Mar 30, 2015

Operation Dragoon Ride: The US Rides Again

by Jonathan Barrett at Zero Hour

As operation Dragoon Ride crosses Eastern Europe already the Russians are tracking them on their provocative jaunt. Not surprising really, but it seems to come as a shock for the US troops and their commanding officers. I cannot believe they do not realise the provocation caused by this. Why at a time of heightened tension does the US think it is necessary to organise this excursion? Of course unless it is to promote the opportunity for more anti Russian news feeds.

The Guardian has been slow on the up take for this meaty little piece of agitprop, but in their absence News Week stepped up to the plate. Nolan Peterson reports that, two Russian Tu-22M Backfire bombers and two Su-27 Flanker fighter jets have been buzzing the convoy. The piece headlines, “Why Putin’s Warplanes Are Penetrating European Airspace”, a statement which is then refuted in the body of the article, where it appears that the Russian planes were in international air space. Not only that, but they were not acting illegally at all, being over the Baltic Sea. This piece run in News Week, appeared originally in The Daily Signal, which is the Heritage Foundation news site. The Heritage Foundation is an American conservative think tank based in Washington. The item was also reported in the Kyiv Post. So this is how the news demonising Putin and Russia is created.

However, the US Army Sryker convoy in question passed within just 12 miles of the Russian border. We can imagine the reaction if war parades were being organised along the Mexican border by Russia, but that of course is another matter. But here we have US military on the Russian boarder posing as part of NATO.

“Though not technically illegal,” Writes News Week, “these actions (by Russia) put other aircraft at risk and are considered by pilots and military officials to be unusual and provocative.

So why are we being given this propaganda thick and fast from the US and its vassal media outlets? Simply to demonise Putin, it is clear. A job the Western MSM has taken on without question. In its attempt demonstrate the superior nature of the so called “free press”, it has driven another serious issue of US belligerent antagonism into the gutter.

By not reporting factually and accurately. By not investigating for hard facts and introducing balance. We are presented with a narrative which is both contrived and inaccurate regarding the civil war in Ukraine. This creates a real problem, not just of credibility for the media, but also for the general perception of events by the public.

Not only this, but they manage to treat their readers as idiots for example in this case, reviving what Anders “Foggy” Rasmussen (the former Secretary General of NATO) said to the Telegraph 5 February this year, “Putin wants to restore Russia to its former position as a great power”.

This of course was nonsense coming from Rasmussen, but unfortunately it might eventually become a reality in Europe, thanks to the US and of course their insurance arm in Europe, NATO.