But you are unlikely to hear or read such individuals in the American commercial mass-media. To be sure, if one seeks out the opinions of such well-informed dissenters, these opinions may be found on the internet, or at independent and non-commercial publications. But the audiences of these independent media are minuscule, and thus of no practical concern to the "establishment" voices who spew out the official dogma.
And so the unified "approved" voice of the corporate mass media prevails. This is the same media that convinced a majority of Americans that, in the infamous words of Richard Cheney: "there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us." This is the same media that silenced war critics such as Phil Donahue. Twelve years later, at the cost of four thousand American and up to a half million Iraqi lives, and three trillion wasted dollars of national wealth, we now know that Cheney was lying. And yet the American media is at it again, with unfounded accusations that Vladimir Putin is "preparing for all-out war," and is seeking "to restore an empire." And, having been fooled once, it appears that a sizeable potion of the American public is prepared to be fooled again.
As significant as the distortions, inuendos and outright lies of the official propaganda, is the absence of plain indisputable facts that undedrmine "the official line" about Russia. (See the BBC "Ukraine Timeline").
Fact: In February, 2010, Victor Yanukovych is elected President of Ukraine in a free and fair election.
Fact: In December, 2013, Yanukovych accepts a Russian economic aid deal, declining a more punishing deal from the European Union.
Fact: Protests of unknown origin erupt in Kiev and in February, 2014, in fear of his life, Yanukovych flees the capitol city. (Why and how was he overthrown? That's speculation, and I choose here to confine this list to demonstrable facts).
Fact: In May, 2014, Petro Poroshenko is elected President of Ukraine in an election that largely excludes the ethnic Russian and Russian speaking eastern region.
Fact: Natalie Jaresko, an American Citizen and an employee of the US State Department, is appointed the Ukraine Finance Minister. The Economy Minister is from Lithuania and the Health Minister is from Georgia (the Republic, not the US state). All were granted Ukranian citizenship hours before the inauguration of the current President Porochenko.
Fact: June, 2014: "Russia's parliament cancels a parliamentary resolution authorizing the use of Russian forces in Ukraine." (BBC)
Fact: September, 2014: NATO reports a "significant" withdrawal of Russian troops from eastern Ukraine." (BBC)
Fact: October, 2014: "Putin orders thousands of troops stationed near the Ukrainian border to return to their bases." (BBC)
There are many more: additional plain facts, and still more allegations that are highly plausible but not fully substantiated,. Among the latter are allegations of US government involvement in the coup that overthrew Yanukovych and in the selection of his successors. Facts such as these erode the official line of Putin-as-despot-and-threat ("the new Stalin"), and the determined effort to mobilize the American public for "a new Cold War." And so, you must look far and wide for a statement of these facts in the "official media," and thus, unsurprisingly, little awareness of these facts among the American public.
Predictably, this inflation of poisonous propaganda is found on "the other side" as well. And, sadly, it has had a troublesome result. The Russian polling firm, Levada Centre reports that 13% of the Russian public views United States positively, and 81% negatively. This is a dramatic change from a year ago when the ratio was even at 43/44%. Today, 79% of Russians describe relations between the US and Russia as "tense" or "hostile." A year ago, that number was 17%. Sadly, there is little reason to dispute that 79% figure. (There is a wealth of additional information at this website. Unfortunately, it is in Russian. However, IE and Google translators can help you through it).
So it appears that both sides are adopting a "White Hat vs. Black Hat" -- our side (good) vs. their side (evil) -- polarization that history has taught us, time and again, is a precursor to war. As W. B. Yates famously warned:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Please understand me. I don't wish to suggest that the Russians are without fault in this conflict. I am no admirer of Vladimir Putin, and most emphatically would not wish to live under his regime. But the internal problems of Russia are the business of the Russian people, to tolerate or to meliorate as they choose. And at the moment, it is clear that a sizeable majority of the Russians have endorsed Putin's leadership. I am far more familiar with the shortcomings on the American and western European side of the dispute. And from that perspective, and the perspective of numerous wise and informed individuals that I have come to trust, "the Russia threat" to world peace has been vastly exaggerated by our leaders. And that exaggeration poses a grave danger to us all.|
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