The US military media industrial complex is corrupting our airwaves.
As the debate over ISIS and US actions against that terrorist group continues, we’re seeing more and more so-called “policy experts” appearing on the mainstream media, explaining why American military action against ISIS is our only choice.
Well, as it turns out, these “policy experts” who are so quick to pitch war and military conflict are often really just shills for our nation’s military industrial complex, and they’re being paid very handsomely for all of their fear-mongering.
Lee Fang over at The Nation has revealed the truth about just a couple of the many, many “policy experts” that have been flooding our airwaves in recent weeks.
For example, there’s retired General Jack Keane.
Keane is the head of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which also employs Liz Cheney and neoconservative firebrand Bill Kristol. The ISW itself is backed by a handful of the United States’ largest and most profitable defense contractors.
Keane’s views and opinions on the current ISIS crisis have appeared in a variety of news outlets, including The New York Times and the BBC.
He’s also been on “Fox So-Called News” almost a dozen times to promote his defense industry-backed views on ISIS and the role the US military should be playing
But as Lee Fang points out, when Keane isn’t being interviewed by the mainstream media, he’s a very busy man.
Keane is a special adviser to the military contractor Academi (formerly Blackwater), a board member for tank and airplane maker General Dynamics, and a “venture partner” with an investment firm that partners with various defense contractors.
For his work with General Dynamics alone, Keane has been paid a six-figure salary every year since 2004, and last year, he made over $250,000.
So, is it really any surprise that someone who’s being paid so handsomely by some of the nation’s biggest defense contractors is going on TV and pitching more war and military conflict?
More war means more profits for defense contractors, which means more money for retired General Jack Keane.
Then there’s CNN regular Frances Townsend, a former Bush administration official, who has repeatedly called for more military action against ISIS during her television appearances.
Well, like retired General Keane, Ms. Townsend has multiple connections to defense contractors and the US military industrial complex.
According to the Public Accountability Initiative, Townsend has positions with two investment firms that deal with defense contractor money, and also serves as an advisor for the defense contractor Decision Sciences.
Again, is it really a surprise that, given her connections and work history, Ms. Townsend is on CNN saying that the US needs to use more military might against ISIS?
Basically, legalized mass-murder is being sold to us by a bunch of well-paid shills for te nation’s multibillion-dollar defense contractors.
Unfortunately, as despicable as that may seem, it’s been going on for some time.
As Lee Fang points out, back in 2008, The New York Times revealed a network of retired military generals on the payrolls of some of the nation’s largest and most profitable defense contractors, who were backing the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq via television appearances.
As the current crisis involving ISIS continues to grow, the American people deserve to get unbiased and independent commentary on the situation, not commentary that’s being directly funded by those who would make more money from more military conflict.
There are just too many conflicts of interest with the media today, and it’s time for that to change.
When a network has pundits on to talk about ISIS, the military, or anything else, the network should disclose their conflict of interests and their sources of income.
If you’re being bankrolled by a billion-dollar defense contractor, then the American people have a right to know that you may have mixed loyalties when it comes to promoting military conflict and action.
It’s that simple.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy