Share this page!

Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Twitter logo
Mar 2 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
No such thing as an "innocent" Russia person any more, says Obama's former Ambassador. Seems like that premise, if accepted, could lead to some extremely dark places. Regardless of the outcomes, the claim itself is noxious.
I continue to think the reason these kinds of odious frameworks are accepted is because so many people either didn't live through 2002 as adults or have forgotten what was done. ImageImage
Bin Laden's argument for why US civilians were legit targets was they choose their leaders and thus are responsible for their acts. That was widely (and accurately) viewed as reprehensible. Even more odd to claim Putin is a totalitarian dictator, but *all Russians* are guilty.
I think it's genuinely useful and illuminating when the people who run US foreign policy turn into Twitter pundits, drop the mask of obfuscating State Department diplomatic language, and let everyone know how they really think (and look how viral this vile tweet already is): Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Glenn Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ggreenwald

Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Mar 1
All things considered, an amazing tweet from a Democratic foreign policy official. ImageImage
Read @robertwrighter today on why it's so immoral to use the cliché "whataboutism" to prevent an examination of your own country's past crimes in order to bar any inquiry into whether the principles they're claiming to support are genuine.

nonzero.substack.com/p/in-defense-o…
Also worth watching, at this important moment, this video from @jeremyscahill where he explains how the "whataboutism" cliché suppresses, by design, a vital examination of our own country's behavior to claim we support standards we refuse to abide by.

Read 5 tweets
Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Mar 1
Again, one of the most baffling aspects of current discourse -- a sign of how dissent is demonized -- is the claim that it's a new "pro-Putin" talking point to say NATO expansion is threatening to all Russians.

This thread shows: this view has long been mainstream in the West👇
If you want to say that someone is a "pro-Putin" Russia apologist for believing NATO expansion to Russia's borders has been genuinely threatening to most Russians, then you have to say Biden chose a traitor to run the CIA. Here's William Burns' warning to the Bush WH in 2008:
President Obama, in 2016, on Russia, Ukraine and the US. He was being pressed by the neoconservative editor of @TheAtlantic, @JeffreyGoldberg, on why he refused to "stand up to Putin" by arming Ukraine. Here's what Obama said. Well worth reading. This was after Crimea annexation:
Read 5 tweets
Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Mar 1
Frum's career was built on smearing those who disagree with him as being traitors and on the Enemy's side. From Bush's "you're with us or with the terrorists" speech to Frum's 2003 article "Unpatriotic Conservatives" (about Iraq War opponents), it's his specialty. Won't stop now.
Everyone "now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the" Russians. ImageImage
He's now regarded in many media sectors and establishment liberal politics as the Conscience of the Nation. One key benefit of constantly locating new Hitlers (from Trump to Putin) is that it erases all prior sins, bestows elites with total absolution:

Read 4 tweets
Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Feb 28
Given all the various claims about what "real leftists" must say and think about Russia/Ukraine, it's worth hearing this two-part answer from Noam Chomsky from February 13, when asked about rising tensions over Ukraine between Moscow and NATO:
The 2nd part. One of the most bizarre claims is now is that his view -- that NATO expansion is genuinely threatening to all Russians, not just Putin -- is some Kremlin propaganda invented last week when, in fact, it's what US officials and scholars have been saying for years.
Here's @PeterBeinart documenting how top US security officials, including the current CIA Director, have been warning for years: NATO expansion will provoke Russian action in Ukraine. You don't have agree, but don't pretend it's some new invention of RT:

peterbeinart.substack.com/p/bidens-cia-d…
Read 5 tweets
Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Feb 27
🤣

In case you doubt that anyone who deviates from the mandated consensus instantly gets smeared as a Russian agent or apologist. The DSA statement was reasonable (see below); its crime was that it criticized NATO. Hence it must be "pro-Putin." The WH also attacked DSA.
Here's the @DemSocialists statement. I'm sure many would disagree with some of these claims but it's perfectly reasonable, and if you can't express this minimal dissent without being smeared by top Democrats and the WH as a Kremlin agent, then the climate is toxic and warped.
And again, just to illustrate how much more open and permissive the debate over Ukraine is around the world, here's one of Brazil's most influential YouTubers and commentators, @felipeneto, asking a question which, in the US, would prompt instant "pro-Putin" accusations:
Read 4 tweets
Glenn Greenwald Profile picture
Feb 27
War Propaganda About Ukraine Becoming More Militaristic, Authoritarian, and Reckless

greenwald.substack.com/p/war-propagan…
Every useful or pleasing claim about the war, no matter how unverified or subsequently debunked, rapidly spreads, including by US news outlets, while dissenters are vilified as traitors or Kremlin agents.

No matter your views, having falsehoods ratified is dangerous and harmful. Image
Even if you're certain you have apprehended the moral dimensions of this conflict, that only takes you so far - as was true of 9/11 or Saddam. Especially with calls for no-fly zones, regime change and "crippling" sanctions, vital debates remain, which require space to question. ImageImage
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @ggreenwald has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @ggreenwald!

Read all threads by @ggreenwald

:(