SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A vigil marks the death of those killed in the Paris attacks, including police officer Ahmed Merabet. (Photo: Christian Bille/flickr/cc)
NATO Chief Unfit To Quote?
It tells you something about what's laughingly called the public debate, when the most dovish voice on the questions of terrorism and war comes from a leader of the military industrial complex.
Jens Stoltenberg is secretary general of NATO. He hasn't appeared in the US media in connection with the attacks in France, but he was there in Paris for the unity rally this month, and he was interviewed on the BBC soon after that.
To the BBC World Service he could be heard saying radical things like individual people should be held responsible for criminal acts, not groups.
Jan 24, 2015
It tells you something about what's laughingly called the public debate, when the most dovish voice on the questions of terrorism and war comes from a leader of the military industrial complex.
Jens Stoltenberg is secretary general of NATO. He hasn't appeared in the US media in connection with the attacks in France, but he was there in Paris for the unity rally this month, and he was interviewed on the BBC soon after that.
To the BBC World Service he could be heard saying radical things like individual people should be held responsible for criminal acts, not groups.
Stoltenberg knows whereof he speaks. He was Prime Minister of Norway in 2011 when madman Anders Breivik killed 77 mostly teenagers in the deadliest attack in that country since World War II. Instead of acting "tough" and calling for new powers to wage war, Stoltenberg at that time, called on Norwegians to quote: "counter blind hate with argument and education" . His words from then got a new life on social media this January.
On the BBC speaking about the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the kosher market, the NATO chief said crazy dove-ish things, like, "we have to distinguish between open debates and acts of violence."
He even implied there was a role for courts. "Criminal acts have to be prosecuted with means of police and bringing those responsible to justice..."
Clearly he didn't get the memo about assassination drones.
When UN human rights chief Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, declined to call 9-11 an act of war, and suggested we capture and prosecute instead of summarily execute those responsible, she lost her post and her voice in the US media almost at once.
That's what I thought would happen to Stoltenberg. There's just no visible place for controversial views like these in the great free press we keep hearing about.
Luckily for Stoltenberg, there is one way back into the US media's good graces . Soon after the Paris unity rally, the new NATO chief announced NATO's latest high-ticket boondoggle - an "ultra-rapid-reaction force, " called "spearhead" and in speech in Berlin he stressed the need for members of the US-led alliance to bump up investments in security forces austerity be damned. You need to invest more, amid challenges such as jihadist group Islamic State or the Ukraine crisis he said. You could almost hear the military contractors salivate.
That did it. Within days, I could find half a dozen stories quoting the NATO Chief talking about that.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. 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. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
It tells you something about what's laughingly called the public debate, when the most dovish voice on the questions of terrorism and war comes from a leader of the military industrial complex.
Jens Stoltenberg is secretary general of NATO. He hasn't appeared in the US media in connection with the attacks in France, but he was there in Paris for the unity rally this month, and he was interviewed on the BBC soon after that.
To the BBC World Service he could be heard saying radical things like individual people should be held responsible for criminal acts, not groups.
Stoltenberg knows whereof he speaks. He was Prime Minister of Norway in 2011 when madman Anders Breivik killed 77 mostly teenagers in the deadliest attack in that country since World War II. Instead of acting "tough" and calling for new powers to wage war, Stoltenberg at that time, called on Norwegians to quote: "counter blind hate with argument and education" . His words from then got a new life on social media this January.
On the BBC speaking about the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the kosher market, the NATO chief said crazy dove-ish things, like, "we have to distinguish between open debates and acts of violence."
He even implied there was a role for courts. "Criminal acts have to be prosecuted with means of police and bringing those responsible to justice..."
Clearly he didn't get the memo about assassination drones.
When UN human rights chief Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, declined to call 9-11 an act of war, and suggested we capture and prosecute instead of summarily execute those responsible, she lost her post and her voice in the US media almost at once.
That's what I thought would happen to Stoltenberg. There's just no visible place for controversial views like these in the great free press we keep hearing about.
Luckily for Stoltenberg, there is one way back into the US media's good graces . Soon after the Paris unity rally, the new NATO chief announced NATO's latest high-ticket boondoggle - an "ultra-rapid-reaction force, " called "spearhead" and in speech in Berlin he stressed the need for members of the US-led alliance to bump up investments in security forces austerity be damned. You need to invest more, amid challenges such as jihadist group Islamic State or the Ukraine crisis he said. You could almost hear the military contractors salivate.
That did it. Within days, I could find half a dozen stories quoting the NATO Chief talking about that.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
It tells you something about what's laughingly called the public debate, when the most dovish voice on the questions of terrorism and war comes from a leader of the military industrial complex.
Jens Stoltenberg is secretary general of NATO. He hasn't appeared in the US media in connection with the attacks in France, but he was there in Paris for the unity rally this month, and he was interviewed on the BBC soon after that.
To the BBC World Service he could be heard saying radical things like individual people should be held responsible for criminal acts, not groups.
Stoltenberg knows whereof he speaks. He was Prime Minister of Norway in 2011 when madman Anders Breivik killed 77 mostly teenagers in the deadliest attack in that country since World War II. Instead of acting "tough" and calling for new powers to wage war, Stoltenberg at that time, called on Norwegians to quote: "counter blind hate with argument and education" . His words from then got a new life on social media this January.
On the BBC speaking about the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the kosher market, the NATO chief said crazy dove-ish things, like, "we have to distinguish between open debates and acts of violence."
He even implied there was a role for courts. "Criminal acts have to be prosecuted with means of police and bringing those responsible to justice..."
Clearly he didn't get the memo about assassination drones.
When UN human rights chief Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, declined to call 9-11 an act of war, and suggested we capture and prosecute instead of summarily execute those responsible, she lost her post and her voice in the US media almost at once.
That's what I thought would happen to Stoltenberg. There's just no visible place for controversial views like these in the great free press we keep hearing about.
Luckily for Stoltenberg, there is one way back into the US media's good graces . Soon after the Paris unity rally, the new NATO chief announced NATO's latest high-ticket boondoggle - an "ultra-rapid-reaction force, " called "spearhead" and in speech in Berlin he stressed the need for members of the US-led alliance to bump up investments in security forces austerity be damned. You need to invest more, amid challenges such as jihadist group Islamic State or the Ukraine crisis he said. You could almost hear the military contractors salivate.
That did it. Within days, I could find half a dozen stories quoting the NATO Chief talking about that.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.