Monday, May 22, 2017

Syrian Prison Executions – Anatomy of a Smear Campaign

ORIGINAL LINK

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The smear campaign against Syria in general – and Bashar al-Assad personally – has been ongoing for years. We’ve seen nothing but horror stories come out of Syria. Allegations of chemical weapons, barrel bombing of civilians, terrible crimes against humanity. We’re seldom presented with evidence, yet the headlines stick in our minds. It’s not what’s true, it’s what people believe, and headlines are great indoctrination tools. Who cares about proof anymore? If the government says it true, it must be true.

The smear machine is again in high gear, with reports of mass executions in a Syria prison accompanied by ghastly headlines such as:

At Least 13,000 Hanged in Mass Executions at Syrian Prison. NBC

Inside Syria’s prisons, where an estimated 17,723 have died since 2011. CNN

Nearly 18,000 have died in Syria state jails, says Amnesty. BBC News

Report: At Least 13,000 Hanged in Syrian Prison Since 2011. CBS News

UN report: Syrian government actions amount to ‘extermination’. The Guardian

A ‘human slaughterhouse’ in Syria. Washington Post

Syrian regime ‘exterminated’ 13,000 captives in four years. Daily Mail

Up to 13,000 hanged in Syria’s ‘slaughterhouse,’ activists say. Fox News

US says Assad using ‘crematorium’ to hide mass killings. Al Jazeera

We can react with nothing but horror, wondering how the world can allow such things to happen. We all want President Bashar al-Assad, known in the press as Syria’s henchman or more affectionately the butcher of Damascus, to be brought to justice. Who wouldn’t? In practical terms, this means regime change, which has long been the American objective. Interventionism.



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