NBC’s Conduct in Engel Kidnapping Story is More Troubling than the Brian Williams Scandal

[Judi Lynn]

NBC’s Conduct in Engel Kidnapping Story is More Troubling than the Brian Williams Scandal
By Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald Today at 8:41 AM

Throughout 2012, numerous American factions were pushing for U.S. intervention in Syria to bring down the regime of Bashar Assad, who throughout the War on Terror had helped the U.S. in all sorts of ways, including torturing people for them. But by then, Assad was viewed mostly as an ally of Iran, and deposing him would weaken Tehran, the overarching regional strategy of the U.S. and its allies. The prevailing narrative was thus created that those fighting against Assad were “moderate” and even pro-western groups, with the leading one dubbed “the Free Syrian Army.”

Whether to intervene in Syria in alliance with or on behalf of the “Free Syrian Army” was a major debate in the west through the end of that year. Then-Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry was openly discussing ways for the U.S. to aid the rebels to bring about regime change. Senator Joe Lieberman was saying: “I hope the international community and the U.S. will provide assistance to the Syrian Free Army in the various ways we can.” Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while ruling out direct military intervention, said: “[W]e have to redouble our efforts outside of the United Nations with those allies and partners who support the Syrian people’s right to have a better future.”

A U.N. Resolution calling for Assad to step down was supported by NATO states but vetoed by China and Russia, who were concerned that it would be depicted as a “regime change” endorsement to justify western military intervention. By the following year, John Kerry, by then Obama’s Secretary of State, was arguing that direct U.S. military action in Syria against Assad – a full-scale bombing campaign – was a moral and strategic imperative.

As it turns out, the “moderate” “Free Syrian Army” was largely a myth. By far, the most effective fighting forces against Assad were anything but “moderate,” composed instead of various Al Qaeda manifestations and even more extreme elements. After the U.S. and its Gulf allies funded and armed those groups for a while, the U.S. did ultimately go to war in Syria, but more in alliance with Assad than against him.

More:
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/04/16/nbcs-conduct-richard-engel-kidnapping-serious-brian-williams-scandal/

[merrily]

1. Meh. They're both troubling. Is it getting close to the end of Williams' suspension?

Is that why we are discussing Engel's kidnapping in terms of how it compares to Williams' spinning yarns for the viewing public while sitting behind his (hard) news anchor desk?

I mean, it is perfectly possible just to say what happened around Engels kidnapping was messed up without bringing Williams' lies into it. So, why are we? Are we paving the way for Williams to return to his $10 million a year job and be accepted and respected again?

Williams is a funny, nice guy who made a lot of friends, including Jon Stewart. So, when he got caught spinning stories, Stewart compared it to Bush's WMD and Greenwald is comparing it to Engels kidnapping. This is pointless.

Each of those stories stands alone. A news anchors lies do not become acceptable because the ramifications of some lies of a POTUS or a network were worse. Much like Bush's lies don't become acceptable because Hitler's lies were worse.

Fact is, the public was was entitled to the truth from all of them and still is.

If you want to say that, well, Williams is totally penitent, he is a good newperson and an all around good person. His stories were disappointing, but ultimately harmed only him. Checks are now in place to make sure this never happens again, I'm on board.

I liked Brian Williams, too. I'm really ready to see him slow talking the news again. But don't tell me ain't no thing a news person lied to me because someone behaved worse. That's no excuse. Given our species, I am sure we can always find someone who behave worse than any wrongdoer.

However, NBC get double scorn because it should have known about Williams' lies, and may well have. but did nothing.

Apparently, some of Williams lies were so obvious people in the industry knew about them, including the NBC cameraman who filmed Williams standing on somewhat wet street claiming it was flooded.

All I can say is, poor Dan Rather.

[leveymg]

2. Here's the gist of it:

Wonder why we haven't heard a word about this anywhere else:

As it turns out, that seems to be exactly what happened. Last night, Engel posted a new statement on the NBC News website stating that, roughly one month ago, he had been contacted by the New York Times, which “uncovered information that suggested the kidnappers were not who they said they were and that the Syrian rebels who rescued us had a relationship with the kidnappers.” That inquiry from the NYT caused him to re-investigate the kidnapping, and he concluded that “the group that kidnapped us was Sunni, not Shia” and that “the group that freed us” – which he had previously depicted as heroic anti-Assad rebels – actually “had ties to the kidnappers.”

[Earthly Creature]

3. NBC needs to fire someone over this

Several people knew, and allowed false articles to run.

[leveymg]

4. US corporate media was easily played in Syria because they wanted to play a role in regime change

Richard Engel is just a bit player in a much larger deception and media manipulation program carried out by the Syrian opposition's handlers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, France, UK, and the United States. Engel's "go in harms way" war correspondent style was tailor made for this kind of staged, false-flag event. He and his producers allowed themselves to be led around by the nose and reported exactly what the opposition's own handlers wanted NBC to see where and when they wanted it be seen. Note that Engel was traveling in opposition controlled territory under "safe passage" with rebel minders when he was kidnapped.

Similar media manipulators guided the coverage of CBS and ABC correspondents. The rest of the US corporate media and large parts of the western press receive similar controlled exposure by the rebels. Few reports have ever been filed by major news organizations from the regime side.

For decades, the multiple agencies of the US government, along with intelligence services of the rest of these countries, had been training Syrian opposition exile groups in propaganda, deception, and perception management. All have read from and contributed chapters to the Big Book of Dirty Tricks that have guided this sort of deception campaign since the CIA updated it in the Contra wars of the 1980s.

Indeed, many of the most widely reported events in the Syrian intervention have proven upon subsequent closer examination to have been either staged or the product of sophisticated deception campaigns. As this incident shows, the resulting public disinformation is voluntary on the part of some who play the well-paid role of "war correspondent."

[deurbano]

6. Sure seems like it.

[Blue_Tires]

5. Here's the story *without* the Greenwald spin

Because for someone who was just caught in a major lie himself (and has yet to answer for it, despite saying it numerous times), Glenn Fuckface Greenwald is in NO fucking position to criticize ANYONE...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/business/media/nbc-news-alters-account-of-correspondents-kidnapping-in-syria.html

(before anybody asks: The lie I'm referring to is Greenwald swearing up and down in early interviews that Snowden personally read all the documents before turning them over)

[deurbano]

7. What spin?

I think he may be going a little easy on Engel.

[Earthly Creature]

8. Be ready to throw F-bombs at the USA Today as well

Second paragraph, by editor Rem Rieder, notes that it seems NBC executives "allowed star foreign correspondent Richard Engel to go on the air with a story they had reason to believe was wrong".

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2015/04/16/nbc-engel-kidnapping/25878771/