster, NATO will be glad to provide one.




Arab Spring in Egypt



Arab Spring in Tunisia



Libyan Civil War

[jeff47]

8. I like how he assumes Ukrainians are moronic children.

Unable to do anything except be manipulated by the US and EU.

[snappyturtle]

12. I don't agree with your asessment. On the contrary, I think Parry does a good job

at delineating the complexity of the Ukrainian citizenery and the various entities which influence them. They are a big mix.

[jeff47]

23. Except he doesn't consider them to have free will.

The article is entirely based around the US and EU manipulating the Ukrainians. It is as if the author believes the Ukrainians can not make any decisions on their own. They only act once outsiders manipulate them.

He also left out important details. For example, he claims the deal with Russia at the beginning of all this was nothing but good. He left out the part where Russia threatened to triple the cost of natural gas - at the beginning of winter - if they did not take the deal. There's others, but that's one of the most glaring.

As a result, he is creating a false narrative - the very thing he is attacking.

[snappyturtle]

28. I wish you could be more specific. What did Parry say that leads you to thinks he

believes Ukrainians incapable of making decisions? He's giving an account of what has happened. After all, the protests last fall, by participants outside of the extremists, was homegrown response to Yanukovych's decision to take the Russian offer. He did not say the Ukrainians were wringing their hands in indecisiveness until they were guided into the maidan. You've lost me on this one.

Can you give me a link to the Russian "blackmail type" threat of increased gas prices? Thank you.

[jeff47]

32. According to him, every time the Ukrainians do something it's because of manipulation.

Read the damn article. See if you can find a single example where the Ukrainians do something without the US, EU or Russia.

Can you give me a link to the Russian "blackmail type" threat of increased gas prices? Thank you.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/29/ukraine-eu-deal-ditchedunderpressurefromrussia.html

Russia had worked aggressively to derail the deal by imposing painful trade sanctions and threatening Ukraine with giant gas bills. And Ukraine knows what Russian pressure feels like.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/17/3074901/ukraine-russia-gas-deal/

Prior to the Prime Minister’s decision, Moscow put significant pressure on Yanukovych to abandon talks with the EU, imposing painful trade sanctions against Ukraine in August and threatening gas bills.

[snappyturtle]

33. First off I did read the article. You and I have different interruptations of it.

My example of the Ukrainians exercising their 'free will' is they protested. Unfortunately, their protests were infiltrated. Last fall Ukraine had a chance to exercise its' free will: Go with the EU or go with Russia. That's about as good as it gets.

Thanks for your links from last fall. Of course Russia would offer tough sanctions if Ukraine went with the EU (IMF, eventually NATO) and Ukraine is in huge debt, in the billions, to Gazprom. SOooo....Russia offers $15 billion and reduced gas prices as the first three paragraphs of your second link point out. Again, it was a choice for Ukraine and still again, that's as good as it gets.

As far as Parry's slant, I didn't find his use of the word manipulation once in his article. I ran a word check. His article just leads to that conclusion; manipulation is a fact of life. I think it's fair to say all countries are in some way dependent, or swayed or linked economically, etc. to each other. Why is it so important to you that Ukraine does anything without the US, EU or Russia? They get to pick....that's as good as it gets.

[jeff47]

34. So your example of free will is what the article says they did in response to manipulation.

Yeah, great example.

Last fall Ukraine had a chance to exercise its' free will: Go with the EU or go with Russia. That's about as good as it gets.

Yeah, having Russia threaten their survival really made it a free choice.

"Let's see...we go with the EU and freeze to death, or we go with Russia and live another day. Hmmm.....decisions decisions...."

So if someone threatens you with a gun and you decide to give him your money, that's perfectly legal, right? You just exercised your fee will to give someone money.

Thanks for your links from last fall. Of course Russia would offer tough sanctions if Ukraine went with the EU (IMF, eventually NATO) and Ukraine is in huge debt, in the billions, to Gazprom. SOooo....Russia offers $15 billion and reduced gas prices as the first three paragraphs of your second link point out. Again, it was a choice for Ukraine and still again, that's as good as it gets.

