War Propaganda's Triumph: U.S. Public Opinion on Iran

Source: Global Research
Ben Schreiner

A recent series of polls gauging U.S. public opinion on Iran and its nuclear program shed light on the enduring strength of the American propaganda machine.

According to a recent YouGov survey, an astounding 64% of Americans currently believe Iran is most likely enriching uranium “to build a nuclear weapon.”  Of course, despite the media distortions and deceits to the contrary, no evidence exists that they are.  In fact, intelligence estimates from both the U.S. and Israel conclude Iran has not yet decided on whether to pursue a nuclear weapons program.

Yet, when YouGov speculated, “Suppose a number of countries decided to take action against Iran in order to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon,” 44% of Americans stated they would support bombing Iran’s nuclear installations.  A total of 70% also supported increasing economic sanctions.

It is hard to imagine, though, just how much harsher economic sanctions could really get.  For instance, according to Gallup, a staggering 48% of Iranians reported that there “were times in the past year when they did not have enough money to buy food for their families.”

But then again, starving an entire nation for geopolitical aims rarely registers much concern within the U.S.  In fact, when recently asked about the plight of ordinary Iranians under economic sanctions, hawkish Illinois Senator Mark Kirk replied, “It’s okay to take food out of the mouth of the citizens from a government that’s plotting an attack directly on American soil.” 

The comment, reminiscent of when Secretary of State Madeleine Albright deemed 500,000 Iraqis dead from U.S. imposed sanctions “worth the cost,” went unreported in the corporate press.  For as Orwell would have it, Iranians are simply “unpeople.” 

US Claims Cyber War is the New Terrorism

Source: RT

The mainstream media has been asking the question, is the US ready for a cyber war? Obama has emphasized the importance of being prepared for the new WMD's, weapons of mass disruption. According to Obama, terrorism can be acted with a few strokes of a keyboard. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that cyber threat will surpass terroristic threats. So could the next Pearl Harbor come in the form of a cyber attack? Conn Hallinan, columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus, helps us answer these looming questions.