Thread by @tparsi

🧵According to the WSJ, West Africa is America's "backyard."

I kid you not.

WSJ writes this just days after the Biden admin ridicules the very notion of spheres of influence when Russia raised it in the Ukraine context.

Let's unpack this. >>

wsj.com/articles/u-s-a…

2. It is quite stunning to see how the WSJ in its reporting - let alone its opinion section - pushes for American global military domination by creating a narrative that other countries are expansionist.

Consider the numbers.>>

3. US has more than 750 (!) military bases worldwide. China has 2.

Yet, according to the WSJ, it is China that pursues an aggressive "expansionist" policy by seeking a base (unclear whether it is military) in West Africa - which WSJ goes on the declare America's "home turf.">>

4. This is not about whether China is right or wrong on this issue. If indeed the base is military, there are good arguments as to why Equatorial Guinea should reject it.

>>

5. But one can oppose a Chinese military base in Africa without justifying continued American military hegemony globally - or mislead the readers to not even become aware of that broader context.

>>

6. WSJ is entirely silent on what the US itself does, leaving the readers with the impression that China is seeking global military domination while the US's 750 military bases are noting more than Disneyland-style amusement parks. >>

7. Though US military bases outnumber Chinese ones with a factor of +300, it is the US that is playing defense while China is "expansionist." Perhaps both are? >>

8. Though the US has encircled China with military bases throughout South East Asia, some less than 100 miles away from China, it is China that is the aggressor by potentially building one in America's "backyard" - West Africa, more than 6000 miles from Florida (!) >>

9. The point is not whether China's actions are problematic or not, but rather how the mainstream media often uncritically advances a narrative designed to strengthen US military hegemony, which increases the likelihood of war and ultimately makes the US itself less secure >>

10. As I wrote for MSNBC this week, the hard truth is that America's endless wars could not have happened without the media failing to systematically scrutinize the foundational assumptions of American foreign policy. >>

msnbc.com/opinion/media-…

11. Given to heavy burden these wars have been for the American people, the public deserves a media that objectively raises questions about where U.S. vital interests begin and where they end.

This WSJ report is a perfect example of how NOT to do it.//