The choices were go with the EU and lose their fuel supply, or go with Russia. That's not exactly getting the opportunity to make a free choice.

And again, my point is the article utterly ignored the negatives around the Russia deal. It only talked about the $15 billion. Because if he mentioned that Russia was threatening their heat at the beginning of winter, that would damage the false narrative that he is trying to create.

As far as Parry's slant, I didn't find his use of the word manipulation once in his article. I ran a word check.

Yes, it's all about the literal fucking word.

You could have saved a lot of time and just written "Nuh-uh!!!!". It would be an equally effective argument.

The author's entire thesis is that the US and EU are manipulating the media and the Ukrainians. The fact that he uses synonyms doesn't change that. Just like when Republicans are trying to fuck over the poor, they don't literally say the words "fuck over the poor". But they are still doing it.

The article has zero situations where the Ukrainians are their own agents. At every point in the article, the Ukrainians are either being manipulated by the west, or doing something for their "wonderful benefactor" Russia. And he leaves out the "unsavory" side of their relationship with Russia. For example, here's the history of the last 20 years of gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine.

The author is creating a narrative that he likes, and is throwing out what does not fit that narrative. While claiming that others are doing so.

[snappyturtle]

36. Look, the world is an unsavory place. Ukraine is screwed. Ukraine is ultimately

responsible for its position today as sad as that is. Ukrainians have screwed each other and the world has "helped". You seem not to like the choices Ukraine has...are you suggesting Ukraine go it alone? With what? Do they say, "Screw you," to the EU and Russia? I guess Russia is no longer upholding its offer so that option is gone.

Maybe your accusation of Parry is correct although I won't be convinced that was his intent.

[jeff47]

37. No, I'm suggesting that Ukraine is full of adults

Who can make decisions. They aren't being manipulated. They're muddling through like all other adults.

Look, there's two major factions - the "pro-Russia" and the "pro-West".

The "pro-Russia" is more-or-less the conservatives - don't rock the boat, stay with the people who got us this far. We currently need Russia's help, so don't risk upsetting them.

The problem is there's downsides to staying the course - they remain more-or-less indentured to Russia. Ukraine doesn't produce anything that Russia needs, so they have no way to gain power in the relationship.

The "pro-West" faction wants to fix that by increasing trade with people who do consume what Ukraine produces. How? Well, that breaks down even further.

Some think it'll happen via magic. Closer ties to the EU will make money appear.
Some think it'll happen via the free trade fairies - similar to the people who support the TPP.
Some think it'll happen via fracking and just getting more markets to sell in.

Enter the western media, such as the author. The first is irrational and the last two are unsavory. Therefore, they must be the result of US and EU propaganda. And whatever you do, don't look at the actual relationship with Russia before writing an article.

[snappyturtle]

38. OK, OK I'll make a deal with you. If you'll concede that the US and EU had a hand

in propagandizing Ukraine, I'll concede that the author could have given more background on the relationship of Ukraine with Russia. Deal?

[tiredtoo]

10. I do not recall where I read or saw this but;

Right at the beginning of this Crimea thing i read something to suggest that Putin was re-acting to aggressive moves by the US/Euro conglomerate.

[snappyturtle]

15. I didn't read this but it makes sense. It was Russia that disclosed the now infamous

Nuland comments (on an unsecured cell phone!) which clearly suggests meddling. That phone call hasn't been denied to my knowledge.

[mia]

11. President Obama knows better.

...At a March 25 news conference in the Netherlands, Obama toed the line of the hypocritical false narrative.

He declared, “we have said consistently throughout this process is that it is up to the Ukrainian people to make their own decisions about how they organize themselves and who they interact with.” He then added that the Crimean referendum was “sloppily organized over the course of two weeks” and thus a sham.

If Obama were telling the truth, he would have noted that Yanukovych – for all his faults – was democratically elected in a process that was deemed fair by international observers. Obama would have acknowledged that Yanukovych agreed on Feb. 21 to a process that would have allowed for an orderly and legal process for his replacement.

Obama would have admitted, too, that the violent coup and the actions of the rump parliament in Kiev were both illegal and, indeed, “sloppily organized” – and that the U.S. government acted hastily in recognizing this coup regime. But double standards seem to be the only standards these days in Official Washington.

