Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Silent Arab Spring
In his editorial from the Department of Double Standards, investigative reporter Russ Baker connects the dots on the reconciliation between Al Qaeda and America. Noting how Western media gets it all wrong (as usual) in Libya, Iran, Egypt and now Syria, Baker examines the boiler plate propaganda used by Western allies in their hypocritical condemnation of the Syrian regime.
That condemnation, observes Baker, is in dramatic contrast to their silence toward comparably repressive but pro-Western governments like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. With uprisings in both of the latter Arab states -- what might be referred to as Silent Arab Spring for the lack of mention in Western media -- one might be inclined to surmise this psychological warfare posing as news is all about oil.
Unfortunately, as the EU and US attempt to destabilize Iran, the politics of oil could leave us all stranded by the roadside, as we were nearly four decades ago during the Arab Oil Embargo. In a perverted sense, we have come full circle in our ignorance, but bliss doesn't come to mind as an accurate way to describe it.
That condemnation, observes Baker, is in dramatic contrast to their silence toward comparably repressive but pro-Western governments like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. With uprisings in both of the latter Arab states -- what might be referred to as Silent Arab Spring for the lack of mention in Western media -- one might be inclined to surmise this psychological warfare posing as news is all about oil.
Unfortunately, as the EU and US attempt to destabilize Iran, the politics of oil could leave us all stranded by the roadside, as we were nearly four decades ago during the Arab Oil Embargo. In a perverted sense, we have come full circle in our ignorance, but bliss doesn't come to mind as an accurate way to describe it.
