The unfolding tragedy in Ukraine provides a graphic illustration of the consequences of allowing diplomacy to fail. The stories and photos about the conflict have naturally stirred anger along with empathy for the victims.
That’s why it’s important to remember that the first casualty of war is the truth. We should never accept anything about foreign affairs reported in the mainstream media without considering the interests of US imperialists who have great influence over Western media and whose profits depend on continuous conflict and threats of war.
As lovers of peace we must try to understand both sides of these conflicts so that we can form a realistic picture of what factors have contributed to the war in Ukraine or anywhere else where the US claims to have “security” interests. This article by former Marine intelligence officer and weapons inspector Scott Ritter outlines some of the issues that are ignored or obfuscated by mainstream media sources.
— Rick Staggenborg, President, VFP Chapter 132, mid-Valley, Oregon
Pity the Nation
By Scott Ritter
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them”
Pity the nation oh pity the people
Who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
– Lawrence Ferlinghetti
In the past few months, the United States has undergone a kind of transformation that one only reads about in history books from a nation which imperfectly, yet stolidly, embraced the promise, if not principle, of freedom, especially when it came to that most basic of rights – the Freedom of Expression.
Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter 