Scott Horton Interviews Allison Kilkenny
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Allison Kilkenny, regular contributor to the Huffington Post, discusses the CNN poll that found a large majority of Americans believe Iran has nuclear weapons, not-so-covert US actions in Iran that make diplomacy impossible, Republicans who are unwilling to admit the cause and effect between US empire and terrorism and the Democrats who hypocritically defend Obama over the same policies they excoriated Bush for.
MP3 here. (21:51)
Allison Kilkenny is the co-host of Citizen Radio and regular contributor to the Huffington Post, the Beast, 236.com, Alternet.org, and Wiretap Magazine. Her work has also appeared on The Nation and she is a regular guest on SIRIUS radio.
Paul
March 1st, 2010 at 8:52 am
Just the headline itself tells a depressing story. I think the real point is that the elite and associated media can make enough of us believe whatever they want. They can repeat the same lie over and over again and be believed every time.
Some people hope that through the Internet a different and truthful message can be spread. I can not honestly say I think this is really happening, and if it did then the Internet would quickly be restricted so that the message was suppressed.
epppie
March 1st, 2010 at 1:23 pm
What's quite amazing about this poll is that most americans think that Iran has a nuclear weapon AND they want to attack Iran!!! They want to attack a country armed with nukes!!!!!
The phrase we need to study is Fin De Siecle. There is a kind of insanity that becomes particularly prevalent and virulent when centuries and millenia change. Whole societies become lost in it. That's what's happening now. Almost two thirds of our fellow citizens WANT to start a war with what they imagine to be a nuclear-armed nation.
Note too that all of this sends Israel shooting up in the polls in the US, the only polls Israel cares about. The more they demonize Iran, the more they can get away with in the West Bank and Gaza.
Claus Eric Hamle
March 1st, 2010 at 1:44 pm
As Russia´s Chief of Staff commented, "A US war with Iran will bankrupt the US". Can the US afford a war with Iran ? With ZERO evidence of a nuclear weapons program ?
Valerianus
March 1st, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Bankruptcy will be no detrrent to a war with Iran. Oh no, au contraire! The plutocrats will view a war with Iran as an opportunity tro make another grab for Americans' wealth. The stupid sheeple will deserve the fleecing and the financial fallout from the war.
Benjamin
March 1st, 2010 at 4:30 pm
What's even more disturbing is how many Americans think a guy in a cave tricked the U.S. Secret Service into allowing Bush to read about a goat in a publicly announced location on 9-11 when he would have clearly been a target.
pfff
March 1st, 2010 at 5:11 pm
"Iran could very well have nuclear weapons that were salvaged from the fall of the USSR — complete with delivery systems."
I do not know if I was to laugh or cry. This statement lacks ANY relation to reality and sounds like something a tom clancy fan would dream about. Provide some proof or at least som LOGIC instead of just pulling random crazy statements out of thin air.
Enlighten us, mr warmonger. How the hell did Iran "salvage" nuclear warheads and delivery systems from soviet. And how did they manage to do that without anyone except you finding out?
Orville H. Larson
March 1st, 2010 at 9:50 am
The Fawning Corporate Media, as Ray McGovern aptly calls it, reports only the "news" and opinion that the District of Corruption Establishment wants reported.
Our single political party–the DemoPublican Party–is worthless. No matter which wing you vote for–Democratic or Republican–you'll get endless wars, corporate welfare for Wall Street, mindless support for Israel, disregard for official lawlessness, ad nauseam.
epppie
March 1st, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Apparently, but not at all surprisingly, Obama seems to be working on plans for a blockade. Not that it matters – crippling sanctions are simply a step towards war. That's all they are.
epppie
March 1st, 2010 at 6:49 pm
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_2010…
Valerianus
March 1st, 2010 at 1:54 pm
The American population once again demonstrates its pathetic condition. The FedGov tyrants and their Zionist colleagues must be in a state of ecstasy that they have such a pack of morons as their subjects.
