In Which Glenn Greenwald Praises a 9/11 Truther as a Hero of Journalistic Independence
Today blogger Glenn Greenwald has posted what has to be one of his most dishonest articles yet, glorifying Russia Today host Abby Martin for criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: RT Host Abby Martin Condemns Russian Incursion Into Crimea - on RT - the Intercept.
American media elites awash in an orgy of feel-good condemnation in particular love to mock Russian media, especially the government-funded English-language outlet RT, as being a source of shameless pro-Putin propaganda, where free expression is strictly barred (in contrast to the Free American Media). That that network has a strong pro-Russian bias is unquestionably true. But one of its leading hosts, Abby Martin, remarkably demonstrated last night what “journalistic independence” means by ending her Breaking the Set program with a clear and unapologetic denunciation of the Russian action in Ukraine…
Notice: Greenwald may be praising Martin for her criticism, but he never condemns the incursion himself. And he completely ignores the simple fact that propaganda often includes a show of dissent, to make the disinformation seem more credible; he wants you to simply accept Martin’s statements at face value.
And what about Martin herself? How credible is she as a model of heroic journalistic independence?
Answer: Abby Martin is a 9/11 Truther and raving conspiracy theorist in the mold of Alex Jones. See:
Abby Martin thinks fluoridation is a plot to poison the water supply and brainwash Americans into … something.
Abby Martin also thinks Freemasons control the media and are subverting American democracy. (For “Freemasons,” read: “Jews.”)
Are you beginning to see why the Kremlin picked Abby Martin as their spokesperson — and now token dissenter?
This is a “journalist?”
And that’s not the only ridiculously deceptive part of Greenwald’s article. His point is that US media obediently went along with government propaganda in the lead-up to the Iraq War, and that not a single US journalist was critical of the effort. (Which is not true, by the way.)
Oddly enough, he doesn’t include himself in this litany of shame — because Glenn Greenwald was a supporter of the Bush presidency and the Iraq War. In his own words:
During the lead-up to the invasion, I was concerned that the hell-bent focus on invading Iraq was being driven by agendas and strategic objectives that had nothing to do with terrorism or the 9/11 attacks. The overt rationale for the invasion was exceedingly weak, particularly given that it would lead to an open-ended, incalculably costly, and intensely risky preemptive war. Around the same time, it was revealed that an invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein had been high on the agenda of various senior administration officials long before September 11. Despite these doubts, concerns, and grounds for ambivalence, I had not abandoned my trust in the Bush administration. Between the president’s performance in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the swift removal of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the fact that I wanted the president to succeed, because my loyalty is to my country and he was the leader of my country, I still gave the administration the benefit of the doubt. I believed then that the president was entitled to have his national security judgment deferred to, and to the extent that I was able to develop a definitive view, I accepted his judgment that American security really would be enhanced by the invasion of this sovereign country.
And of course, now he’s denying it:
@rrahfa That’s totally false.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 4, 2014
And just to make the hypocrisy even more obvious, Russia Today has now removed Abby Martin’s criticisms from their YouTube channel: Russia Censors RT News Host’s Blistering Critique of Ukraine Invasion.
And now: Russia Today Host Who Criticised Kremlin Sent to Crimea.
A TV presenter working for a Kremlin-funded channel who spoke out against Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine live on air has been sent by the broadcaster to Crimea to “better her knowledge” of the situation.
And now:
Hi @Josiensor, thanks for your article. But I am not going to Crimea despite the statement RT has made. Please update accordingly.
— Abby Martin (@AbbyMartin) March 4, 2014
Here’s video of Abby Martin being interviewed at a 9/11 Truth rally in 2008, before her gig with Russia Today, expressing her view that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job staged by the US government. “Absolutely,” says Abby.
(h/t: @EddyElfenbein.)
Interesting. As you can see, the video of Abby Martin ranting that the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job” by the US government has now been deleted from YouTube.
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