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The Polemic and Faux Fogh
Charter members of the Fawning Corporate Media are already busily at work, including the current FCM dean, the New York Times' Michael R. Gordon, who was at it again with a story titled "Russia Moves Artillery Units Into Ukraine, NATO Says." Gordon's "scoop" was all over the radio and TV news; it was picked up by NPR and other usual suspects who disseminate these indiscriminate alarms.
Gordon, who never did find those Weapons of Mass Destruction that he assured us were in Iraq, now writes: "The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and was using them to fire at Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday."
His main source seems to be NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who famously declared in 2003, "Iraq has WMDs. It is not something we think; it is something we know." Cables released by WikiLeaks have further shown the former Danish prime minister to be a tool of Washington.
However, Gordon provided no warning to Times' readers about Rasmussen's sorry track record for accuracy. Nor did the Times remind its readers about Gordon's sorry history of getting sensitive national security stories wrong.
Surely, the propaganda war will be stoked by what happened on Friday. Caveat emptor.
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