The Speed of Light: American Journalism at its worst

My Comment: This is our national malady -- a media that accepts hook, line and sinker anything the government and/or Pentagon has to say about US military events.  (Reported by Glen Greenwald in indented form and linked below.)  Most American media reported they were told that the US ship had "mechanical problems."  Face it the ship for whatever reason (maybe even a spying mission as all who boarded our ship were not military. We do not know) slid into Iranian waters.

If an Iranian ship meandered into US waters off the New York coast how quickly do you think the American Navy and god knows how many military others would it take for our navy to intercept an Iranian ship?: Answer: The Speed of light!  Glenn Greenwald states:

News broke last night, hours before President Obama's State of the Union address, that two U.S. Navy ships "in the Persian Gulf" were "seized" by Iran, and the 10 sailors on board were "arrested." The Iranian government quickly said, and even the U.S. government itself seemed to acknowledge, that these ships had entered Iranian waters without permission, and were thus inside Iranian territory when detained. CNN's Barbara Starr, as she always does, immediately went on the air with Wolf Blitzer to read what U.S. officials told her to say: "We are told that right now, what the U.S. thinks may have happened, is that one of these small boats experienced a mechanical problem " perhaps beginning to drift. " It was at that point, the theory goes right now, that they drifted into Iranian territorial waters."

Despite all of this, most U.S. news accounts last night quickly skimmed over -- or outright ignored -- the rather critical fact that the U.S. ships had "drifted into" Iranian waters. Instead, all sorts of TV news personalities and U.S. establishment figures puffed out their chest and instantly donned their Tough Warrior pose to proclaim that this was an act of aggression -- virtually an act of war: not by the U.S., but by Iran. They had taken our sailors "hostage," showing yet again how menacing and untrustworthy they are. Completely typical was this instant analysis from former Clinton and Bush Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller, now at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

The truly imbecilic Joe Scarborough of MSNBC turned himself into an instant self-parody of a pseudo-tough guy compensating for all sorts of inadequacies: Hey Iran, you have exactly 300 days left to push a US president around. Enjoy it while you can. After that, there will be hell to pay. -- Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC)January 12, 2016

Hey Iran, you have exactly 300 days left to push a US president around. Enjoy it while you can. After that, there will be hell to pay. -- Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 12, 2016

But, as usual, the most alarmist, jingoistic coverage came from the always-war-hungry CNN. For hours, the network emphasized in the most alarmist of tones that the sailors had been picked up by the Revolutionary Guard, which, in the words of Starr, is "one of the most aggressive elements of the military and national security apparatus in that country." CNN host Erin Burnett intoned at the top of her prime-time show: "Next, breaking news: American sailors seized by Iran. The revolutionary guard arresting 10 American sailors in the Persian Gulf."

Go to The Intercept to read the rest of this article.

MY CONCLUSION: A WAR WITH IRAN BASED ON LIES IS WHAT THE NATION WOULD HAVE GOTTEN WITH A REPUBLICAN SHOOT FIRST ASK QUESTIONS LATER PRESIDENT.  THIS POST IS THE VERY REASON WHY A REPUBLICAN MUST NEVER ENTER THE OVAL OFFICE AND EVEN MORE REASON ALL OF THEM SHOULD BE VOTED OUT OF CONGRESS AND STATE GOVERNMENT!