For those of you who pay attention to the news, the United States have stepped up drone strikes recently, including many in Yemen. It is interesting to observe how the U.S. and British media report on such strikes and their damages. CNN headlined those killed as, “militants.” Reuters, “suspected militants.” Bloomberg, “Al-Qaeda Suspects.” U.K’s BBC, “militants.”
Except, according to Press TV, an Iranian-based station, “US drones kill mostly civilians in Yemen.”
So, what is the real truth? Difficult to know isn’t it? However, as FAIR.org recently argued, the U.S. mainstream media are basically letting U.S. government officials decide who the casualties are and never bother to find out:
The tendency to let government officials determine who is killed in drone strikes only underscores the lack of interest when others try to put faces to collateral damage. When Yemeni journalist Farea al-Muslimi testified before Congress about the suffering that drones had inflicted upon people in his country, it was not even considered newsworthy to mainstream media (FAIR Blog, 4/24/13).
For those of you who live in the U.S. or U.K., have you wondered where are the footage of bombed out apartment buildings or charred bodies? Do you see dead bodies of Yemeni children? Why not? That’s because the “free” mainstream media there are propaganda machines.
Furthermore, search on Facebook or Twitter to see how popular are stories about innocent Yemeni civilians being killed by the drones. Not very popular is it?
So, the truth is, “free” media is nothing but empty talk. “Free” Internet is that same sort of nonsense that brings no fairness nor justice to the victims and sufferers. Above all, “democracies” are the most clever propagandists in our world. They invade and break international law as they please with full (duped) public support.
Don’t get me wrong. I do think America has the right to engage al Qaeda or any of her enemies. What I don’t think is right is, in doing so, going about it with such callousness of others’ lives. If the American public sees and understands foreigners as fellow human beings, they would hold American ruling elites much more to account.
Guo Du says
But sorry, the Free Press has no time for that. They’re too busy lecturing the rest of the world about human rights and the Rule of Law. The internet, much more difficult to control, does provide some room for the truth though. Perhaps that’d be fixed one day soon?
qfrealist says
The US cooperate media is controlled by the Wall street banks who fund the MIA (Military Industrial Complex) who in turn funds Obama and the lies and war crimes committed by the US govt and its allies, Britain and France and specially Israel. The alternative media is the only thing way any real information gets out. TV news is nothing but 40 second sound bites of total BS and NATO Pentagon propaganda in relation to anything to do with the GWOT or anything else. Al Quaeda doesnt exist its an old acronym invented by the CIA everybody knows it, most of the ‘fighters labled as AlQ.. are Pashtuns trying to kick the US out of Afghanistan, Yemen will be no different – plenty of kids killed by Obama’s drones. NOTE this excellent article on how the US is trying to destroy China-Pakistan cooperation and economic relations. on RT by William Engdahl . http://rt.com/op-edge/pakistan-terrorism-separatism-economy-272/
ersim says
Ever since 9-11 the kkkorporate lamestream media became the official public relations branch of the u.s government’s campaign of the so called war on terror. Yemen is just one picture. What about Pakistan, Afghanistan ,Iraq and what use to be Libya, just to mention the ones we heard about. What about the global hit squad/death squad called JSOC? What were they doing during the so called global terror alert this past week?
YinYang says
@Guo Du
I really do feel the gap between Western media propaganda and reality has never been so wide, such that the contradiction is bound to cause more of the Snowden’s and Manning’s to come out.
People are people and they have conscience. Technically, they broken American law. But they also believed in privacy, human rights, etc..
YinYang says
@qfrealist
Dwight Eisenhower made that famous speech when he departed from office – about the dangers of the military industrial complex.
Yeah, FAIR.org’s article cited Yemeni journalist Farea al-Muslimi – exactly on the point that senseless violence against Yemeni people only breeds more hatred. Blood feuds are easy to start and perpetuate but difficult to make them go away.
YinYang says
@ersim
Yes, Yemen is one in a long string of examples. Even in Vietnam today, farmers are still being blown up by mines left by the U.S.. Never-mind the cancer and what not caused by agent orange and suffered quietly by the ordinary people there.
pug_ster says
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-140813.html
The sad thing is that US’ position in Yemen is purely strategic in the Gulf Region by installing a US friendly puppet government who has little control over large parts of the population. The reason why drones are used is to ‘contain’ the parts of the population which the US puppet government does not have control of.