“A recent editorial in the New York Times titled “The Syrian Refugee Crisis” offers several examples of how the newspaper of record serves as a propaganda outlet to manufacture consent for U.S. foreign policy. It begins:
More than 60,000 innocent civilians have been slaughtered in President Bashar al-Assad’s desperate bid to retain power in Syria. In the two-year reign of terror, he has also forced staggering numbers of Syrians to relocate within the country or flee across the border, creating a disaster that is threatening to destabilize the region.
Take first the claim that over “60,000 innocent civilians” have been killed in the conflict. This number has been widely cited since a report commissioned by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was released at the beginning of this month. The report, titled “Preliminary Statistical Analysis of Documentation of Killings in the Syrian Arab Republic”, relied upon seven databases, six from “Syrian human rights monitors”—including opposition groups like the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights—and one from the Syrian government. The number arrived at was “58,648 unique killings”—that is all “killings that are fully identified by the name of the victim, as well as the date and location of death”, and, contrary to what the Times falsely claims, not civilian deaths only. The estimate in fact does not distinguish between civilians, Syrian soldiers, or rebel combatants at all.
Next take the suggestion that the refugee crisis is fully the responsibility of Assad—as though there were not two sides engaged in violence in the conflict.”
Întregul articol, aici.