Guardian Declares War on Iran
May 22, 2007
Simon Tisdall, pip-squeak hack for the New-Labour rag, Guardian, has an article on the frontpage that would make Judith Miller blush. With its preferred news outlets in the US thoroughly discredited, it appears the Bush-Cheney junta is using British press to place its stories. Relying exclusively on unnamed official sources, Tisdall wants to convince us that the Shia Iran is collaborating with Salafi al-Qaidah to prepare a summer showdown against the US-UK occupation forces.
Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say.
Leaving aside the silliness of the charge and the hack’s uncritical reporting, it is the sources and the fact that a British liberal publication would place it on its frontpage that make this highly suspicious. Here, for example, are all the sources for the charges: “US officials say”; ”a senior US official in Baghdad warned”; “The official said”; “the official said”; ”the official said”; “US officials now say”; “the senior official in Baghdad said” “he [the senior official in Baghdad] added”; “the official said”; “the official said”; “he [the official] cited”; “a senior administration official in Washington said”; “The administration official also claimed”; ”he [the administration official] said”; ”US officials say”; “the senior official in Baghdad said”; “he [the senior official in Baghdad] said”; ”the senior administration official said”; “he [the senior administration official] said”; “the official claimed”; ”he [the official] said”; ”Gen Petraeus’s report to the White House and Congress”; “a former Bush administration official said”; ”A senior adviser to Gen Petraeus reported”; “the adviser admitted”.
26 references to official sources (the only non official source cited in the article is “Washington analysts and commentators”) – not a single one named! This is what passes for journalism in UK.
And those unnamed official sources are the only sources! Literally the whole thing comes from them, with the exception of the following comment:
Other than that, the “officials” just wrote it for Tisdall to frame with the odd “he said”, and sign it. The “liberal media” are often sickeningly pro-establishment, but this is just plain embarrassing.
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Don’t forget to complain to the editor for publishing such blatant propaganda.
Say … if you were a military strategist, wouldn’t you want to take the pulse of a nation in response to a little “stimulant” you present to them on the front page of a popular paper? I call this media tool a “stupidometer.”
And the less attention the article gets, the better!
What a truly pathetic newspaper the Grauniad has become.
Sounds like the occupation know they’re in for a hot summer.They,like their liberal press propagandists are a bunch of fat,idle sheisters who’ll readily bombard men,women and children from the air but get a little frightened when the people fight them on the ground.
They’re spinning because they know they’re pinned down with no way out.They have got to fight their way out and they find the prospect awesome.Iran is calling the shots!
Do we feel sorry for them? Do we f……..
[...] Labour rag Guradian continues its disinformation campaign against Iran with with a follow up on Simon Tisdall’s frontpage propaganda piece with a new one by neocon favorite, Robert Tait. In classic eco chamber approach, Tait follows [...]
[...] 18th, 2007 It is only months since the Guardian’s front page was turned into a conduit for Pentagon propaganda, leading to widespread condemnation. Here it is now inflicting another load of tosh on its [...]