Mistruths and Manipulation in British and American Media

Freedom of the press…a notion much quoted during the Cold War by British and American governments as they derided the Soviets on a range of issues stretching from human rights to freedom of expression. Sky News today gave a telling example of manipulation and lies, presented as…news.

Freedom of expression, apparently, for the media of these two countries involves the dissemination of lies. The case of Iraq is a good example. How many times do British and American TV and newspapers refer to Iraq and September 11th in the same breath?

The icing on the cake was the piece shown by Sky News today, in which a group of US marines, supposedly ex-policemen and ex-firemen from New York, some wearing NYC baseball caps, was shown getting ready for battle, while the Sky News reporter, Jeremy Thompson, declared that there was “unfinished business” to be done.

“Unfinished business”? Jeremy Thompson is either an idiot or a manipulative liar, in which case Sky News ceases to be a credible news agency and joins the tabloid press as yet another sausage-factory of stodgy, pink, tabloid, sensationalist gossip, relegating its journalists to the category of cheap guttersnipes.

“Unfinished business” in the context of US soldiers from New York on the Kuwaiti border brings an obvious insinuation that a war against Iraq is one and the same thing as a retaliatory attack against Al Qaeda for September 11th.

For the sake of Sky News and its team of journalists who purport to be professionals to be better informed, Pravda.Ru is happy to clarify the point. Before the Gulf War, Osama bin Laden had traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he had started to call up his fighters in Afghanistan to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

So that Sky News does not repeat broadcasts which contain such astonishing lies, Pravda.Ru is happy to inform its team of professional journalists that Osama bin Laden hates Saddam Hussein.

For Jeremy Thompson to be better informed, Pravda.Ru can inform him that Osama bin Laden considers Saddam Hussein as an Infidel and that Osama bin Laden requested permission from the Saudi authorities to expel the Iraqis from Kuwait, before Riyadh called on the Americans to do the same, sparking off the hatred bin Laden feels for Washington.

Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda have nothing whatsoever in common. Linking, or insinuating that there is a link between, Saddam Hussein and September 11th, Al Qaeda or bin Laden, is a total mistruth, a construction, a manipulation and in short, a blatant lie.

Sky News purports to be a credible news agency when in fact, it relegates itself to the pile of rubbish which is the guttersnipe press.

“Unfinished business” indeed. Saddam Hussein was one of the first Arab leaders to express his condolences after September 11th. In future, Jeremy Thompson and the Sky News Team are invited to read Pravda.Ru’s pages to learn the truth before they disseminate their lies so as not to mislead their viewers further.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru