Greenwald Says Supporting the Effort to Find 270 Kidnapped Nigerian Girls is “Horrifying”

[Blue_Tires]

In response to an op/ed in The Guardian that calls for feminists in the west to support the effort to find 270 teenage Nigerian girls kidnapped by Islamic jahadists known as Boko Haram, Glenn Greenwald tweeted the following:



So according to Greenwald supporting the effort to find these girls whom the terrorist abductors plan to sell into slavery is ignorant, “horrifying” and “The Next Western Intervention.”

Okay. Awful.

The kidnappings weren’t horrifying — but standing “in solidarity with these girls, their mothers, and their fathers,” the point of the op/ed, is “horrifying” to Greenwald. Perhaps if it was 270 Edward Snowdens who were abducted, Greenwald wouldn’t be so heartless. Meal ticket, etc.

http://thedailybanter.com/2014/05/quote-of-the-day-greenwald-says-supporting-the-effort-to-find-270-kidnapped-nigerian-girls-is-horrifying/

I should have been keeping a "greatest hits" archive of Glenn's tweets...I think many of his fans would be shocked at how much screechy bullshit their white knight spews on an hourly basis...

[itsrobert]

1. He's a heartless piece of crap

No offense to crap.

[Wait Wut]

2. Not a fan, but...

...I had to read it a few times. I kept thinking I was misunderstanding him. I wasn't.

Not a fan, and now, disgusted. I can't imagine what these young women are going through. What their families are going through. Support and solidarity is intervening? I'll tell you what is "impressive", millions of people worldwide aching for these girls, waiting for any sign of hope that they'll be released to their families and lives. That, is impressive and gives me hope for humanity. This tweet? Not a bit.

[Blue_Tires]

3. I've been telling DUers to check out his twitter feed for months now...

it's very eye-opening...That comment on Nigeria wouldn't even rank in the top 100 outrageous things he's said...

[Wait Wut]

5. I don't do Twitter, so...

...I appreciate people like you keeping me informed of the idiocy.

[iandhr]

7. You can't say that.

NSA bad nothing else matters. He could should the n word at the top of his lungs and when you say that racist you would become a NSA apologist.

[The Magistrate]

4. Fella's A Real Peach, Sir

The self-absorption of Libertarians is a wonderment, and he provides numerous examples of this inability to think of anything much beyond one's own nose which marks that political tendency so deeply.

[randome]

24. That describes him. And Libertarians.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[Jamaal510]

53. That was a very

tactful description of GG's worldview.

[tridim]

6. A massive egotist who uses people who trust him, and has zero empathy...

Textbook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

[The Traveler]

8. I disagree with Greenwald on this

But he might still turn out to be right.

It fascinates me how this always turns into a character analysis of Greenwald yielding a detailed assessment of his inner motives, while the substantive point is casually ignored.

Let's face it. Bad things happen in the world, and over the years nations have used those bad things as a pretext for inserting force into another nation. This allows the invaders to do all sorts of bad things while claiming the moral high ground. Sometimes, bad things do not come along at convenient times, and it becomes necessary to employ the "Gulf of Tonkin trick", or a more elaborate scam like "The Iraq WMD Hunt trick".

And that, of course, is the point being made here by Mr. Greenwald. Not that this didn't happen, nor that it is not in itself foul and heinous, but that such events have been exploited by major powers before. Given America's recent investment in military infrastructure in Africa, it is a point worth considering. We should ask ourselves, "Can less noble agendas be advanced by our involvement in this situation? And if so, what are those agendas?"

My own take is we should do what we can to help those girls ... and if that means boots on the ground sobeit. Because this IS really foul crap, and if we can stop it and rescue those girls we really must.

But we as citizens should keep Greenwald's observation in mind, and beware of that moral deed becoming the starting point of a wider and longer term deployment of force to the region.

Trav

[Blue_Tires]

12. China has more investment than anyone else in Nigeria, iirc...

And for the record, Greenwald never makes "points" on twitter...He makes vague, nebulous assertions without context, and leaves the reader to interpret what his true "point" is...And after dangling the bait and getting fish to bite, Greenwald insults/bashes everyone who got the "interpretation" wrong without ever clarifying his point and saying what he really means...(FWIW, this is a longtime Greenwald tactic he brought over from his days as an attorney)...

