Pointing the Accusatory Finger at Russia

by
Jacob G. Hornberger
My articles My booksMy videos
Follow on:

I’m fascinated by the mainstream media’s overwhelming focus on Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine while, at the same time, remaining steadfastly silent about the horrific and disgraceful mistreatment and imminent extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. After all, one of the big reasons that U.S. officials have targeted Assange is his disclosure of war crimes by the U.S. military in Iraq. Wouldn’t you think that given the mainstream media’s concern about Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, the media would be just as concerned about U.S. war crimes in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan? Wouldn’t you think that they would be coming to Assange’s defense rather than remaining silent or even supportive of how U.S. and British officials have brutalized — and continue to brutalize — him?

In fact, there is nothing that Russia has done in Ukraine so far that the Pentagon and the CIA did not do in their invasions and long-term occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Virtually every accusation that is being leveled at Russia with respect to its invasion of Ukraine would just as easily apply to the U.S. invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Oh, sure, there are differences between the U.S. invasions and the Russia invasion. No doubt about that.

For example, the Pentagon and the CIA established a torture and sex-abuse camp at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, where at least one Iraqi military official who had been taken prisoner was executed without even the semblance of a trial.

So far, there is no evidence that Russia has established that sort of camp in Ukraine, but if it does, I don’t think anyone would be surprised. Of course,  if it ends up doing so, there is no doubt that the U.S. mainstream press will be expressing shock and horror and calling for war-crimes trials of high officials, something it did not do when the Pentagon’s and the CIA’s Abu Ghraib was uncovered. 

The Pentagon repeatedly bombed wedding parties in Afghanistan, killing brides, grooms, flower girls, parents, brothers, sisters uncles, aunts, and friends. So far, I haven’t read that Russia has done that yet in Ukraine, but I don’t think anyone would be surprised if it does.

The Pentagon and the CIA also established a torture-and-prison center at Guantanamo Bay, where they keep accused terrorists for life without trial. If a trial is ever given, it will done with a kangaroo military tribunal and a pre-ordained guilty verdict. Of course, Russia has the same type of system within Russia itself. 

But aren’t those really distinctions without a difference? The point is that both regimes — the U.S. national-security state regime and the Russian national-security state regime — claim the authority to attack, invade, and occupy foreign countries for the sake of regime change. 

Thus, doesn’t the Russia invasion of Ukraine say just as much about the U.S. governmental system as it does about the Russian governmental system? Nonetheless, the mainstream press limits its criticism to the Russian system while, at the same time, expressing support for the Pentagon/CIA system. I find that fascinating.

Another thing I find fascinating is that throughout the invasions and long-term occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, there was never any sympathy toward the victims. All of the sympathy was for the invading troops. Remember the two most popular mantras that were being promoted by the Pentagon and the CIA: “Support the troops!” And “Thank you for your service!”

No one is “supporting the Russian troops” or “thanking them for their service” in Ukraine — well, except for the Russian press as well as “loyal” and “patriotic” Russian citizens, which is just like what happened here in the United States when the Pentagon and the CIA invaded and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. How can anyone not find that fascinating?

Speaking of “loyal” and “patriotic” citizens, let’s not forget about those people here in the United States who came to the support of the Pentagon and the CIA in their invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Coming to mind is noted chickenhawk Max Boot, a columnist for the Washington Post who, not surprisingly, is courageously calling for U.S. officials to do more to help the Ukrainian people, even while himself refusing to go to Ukraine to fight, as some of his fellow Americans are doing. During the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Boot’s position was the exact opposite. During those invasions, he was courageously supporting the Pentagon and the CIA, not by joining the U.S. military, of course, but rather by penning supportive op-eds from the comfort and safety of his home or office.

Today, the U.S. mainstream press is celebrating Russian citizens who are daring to challenge Vladimir Putin’s order to invade Ukraine. But they certainly didn’t celebrate the Dixie Chicks when they dared to challenge President George W. Bush’s order to invade Iraq. On the contrary, the U.S. mainstream press and their statist supporters looked on the Dixie Chicks the same way that Putin looks on protestors in his country.

What President Biden, the Pentagon, the CIA, and their statist supporters fail to realize is that every time they point an accusatory finger at Russia, there are three other hypocritical fingers pointing back at them. If only more Americans were to figure that out, we’d be able to get our nation back on the right track — toward liberty, peace, prosperity, and harmony with the people of the world. 

*****

A 5-star review on Amazon ($9.95 Kindle version; $14.95 print version) of my new book An Encounter with Evil: The Abraham Zapruder Story:

“Great organization of thought, lots of evidence by very credible people, and gives us a lot to contemplate if we Americans ever want to return to our constitutional republic we were given by people who gave their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor so very long ago!”–Howard J. Blitz.

You Might Also Like

No Friendship or Neutrality with Russia

2022-04-02

If there is one thing the whole world knows, U.S. officials will not permit anyone to maintain a friendly or even a neutral relationship with respect to Russia and Russian president Vladimir Putin. If some foreign regime doesn’t stand squarely with the United States with respect to the Ukrainian conflict, it is considered an enemy and will likely be hit with a strong case of economic sanctions. Just ask China.

A Need for National Soul-Searching

2022-03-15

Suppose that John, in an act of pure political gamesmanship, threatens to corner Peter. In response, Peter says to John, “If you corner me as part of your political game, I will shoot and kill Mary. So don’t corner me.” John has no doubt whatsoever that Peter is telling him the truth and that he’s not bluffing. John knows as an absolute certainty that if he corners Peter as part of his political game, Peter will shoot and kill Mary.

Winner and Losers in the Ukraine Crisis

2022-03-09

Let’s examine winners and losers in the Ukraine crisis. Let’s start with the losers. The biggest loser are the people of Ukraine. They are being killed, injured, and maimed by the Russian invasion of their country. The invasion is also destroying their homes, businesses, and, well, their entire country. 

The Cold War Racket Never Ended for the U.S.

2022-01-30

There is something important to recognize about the Cold War: It was not ended by the U.S. government. Instead, it was ended by the Soviet Union. If it had been up to the U.S. national-security establishment, the Cold War would have gone on forever because it is the best racket in U.S. history, one that continually expanded the tax-funded largess, power, and influence of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA.

A Great U.S. Boycott

2021-12-16

I never thought I would find myself saying this but President Biden has just instituted a great boycott. It’s against China, which U.S. officials have been trying their best to reconvert into a Cold War enemy, opponent, rival, or adversary. 
What’s so good about this boycott? It purports to punish China by prohibiting U.S. government officials from attending the Winter Olympics in China.

The Way Out of the Statist Morass

2021-12-11

Given the seemingly intractable welfare-warfare system that characterizes the United States, it might be tempting for some people to despair and simply give up and surrender to what might appear to be the inevitable — the permanent continuation of our lives as serfs on the welfare-warfare state plantation.

What the CIA Is Hiding in the JFK Assassination

2021-10-27

With President Biden succumbing to the CIA’s demand to continue keeping the CIA’s records relating to the Kennedy assassination secret, the question naturally arises: What is the CIA still hiding? (See my blog post of yesterday entitled “Surprise! Biden Continues the CIA’s JFK Assassination Cover-Up.”)

Surprise! Biden Continues the CIA’s JFK Assassination Cover-Up

2021-10-26

Before I address President Biden’s decision last Friday to continue the national-security establishment’s cover-up of its November 22, 1963, regime-change operation in Dallas, I wish to make one thing perfectly clear: I am not Nostradamus.