Trust Us Says Government, But Can We?
By Arshad M Khan
27 July, 2014
Countercurrents.org
'Trust us' was essentially (US State Department deputy spokeswoman) Marie Harf's response when pressed by a reporter to back up the claims blaming Russia for the downing of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine. But how far can we carry that trust? Her prior experience has been with the CIA, first as an intelligence analyst, later developing CIA media strategy and responses to reporters queries.
A lie told often enough becomes truth. So it is said. Thus over two-thirds of Americans had been convinced of Saddam Hussein's WMDs, and his al-Qaeda connections despite his secular government headed by a Christian Prime Minister. Where are the Iraqi Christians now? Lies that cost thousands of lives, millions displaced and billions wasted.
Then there was the accusation that Assad used chemical weapons -- since then proven false. Why on earth would he do so when conventional weapons and his air force were more effective and without the risk of world opprobrium, or even of the wind changing direction. That one was a close shave with the Russians arranging a face-saving deal.
Now we have the tragedy of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Without offering clear proof the US has accused the Ukrainian rebels of bringing it down, and the Russians of supplying the missiles. Why? The Russians point out a US spy satellite was over the area, so why not release the photos. They ask why the Ukrainian aircraft controller diverted the Malaysian plane 500 km south from its regular flight path into a conflict zone. They have also released images of an unidentifiable, therefore military jet, appearing close to the airliner. As the rebels do not have any planes, one can only surmise it belonged to Ukrainian forces.
We have been told of desecrated bodies, inadequate access to the crash site and other charges. But the crash site is in a war zone and, as reported by Reuters, Peter van Vliet, the Dutchman, whose team received the bodies said the rebel recovery crews had done a superb job of collecting and preserving the remains in very difficult circumstances. Meanwhile the nightmare continues for the ethnic Russian communities in the east with thousands fleeing the bombing and shelling of their homes, seeking refuge in Russia. Question: If the Ukrainian government is so benign, why are these people not fleeing westwards within Ukraine?
The black boxes from MH17 were handed to the Malaysians to pass on to the ICAO but they, for reasons best known to themselves, delivered them to British authorities. Given the pejorative declarations from Mr. Cameron and the pressures on civil servants to serve the 'national interest', will we ever know the truth? Decoding the instrument recorder can take time, although if the plane was downed by a missile, it is unlikely to reveal much. Thus if anything is to be learned, it will come from the cockpit voice recorder. That does not require decoding, so why are they keeping the families waiting?
In the interim, the propaganda barrages continue. Not just over the plane tragedy but also over an ongoing disaster in the Gaza strip. Navi Pillay the UN Human Rights Commissioner has publicly likened Netanyahu's bombing to a war crime. Children are being killed at the rate of one per hour; most of the wounded ones (as the dead) are under five said a serving volunteer anesthesiologist from "Doctors Without Borders." The tunnels Netanyahu is complaining about were made necessary by the illegal blockade of Gaza turning it into a giant prison. As the bodies pile up including the tangled mass of children in the bombing of a school last Thursday, what is the answer? The only viable answer is peace. Not never-ending peace talks while Israel continues de facto annexations through settlements, but actual peace. Otherwise, Israel will find itself eventually in the same situation as South Africa was -- all the inhuman killing a pointless tragedy.
We can trust them ... when they become worthy of that trust.
Dr. Arshad M Khan (http://ofthisandthat.org/index.html) is a retired Professor. A frequent contributor to the print and electronic media, his work has been quoted in the U.S. Congress and published in the Congressional Record.
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