by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
With John Bolton's abrupt exit from the Trump government last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears to be trying to strengthen his image on the world stage. Pompeo, a former Republican congressman and political grifter out of Kansas, has been in Saudi Arabia for the past several days where he has been busy clearing a path for another United States military incursion into the political and religious strife of the Middle East.
Part of Pompeo's agenda while in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to promote the Trump administration's claim that last week's attack on a Saudi oil refining facility was the work of Iran, a claim that is a bit dubious because another major player in the Middle Eastern turmoil has already taken credit for the destruction.
The Houthi insurgency in Yemen, a group that has been actively fighting the current government of Yemen and its ally, Saudi Arabia, said immediately after the attack it was the perpetrator. The group of rebels, which has been armed for more that two decades, is widely regarded as having the ability to pull off an attack of that magnitude.
But the United States wasn't having it. The Trump administration summarily announced that the culprit was the country of Iran, a necessary cog in jalopy of ideas and prejudices that Trump's government has pieced together as a "foreign policy." Pompeo went to Saudi Arabia to promote the Iran-as-aggressor theory.
As a part of his strategy to place the onus for the refinery attack on Iran, the U.S. Secretary of State held a press conference in which he lectured reporters on how to do their jobs. Pompeo belched his belief that the Houthi insurgents were well known liars, and he castigated the reporters and their news outlets for not prefacing stories about the Houthis with a clear statement that they are known liars.
How ironic is that? A Donald Trump mouthpiece wants reporters to alert their readers to his belief that the Houthi rebels are liars. What if they began using that same standard when reporting on the things that Donald Trump says - and does? Donald Trump, a man who seldom, if ever, tells the truth, might not appreciate that sudden flood of journalistic honesty.
Be careful what you ask for, Mr. Secretary! The pesky press might just take your idea and run with it!
Citizen Journalist
With John Bolton's abrupt exit from the Trump government last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears to be trying to strengthen his image on the world stage. Pompeo, a former Republican congressman and political grifter out of Kansas, has been in Saudi Arabia for the past several days where he has been busy clearing a path for another United States military incursion into the political and religious strife of the Middle East.
Part of Pompeo's agenda while in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to promote the Trump administration's claim that last week's attack on a Saudi oil refining facility was the work of Iran, a claim that is a bit dubious because another major player in the Middle Eastern turmoil has already taken credit for the destruction.
The Houthi insurgency in Yemen, a group that has been actively fighting the current government of Yemen and its ally, Saudi Arabia, said immediately after the attack it was the perpetrator. The group of rebels, which has been armed for more that two decades, is widely regarded as having the ability to pull off an attack of that magnitude.
But the United States wasn't having it. The Trump administration summarily announced that the culprit was the country of Iran, a necessary cog in jalopy of ideas and prejudices that Trump's government has pieced together as a "foreign policy." Pompeo went to Saudi Arabia to promote the Iran-as-aggressor theory.
As a part of his strategy to place the onus for the refinery attack on Iran, the U.S. Secretary of State held a press conference in which he lectured reporters on how to do their jobs. Pompeo belched his belief that the Houthi insurgents were well known liars, and he castigated the reporters and their news outlets for not prefacing stories about the Houthis with a clear statement that they are known liars.
How ironic is that? A Donald Trump mouthpiece wants reporters to alert their readers to his belief that the Houthi rebels are liars. What if they began using that same standard when reporting on the things that Donald Trump says - and does? Donald Trump, a man who seldom, if ever, tells the truth, might not appreciate that sudden flood of journalistic honesty.
Be careful what you ask for, Mr. Secretary! The pesky press might just take your idea and run with it!
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