Editorial:

The hard sell of hypocrisy and lies

Rolling around the world the gathering storm of people's opposition is 
lashing the war drive of the US, British and Australian Governments. The 
"hard sell" being undertaken by Bush, Blair and Howard to justify war is 
being increasingly recognised and dismissed as lies and hypocrisy. Once 
again they are trotting out the outrageous deception that they are 
concerned about peace and that no decision for war has been taken. Bush 
declares that he would launch war to maintain peace!

Peace will never been achieved by the building of a huge war machine and 
threats to use nuclear weapons.

"Not in our name" is the reply of those who vehemently oppose the war 
preparations.

"No blood for oil" sums up the incisive understanding of the real 
objectives of the Anglo-American oil lobby whose cause is being pursued by 
their respective governments.

The mass media is playing a particularly despicable role. It gives top 
billing to any and every statement by Bush, Blair, Colin Powell, Howard and 
their like. The worldwide sweep of the peace movement that even now is 
making these warmongering politicians waver, goes largely unreported. The 
statement of Hans Blix disputing interpretations being given to his report 
to the UN Security Council by Colin Powell and President Bush has been 
virtually ignored. The demonisation of Iraq and North Korea that underpins 
the whole war drive remains uncontested by the media.

This is understandable coming from the likes of Packer and Murdoch.

The present is a defining moment for all nations, all governments and each 
individual. A war on Iraq and on many other countries over the next few 
years would result in the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. Only 
those governments and individuals that make a genuine stand for peace will 
be able to say that their hands are clean.

It is to be hoped that journalists find the courage to take a principled 
stand and do more to tell the truth about the warmongers and, thereby, help 
save the world from the greatest possible disaster.

* * *

Beware provocations

The Los Angeles Times has revealed the creation of an 
organisation by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld called the 
"Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group" Its purpose is to "bring together 
CIA and military covert action, information warfare, intelligence, and 
cover and deception". The PPOG's role is to manufacture the terrorism that 
is to be combatted.

Faced with the massive opposition to their war plans Bush and his team may 
again be planning some terrorist act to provoke massive revulsion and whip 
a sceptical and reluctant world into supporting war against Iraq and other 
targets.

Chris Floyd of CounterPunch writes, "The US government is planning 
to use 'cover and deception' and secret military operations to provoke 
murderous terrorist attacks on innocent people. Such operations are not new 
for the United States authorities.

"Operations Northwoods" was such a scheme. It was a plan put forward by 
America's top military brass in 1963 to justify the invasion of Cuba. It 
called for a phony terrorist campaign complete with bombings, hijackings, 
plane crashes and dead Americans to provide justification for an invasion 
of Cuba. President Kennedy rejected the plan — and was assassinated a few 
months later.

Another similar provocation was a reported attack by Vietnamese naval craft 
on the US navy in the Tonkin Gulf. It was used by President Johnson to 
escalate the invasion of Vietnam by American forces. It was subsequently 
revealed that the incident never took place — but that was after hundreds 
of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed in the Vietnam War.

Many believe that the events of September 11 were another such provocation 
using a terrorist organisation infiltrated by the CIA and under its 
effective control. There is no other logical explanation for the complete 
failure of the interception of the hijacked planes that crashed into the 
World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. September 11 has been used by Bush, 
Rumsfeld, Cheney and others to launch the phony "war on terrorism".

The "war on terrorism" requires a steady stream of alleged "terrorist" 
actions and who better to arrange them than the CIA and Rumsfeld's 
"Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group" or other "special" forces.