Approaching the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has his hands full dealing with the aftermath of a major corruption scandal.
On Tuesday, Zelensky called for an end to “rumors or any other pseudo-information” that could weaken the nation’s resolve in its war against Russia.
The problem is that, from the beginning, the reporting on this war has been nothing but rumors and pseudo-information. A year in, I confess to having no idea who is winning or how the war can continue on Ukrainian soil given all the victories or pseudo-victories Ukraine has purportedly won.
During the Vietnam era, we were told repeatedly that the nation’s soul was being deadened by the bloody excess of war footage shown on nightly news.
This was an exaggeration, but it was based at least on a half-truth. The networks were regularly showing close-up war footage.
A year in to the Russian-Ukraine war, I confess to not having seen any real battle footage at all. What I have seen are grim photos of alleged Russian strikes on apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and the like.
On watching this footage, I have asked myself, “Why are the Russians targeting apartment buildings and hospitals?” The answer is they are not.
The Russians could flatten Ukraine tomorrow if they chose. These buildings were likely collateral damage. I wasn’t watching news, I realized. What I was watching was war propaganda.
In the later coverage of Vietnam, as well as in much of the coverage of the war in Iraq, our media were running propaganda for our enemies.
American viewers heard all they needed to hear about My Lai or Abu Ghraib. There is no Ukrainian equivalent.
In Ukraine, virtually all the video coverage has been propaganda on behalf of Ukraine. To test my thesis, I entered “Ukraine War video footage” in YouTube.
Of the 32 stories that appeared on the first page, 31 had Ukraine beating the Russians and not just beating them, but destroying, crushing, encircling, ambushing, shocking them.
Consider this recent headline from US News: “Horrible Footage! Ukrainian elite troops eradicate Wagner Groups troop like rats in a Bakhmut trench.” Yikes!
On watching the video, however, what I saw was footage shot from the Ukrainian perspective of troops firing artillery, riding in tanks and searching through empty buildings in an attempt, we are told, to prevent a Russian advance on the city of Bakhmut.
Of the 32 video reports, only CBS acknowledged that maybe Russia is actually kind of advancing. The story ends on the cheery note, however, as a soldier flashes a thumbs up, and the reporter says, “Bahkmut holds.”
What cannot be denied, however, is that the city has been reduced to rubble. Given its history as the centerpiece in the brutal, longstanding game of “steal the bacon” played for decades. if not centuries, by competing Russia and Ukrainian nationalists, its demise should not surprise.
What is surprising is America’s tag-teaming with Ukraine. In 2014, when pro-Russians nationalists seized the region, and Russia seized the Crimea, the Obama-Biden administration did nothing.
At the time, the administration was courting Russian help to seal the Iranian deal. Their hands were tied.
It was not until 2016, when the Democrats chose to frame Donald Trump, that they realized they had to frame Russia to make the conceit work.
If Russia were not evil, Russia collusion would be no big deal. So, with the media’s mindless assistance, the Democrats turned Russia into our main enemy.
Russia was restrained during the four years of the Trump presidency. But President Biden, even if he were cognizant, could no more have negotiated a settlement with Vladimir Putin than he could have reconciled with Trump. His base would not allow him.
The result was a war Ukraine could never win in any meaningful way, and Russia could not allow itself to lose.
But for a while at least, the media will continue to thrill the anti-war activists of the walking woke with the taste of valor and victory even if their proxies aren’t exactly winning.
Please pre-order Jack Cashill’s forthcoming book, “Untenable: The True Story of White Ethnic Flight from America’s Cities.”
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