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Left-Winger Juan Cole: Demonizing Putin Is a Classic Propaganda Tactic

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Juan Cole — a left-wing professor and pundit known for his vituperative opposition to George W. Bush —– is rather skeptical about the Russian Hacker Conspiracy Theory the Democrats and their media allies are pushing as part of a strategy to delegitimize Donald Trump’s presidency. He sees in this strategy echoes of past propaganda efforts.

Personalization and demonization are well-known Washington propaganda techniques.

At one point George W. Bush maintained that he had been right to overthrow Saddam Hussein of Iraq even though that country had not had any dangerous unconventional weapons. The reason? Saddam Hussein, he said, was “evil.”

The “evilness” of an opponent of US policy is metaphysical, and can be used to justify almost anything.

Back in 1953, Iran had a nationalist prime minister who wanted a fair share from BP of the money from sale of Iran’s own oil. His name, Mohammad Mosaddegh, showed his aristocratic lineage. The Eisenhower administration and the compliant Washington press corps waged a campaign of personal vilification against Mosaddegh, hinting around that he was a communist and a puppet of the Soviet Union. This was an aristocratic nationalist!

Demonizing Mosaddegh was a prelude to the CIA buying a crowd and overthrowing the elected prime minister of a major parliamentary country. It has never to this day recovered its democracy.

Hugo Chavez of Venezuela was also demonized.

So was Yasser Arafat. Salvador Allende of Chile.

Whenever the US intelligence agencies collaborate with mass media to throw up on the screen the face of a foreign leader, giving him devil’s horns and making his face red with the flames of hell, we have to take that depiction as a sign that they intend to do something to that country.

Not that I agree with his characterizations; but it is rather interesting to see this Conspiracy Theory from a left-winger’s point-of-view. I give him credit, at least, for being consistent. Unlike the Democrats who were insisting two months ago that to suggest an election was rigged, and to dispute its outcome, was treasonous crazy talk.

Comments

  1. The “evilness” of an opponent of US policy is metaphysical, and can be used to justify almost anything.

    This word salad salmagundi is at the core of what drives this Intellectual Yet Idiot liberal.

    Moral and ethical relativism depend on a controlling elite to manipulate what is momentarily good or evil according to their needs. For these masters of our destinies, what they think is paramount to what we think. They are organizing us for our own good, whether we appreciate it or not.

    Without a care in the world for Godwin’s stupid law, I submit that Hitler and Mussolini each were exactly what the ideal of the “beneficent” dictator becomes after the revolution. Every dictator has to subdue the “unwilling” in order for the country to become “stronger together” and bring organized structure to “hope and change.” Only the Intellectual Yet Idiot liberals intuitively know what is best for us and those who don’t go along are deplorable.

    Juan Cole recognizes: “Personalization and demonization are well-known Washington propaganda techniques.” But he fails to call it “evil” because in his world of moral and ethical relativism, when “personalization” and demonization” are in the “right” hands, they are forces for “good.”

    “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” Would that be Trayvon with or without the Arizona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail and Skittles with Robitussin Maximum Strength Cough Syrup to make Watermelon Lean?

    St. Augustine wrote De Mendacio which was a treatise on lying. “To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error” is a fundamental look at a deceit within a deceit. Telling half of the truth in order to deceive is still lying.

    Clearly there are intense circumstances when one has to assess the moral intentionality of lying. (Example: Telling the Nazis at the door that no Jews are hidden in the attic.) However, the amoral person can not resort to “moral intentionality” which means that “personalization” and demonization” are a matter of convince tempered only by the risk of failure. So the secular liberal has freed himself to define “good” and “evil” according to his needs.

    So it is with Juan Cole who is playing a game which is strictly by his rules and every rule is subject to change according to his needs. He has learned that getting adversaries into an attempt to nail Jello to the wall is always going to send them away in a huff. That way, he wins.