What is perhaps tragic about Obama is that he does know better. He is not a stupid man. But he doesn’t dare go against the grain for fear of being denounced as “naïve” about Putin or “weak” in not facing down “Russian aggression.” So, he reads the lines that have been, in effect, dictated by neocons within his own administration.

[Catherina]

19. and he would have admitted that the US poured $5Billion dollars into destabilizing Ukraine

per Victoria Nuland's own admission as she gushed about it while standing between Chevron and Exxon Mobil logos.

Ole Yatsenuk didn't have NATO, the US State Department, the NED, the Chatham House and oligarchs partnering in his 2007 "philanthropic" venture for nothing.

[snappyturtle]

20. I hadn't read about "Yats" philanthropic venture...time to collect on our

investment? Thanks for the info.

[fascisthunter]

13. Well, this did happen in regards to Iraq

The MSM flooded this country with so much BS. How am I to believe them?

That attitude was expressed in a Sept. 26, 2013, op-ed in the Washington Post by Carl Gershman, the neoconservative president of the National Endowment for Democracy, which doles out more than $100 million in U.S. funds a year to help organize “activists,” support “journalists” and finance programs that can be used to destabilize targeted governments.

Man... that's creepy if true.

[snappyturtle]

16. I'm going to post another OP about NED. It was conceived to do what the CIA

used to do to destablilize governments. Acting as a NGO it supposedly would be better accepted. Yes, it is indeed creepy.

I think we get very limited tidbits of info from the M$M.

[okaawhatever]

17. Please, this article is an insult to those of us who have spent hours upon hours researching and

learning about this crisis. It is not investigative, it's the same Parry line he's been toeing for years. It sickens me that anyone would believe this tripe. Most of it is lies, the rest just more Parry propaganda. I'll bet he wins an award for using neo-con the most times in an article, though. He even used it to describe Hillary Clinton on her job as Sec of State.

Folks, read this article if you want to read a bunch of lies. Never mind that Ukrainians supported joining the EU, completely ignore the Democratic process because what the majority want only matters when Parry says it does.

Disgraceful.

[snappyturtle]

18. I'll look forward to reading the results of your extensive research.

Please be sure to include what lies Parry has told us.

[Oilwellian]

27. This is key

On Syria and Iran, it was largely the behind-the-scenes cooperation between Obama and Putin that tamped down those crises last year and opened a pathway for diplomacy – much to the chagrin of the neocons who favored heightened confrontations, U.S. military strikes and “regime change.” Thus, it became a neocon priority to divide Obama from Putin. Ukraine became the wedge.

Since President Barack Obama never took full control of his foreign policy apparatus – leaving the Bush Family apparatchik Gates at Defense and naming neocon-leaning Democrat Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State – the bureaucratic momentum toward confronting Russia continued. Indeed, the elevation of operatives like Nuland, the wife of prominent neocon Robert Kagan, gave new impetus to the anti-Russian strategy.

I’m told that Obama, like Putin, was caught off-guard by the Ukraine crisis. But Obama’s unwillingness or inability to recast the false narrative left him with no political choice but to join in the Putin-bashing. That, in turn, means that Putin won’t be there to help Obama navigate around future U.S. war plans that the neocons have in mind for Syria and Iran.

Indeed, neutralizing the Obama-Putin relationship may have been the chief reason why the neocons were so eager to stoke the Ukrainian fires — and it shows how false narratives can get people killed.

I love Consortium News. Have been reading it for years, especially during the reign of the Bush Crime Family. Parry is one of the few topnotch reporters left. To see someone above complain about his persistent exposure of the neocons and throw him under the bus as well, is beyond the pale. This site is infested.

[snappyturtle]

29. Yes...it is key....I had a hard time picking out four paragraphs! Each paragraph I read

made me say, "yes"...it just all fits together.

About the complaint: notice I haven't received an response. Enough said.

[woo me with science]

40. [phone]

[adirondacker]

30. Looks interesting. Bookmarking for when I'm rested. nt

[woo me with science]

35. K&R