DavidSpero
March 1st, 2010 at 11:21 pm
That's an amazing headline, Scott. No need to read the article; they've made the point. Be afraid. A beautiful example of where the 71% who believe in Iran's nukes got the idea.
Andy
March 1st, 2010 at 11:35 pm
This same type of journalism convinced Americans to fight a needless war with Spain.
Ryan Dawson
March 1st, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Some 70% of people also believe space aliens have landed on earth. People are dumb and led by fear and mass media. There are still a good 30% or so that continue to believe that Iraq had WMDs. Prejudice governs their thoughts not facts.
And yet many people don't believe we landed on the moon. And some like (Huckabe) don't believe in evolution. That is where we are as a society. Beliefs are picked and rejected based on hope and fear and have nothing to do with reality, empirical evidence, or reason.
Andrewp111
March 1st, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Iran could very well have nuclear weapons that were salvaged from the fall of the USSR — complete with delivery systems. However, it could not have too many, since there aren't that many unaccounted for Soviet nukes. Iran is currently doing a massive effort to develop the ability to make its own nuclear weapons, which would allow it to become a real nuclear power and supreme dominator of the Middle East. The only way to stop them is to launch a massive, preemptive thermonuclear strike on Iran. Israel should do this now.
Scott
March 1st, 2010 at 6:45 pm
CNN's title across their mid-screen during an only 3/4 lazy and bad report on the IAEA meeting today:
IRAN'S NUKES
IAEA discusses potential threat
arthurborges
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:20 am
Yes but the Federal Reserve is privately owned and so owned by non-US citizens, so much depends on how they structure their investments. It's just a matter of timing: shifting billions out of the US dollar when the ship looks ready to sink.
Indeed, there is no evidence of even an experimental nuclear device, let alone an operational arsenal but then my Iranian friends all smile knowingly and say Iran will get a bomb "sooner or later, one way or another." That said, French ex-president Jacques Chirac said shortly before leaving office: "We can live with a nuclear Iran."
By the way, Iran need only give 90 days notice to drop out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty to recover full legal rights to build such a bomb, but then again, Washington cherrypicks what is and ain't legal.
arthurborges
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:31 am
The IAEA has zero evidence of any nuclear weapons in Iran!
The price of using nuclear weapons is serious retaliation by any of several declared and undeclared nuclear powers. Only the USA could get away with using the odd tactical weapon every now and then without having the mainstream media on its back.
Otherwise, nuclear weapons are only useful a political bargaining chip: drop one and it becomes your target's trump card at the negotiating table.
If Israel launched a nuclear attack, it might well be the last country to recover from the consequences — if it survived the social, economic and political blowback at all.
arthurborges
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:34 am
Epppie, I'm fascinated: Iran needs no help from the US Navy to halt oil exports.
China and Russia would veto or, more likely, dilute any motions for international sancions to the point where they would be symbolic.
Valerianus
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Thanks for the admission that your Zionist buddies have thermonuclear weapons. That's the only thing of any value in what you wrote.
Paul
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Yes and that was over 100 years ago? Does not this make you think that things will never change?
Izirbat
March 4th, 2010 at 2:09 am
Are these the same 71% dumb ass' who thought Iraq had nukes too?
Tim T
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:39 pm
This interview describes the game pretty well. The so-called left has a small number who will break away from their leader on principle, and the so-called right is always hopeless.
When the few good people on the left finally have had enough they break, weakening the left, and then the right takes power again to continue the war machine.
AVietnamWarVet
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Has the United States ever fought a war that was NOT based on LIES? – yes – a few, like our War for Independence and the War of 1812 – but since then? What about our subsequent wars such as war with Spain, with Mexico, WWI? And WWII, Korea – most certainly Vietnam – Iraq and Afghanistan? – lots of LIES told to get the U.S. into most wars.
Attack the System » Blog Archive » Updated News Digest March 6-7, 2010
March 5th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
[...] The War Party’s Successful Lie Allison Kilkenny interviewed by Scott Horton [...]