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Geopolitically Clueless Libertarian Gary Johnson |
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By
Stephen Lendman |
| When asked what he’d do about Aleppo if elected president, Johnson astonishingly
replied: “(W)hat is Aleppo?” Asked if he was “kidding,” he said “no.” Pre-war, Aleppo was Syria’s largest city, its main commercial hub. Now it’s the epicenter of weeks of war for control over a key part of the country. James Petras believes its liberation would strike “a decisive blow against the alliance of Saudi Arabia, Washington and Turkey.” Defeating terrorism in Aleppo “will turn the war,” said Petras. “(O)nce (it) falls, Raqqa” is next, ISIS’ stronghold in the country, “and Syria will be liberated.” A disquieting development is Turkey’s August 24 invasion of northern Syria on the phony pretext of combating ISIS fighters it supports - wanting areas it occupies and more bordering its territory annexed. Petras calls its action “a threat for all democratic forces in the Middle East.” Preserving Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity depend on challenging and deterring its aggression responsibly and decisively. Gary Johnson’s troubling geopolitical ignorance is unsurprising. His gaffe is reminiscent of Gerald Ford once saying “(t)here is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe” while debating Jimmy Carter. He’s like most Americans, sublimely ignorant about the nation’s imperial wars, why they’re waged, the millions of lives lost, the rape and destruction of one country after another, wanting all independent ones transformed into US vassal states. Propagandists posing as journalists are know-nothings, regurgitating scripts handed them to viewers and readers, leaving them unaware of what’s most important to know. Johnson’s interviewer calling Aleppo “the epicenter of the refugee crisis” failed to explain half of all Syrians displaced internally or externally, millions more affected the same way in all US war theaters. America’s self-styled newspaper of record New York Times misreported, calling Aleppo the “de facto capital of the Islamic State,” later mistakenly saying it’s ISIS’ “stronghold” - wrong on both counts and one more, referring to Aleppo as Syria’s capital. Anyone with minimum knowledge of what’s going on in Syria knows it’s Damascus. Americans are consistently fed misinformation or willfully lied to. Media scoundrels complicit with authorities in Washington keep them in the dark, uninformed on vital issues affecting their lives and welfare. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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