The Missing Burden of Proof – Russia Invades Ukraine: Again. And Again. And Yet Again

Written on November 22nd, 2014 in politics Comments Off

Published on Counterpunch, by WILLIAM BLUM, Nov 20, 2014.

… None of the photos accompanying this New York Times story online showed any of these Russian troops or armored vehicles. … //

… Where are these photographs? And how will we know that these are Russian soldiers? And how will we know that the photos were taken in Ukraine? But most importantly, where are the fucking photographs?

Why am I so cynical? Because the Ukrainian and US governments have been feeding us these scare stories for eight months now, without clear visual or other evidence, often without even common sense … //

… Since the February US-backed coup in Ukraine, the State Department has made one accusation after another about Russian military actions in Eastern Ukraine without presenting any kind of satellite imagery or other visual or documentary evidence; or they present something that’s very unclear and wholly inconclusive, such as unmarked vehicles, or unsourced reports, or citing “social media”; what we’re left with is often no more than just an accusation. The Ukrainian government has matched them.

On top of all this we should keep in mind that if Moscow decided to invade Ukraine they’d certainly provide air cover for their ground forces. There has been no mention of air cover.

This is all reminiscent of the numerous stories in the past three years of “Syrian planes bombing defenseless citizens”. Have you ever seen a photo or video of a Syrian government plane dropping bombs? Or of the bombs exploding? When the source of the story is mentioned, it’s almost invariably the rebels who are fighting against the Syrian government. Then there’s the “chemical weapon” attacks by the same evil Assad government. When a photo or video has accompanied the story I’ve never once seen grieving loved ones or media present; not one person can be seen wearing a gas mask. Is it only children killed or suffering? No rebels?

And then there’s the July 17 shootdown of Malaysia Flight MH17, over eastern Ukraine, taking 298 lives, which Washington would love to pin on Russia or the pro-Russian rebels. The US government – and therefore the US media, the EU, and NATO – want us all to believe it was the rebels and/or Russia behind it. The world is still waiting for any evidence. Or even a motivation. Anything at all. President Obama is not waiting. In a talk on November 15 in Australia, he spoke of “opposing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine – which is a threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot-down of MH17”. Based on my reading, I’d guess that it was the Ukranian government behind the shootdown, mistaking it for Putin’s plane that reportedly was in the area.

Can it be said with certainty that all the above accusations were lies? No, but the burden of proof is on the accusers, and the world is still waiting. The accusers would like to create the impression that there are two sides to each question without actually having to supply one of them.

(full text).

(William Blum is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, Rogue State: a guide to the World’s Only Super Power. His latest book is: America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy. He can be reached at: BBlum6@aol.com – - see all his books on amazon).

Links:

All-Out War in Ukraine, NATO’s Final Offensive, on Axis of Logic, by James Petras, Nov 21, 2014;

Mexicans in biggest protest yet over missing students: Rocks, fireworks and gasoline bombs thrown at officers as demonstrators press government to find 43 students, on The Guardian, by Jo Tuckman in Mexico City, Nov 21, 2014: Mexico on the brink: thousands to protest over corruption and student massacre, Share your photos and experiences via GuardianWitness;

Anonymous warns Ferguson police and KKK in new video – We are the law now, on RAWstory, by Arturo Garcia, Nov 20, 2014;: A video reportedly released by the hacker collective Anonymous on Thursday warned both police in Ferguson, Missouri and the Ku Klux Klan against hurting local demonstrators, The Free Thought Project reported …;

Bill O’Reilly spars with immigrant journalist, You don’t have an entitlement to be here, on RAWstory, by Arturo Garcia, Nov 20, 2014;
Bill O’Reilly on en.wikipedia;
Website The Free Thought Project.com;

BRAZIL: History of the Left, Brazil’s PSOL – Another Way of Doing Politics, on International Viewpoint.org, by Dan La Botz, Nov 19, 2014;

California Attorney General: Legalizing Marijuana is ‘Inevitable’, on The Free Thought Project.com, Nov 19, 2014;

From the front lines in Ferguson: we will go out hard, on BayView, by The People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey, Nov 19, 2014;

New book: Good times, bad times, The welfare myth of them and us, by Prof. John Hills: on London School of Economics LSE, Nov 12, 2014 (LSE Experts Directory); also on amazon, and on Google Web-search;

Technological Innovations for Sustainable Development, 47.16 min, uploaded by Living Income Guaranteed, Oct 26, 2014: we are discussing technological innovations that are waiting to be unleashed to change the way that we produce energy, eat, live, educate and recycle. Join us in our discussion with Andrea Teale who will be sharing her knowledge about these long awaited innovations and her perspectives on why these technologies have yet to be released to the public. You are welcome to participate with questions and comments throughout the live transmission … video hosted by Marlen Vargas Del Razo; … see also: Andrea Teale on YouTube;

Website: WALK FREE – call on Ban Ki-Moon to prioritise Slavery in the Sustainable Development Goals SDGS (in many languages);

uploaded by Art and Justice League:

Comments are closed.