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The Killing Street Memo
Jun 17, 2005
Keep them behind the war curve.
While some Americans are exposing the deception for the latest war, steadily lay the groundwork for the next one.
Focus plenty of news reports on alienated youth in Iran, spotlighting despair that borders on nihilism. Meanwhile, give scant media attention to the growth of civil society, with many thousands of Iranian young people and their elders striving to create a diffuse yet coherent social movement for democracy and human rights.
Make it easy for the U.S. public to forget -- or remain ignorant of -- key elements in the United States history with Iran. Such as the U.S.-organized 1953 coup that overthrew the democratically elected Iranian prime minister, democrat Muhammad Mussadiq, and installed a brutal shah who ruled for a quarter century. Or the U.S. government's record of aiding the Saddam Hussein regime in its eight-year war with Iran after Iraqi troops attacked Iran in 1980.
Count on most members of Congress, even those lambasting the White House over the Downing Street Memo, to be silent or voice support while the Bush administration proceeds with agenda-setting for a U.S. -- or U.S.-backed Israeli -- missile attack on Iran. Along the way, make that country out to be a nuclear pariah while it adheres to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (which the nuclear-armed Israeli government still refuses to sign).
Incrementally poison the potential for a lessening of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
With implicit threats of military action against Iran, heighten the obstacles faced by Iranian democracy activists. Denigrate the presidential election in Iran, even though -- or maybe because -- the flawed election has been a valuable tool utilized by an emerging democracy movement to widen public discourse and deepen the country's political process. Strengthen the hand of Iran's hardliners while denouncing them. Undermine the democracy activists of Iran while claiming to favor them. Make sure that Washington reduces the odds of democratic progress by greatly pressurizing the situation, enabling Iranian advocates of repression to plausibly claim that Iran is under threat of foreign intervention. Above all, keep encouraging Americans to see Iran as a nation best understood with Washington's policy-driven cliches, rather than a country with a complex and authentic political process underway. The less that Americans really know about Iran, the easier it will be to launch the missiles.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, includes an afterword about the Gaza war.
Keep them behind the war curve.
While some Americans are exposing the deception for the latest war, steadily lay the groundwork for the next one.
Focus plenty of news reports on alienated youth in Iran, spotlighting despair that borders on nihilism. Meanwhile, give scant media attention to the growth of civil society, with many thousands of Iranian young people and their elders striving to create a diffuse yet coherent social movement for democracy and human rights.
Make it easy for the U.S. public to forget -- or remain ignorant of -- key elements in the United States history with Iran. Such as the U.S.-organized 1953 coup that overthrew the democratically elected Iranian prime minister, democrat Muhammad Mussadiq, and installed a brutal shah who ruled for a quarter century. Or the U.S. government's record of aiding the Saddam Hussein regime in its eight-year war with Iran after Iraqi troops attacked Iran in 1980.
Count on most members of Congress, even those lambasting the White House over the Downing Street Memo, to be silent or voice support while the Bush administration proceeds with agenda-setting for a U.S. -- or U.S.-backed Israeli -- missile attack on Iran. Along the way, make that country out to be a nuclear pariah while it adheres to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (which the nuclear-armed Israeli government still refuses to sign).
Incrementally poison the potential for a lessening of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
With implicit threats of military action against Iran, heighten the obstacles faced by Iranian democracy activists. Denigrate the presidential election in Iran, even though -- or maybe because -- the flawed election has been a valuable tool utilized by an emerging democracy movement to widen public discourse and deepen the country's political process. Strengthen the hand of Iran's hardliners while denouncing them. Undermine the democracy activists of Iran while claiming to favor them. Make sure that Washington reduces the odds of democratic progress by greatly pressurizing the situation, enabling Iranian advocates of repression to plausibly claim that Iran is under threat of foreign intervention. Above all, keep encouraging Americans to see Iran as a nation best understood with Washington's policy-driven cliches, rather than a country with a complex and authentic political process underway. The less that Americans really know about Iran, the easier it will be to launch the missiles.
Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, includes an afterword about the Gaza war.
Keep them behind the war curve.
While some Americans are exposing the deception for the latest war, steadily lay the groundwork for the next one.
Focus plenty of news reports on alienated youth in Iran, spotlighting despair that borders on nihilism. Meanwhile, give scant media attention to the growth of civil society, with many thousands of Iranian young people and their elders striving to create a diffuse yet coherent social movement for democracy and human rights.
Make it easy for the U.S. public to forget -- or remain ignorant of -- key elements in the United States history with Iran. Such as the U.S.-organized 1953 coup that overthrew the democratically elected Iranian prime minister, democrat Muhammad Mussadiq, and installed a brutal shah who ruled for a quarter century. Or the U.S. government's record of aiding the Saddam Hussein regime in its eight-year war with Iran after Iraqi troops attacked Iran in 1980.
Count on most members of Congress, even those lambasting the White House over the Downing Street Memo, to be silent or voice support while the Bush administration proceeds with agenda-setting for a U.S. -- or U.S.-backed Israeli -- missile attack on Iran. Along the way, make that country out to be a nuclear pariah while it adheres to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (which the nuclear-armed Israeli government still refuses to sign).
Incrementally poison the potential for a lessening of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
With implicit threats of military action against Iran, heighten the obstacles faced by Iranian democracy activists. Denigrate the presidential election in Iran, even though -- or maybe because -- the flawed election has been a valuable tool utilized by an emerging democracy movement to widen public discourse and deepen the country's political process. Strengthen the hand of Iran's hardliners while denouncing them. Undermine the democracy activists of Iran while claiming to favor them. Make sure that Washington reduces the odds of democratic progress by greatly pressurizing the situation, enabling Iranian advocates of repression to plausibly claim that Iran is under threat of foreign intervention. Above all, keep encouraging Americans to see Iran as a nation best understood with Washington's policy-driven cliches, rather than a country with a complex and authentic political process underway. The less that Americans really know about Iran, the easier it will be to launch the missiles.
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