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I am listening to this very good podcast ... (1/x)
New #Deconstructed podcast: Are we on the verge of another regime change war in the Middle East? @mehdirhasan discusses the prospects for conflict with Iran with @tparsi and @Rob_Malley. interc.pt/2Eck7pQ
New #Deconstructed podcast: Are we on the verge of another regime change war in the Middle East? @mehdirhasan discusses the prospects for conflict with Iran with @tparsi and @Rob_Malley. interc.pt/2Eck7pQ
2. ... which is very much worth your time, and which addresses, in part, the role of the media in parroting admin (including anonymous sources) talking points claiming Iran is escalating/there is intel/ etc....
3. when the Politico Playbook pops into my inbox, subject line:
Playbook PM: Trump on going to war with Iran: ‘I hope not’
Playbook PM: Trump on going to war with Iran: ‘I hope not’
4. Combine this w/ headlines from this a.m. that Trump is supposedly frustrated with Bolton's war-mongering (why else would one tap Bolton to serve in one's administration)? But by running headlines like this, media is lulling public into false sense of Trump's *reasonableness.*
5. See how this works? Someone in admin puts out story about troop level planning, about supposed intel about Iran's intentions. There's a day or two of high-level nervousness (justified) that Trump, led by Bolton et al., will draw the country into another needless war.
6. So admin puts out story (dutifully reported) that Trump is frustrated with Bolton, and he says "I hope not" to war. That's the headlines, causing people to think, ah, yes, Trump is not the extremist, it's just Bolton, he'll probably fire him and move on.
7. If you feel yourself drawn into this sort of thinking, think again. Trump might want to pull back from the Bolton brink, but then again, he might not. For maybe why not, see this thread:
8. Don't forget that Trump is a lying, erratic, corrupt president. So anything he says, like "I hope not"has no real meaning, yet is in headlines, shaping readers' takeaway of the situation and his state of mind. He hopes to dull your senses with it.
9. Anyway, I recommend the podcast that started this thread off. And not dulling your senses.
theintercept.com/2019/05/16/wil…
theintercept.com/2019/05/16/wil…