If Greenwald really wanted to make a "point" instead of fence straddling like the coward he is, he should put on some journalist pants for once in his life and do it on the Intercept...You remember the Intercept? It's that $250 million news site which has less content than a human resources newsletter because their head editor/producer spends more time tweeting to his minions in the echo chamber than actually finding some stories to report on...

EDIT -- Pazienza puts it in better words than I did:

http://thedailybanter.com/2014/05/glenn-greenwald-asshole-2/

[The Traveler]

17. My apologies

I should understand that on this thread the only acceptable discussion is supportive of Greenwald hate cultivation.

The point itself is irrelevant.

I will observe that one way to get people to jump off the cliff is to exploit their (in this case eminently justified) supercharged emotional state. (The crime against these young women makes one's pulse pound with rage.) I advise wariness while moving forward. Do as you will.

You are now free to continue Greenwald hate. Have a great day.

Trav

[bvar22]

16. A detailed analysis...

...extrapolated from a "Tweet".
LOL.

I wonder is all here would agree that the US HAS been involved in some "horrifying" interventions,
and are STILL involved in some "horrifying" interventions.

[The Traveler]

41. Actually, it is an interpretation

based on Greenwald's body of work, with an inference or my three of my own thrown in, light on the carbs and details, with just a dash of history for extra tangy flavor.

My own feeling is America needs to learn to tend its garden, and to step back from the line of fire. This world cop biz is expensive and ethically hazardous, and the political class in the US is well skilled in manipulating the better intentions of American people, thereby sucking us into trillion dollar multi year investments that shatter tens of thousands of American and foreign lives.

Hence, I am wary of a commitment of force even for this limited, but very worth purpose. And I really think that is where Greenwald is coming from, too.

My two cents. Pax

Trav

[bvar22]

42. I agree with Greenwald.

[font size=3] "The ability to ignore virtually all history when advocating for the next Western Intervention is as impressive as it is horrifying."

[/font]

Anyone who passed their high school English course can clearly see that Greenwald was calling those who ignore history and call for a Western Intervention as "horrifying".
Of course, there is a small crowd here who value distortion over truth and accuracy if they think it will stick
or get a High Five from their gang.


I am glad to see you have the good judgement to admit that track record for interventions in this part of the World is not good,
but that doesn't stop those whose knee jerk response is to send in The Marines, or Drones,
or more Freedom Bombs before we even know WHO the Bad Guys are.

I recommend CAUTION and FACT GATHERING before deciding on Kicking Somebody's ASS!!!

[The Traveler]

45. while we are not in perfect agreement

Our positions on the matter are fairly close.

Trav

[DonCoquixote]

48. Yes and no

I do agree that calling for restraint in what looks like yet another "muslims vs the west" production does not make him an asshole.

However, he is still nowhere close to earning my trust after playing paladin for the Citizens United decision.

Libertarians may want to stop Uncle Sam from being evil, but they have no problem when Wall Street wants to do evil.

[KoKo]

55. Indeed...Caution and Fact Gathering....

"Anyone who passed their high school English course can clearly see that Greenwald was calling those who ignore history and call for a Western Intervention as "horrifying".
Of course, there is a small crowd here who value distortion over truth and accuracy if they think it will stick"
or get a High Five from their gang.

[Mojorabbit]

33. I agree. It is great to see a nuanced post here. Thanks. nt

[jakeXT]

9. A recent BAR article comes to my mind

Freedom Rider: How Not to “Bring Back our Girls”
by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

“The last thing Nigeria needs is a foreign military presence to prop up its corrupt government.”

Bring back our girls. The message is a simple one that resonates with millions of people around the world. Those four words were first seen in a now famous twitter hashtag in the aftermath of the kidnapping of 280 teenagers from a school in Chibok, Nigeria on April 14, 2014. The Boko Haram group which is fighting that country’s government admits to holding the girls captive.

Only people who closely follow international news were aware of this situation until last week. It is right that so many people are concerned for the girls’ safety. Unfortunately, the effort to draw attention to this horror is of little use without a deeper understanding of Africa’s political situation.

Because western nations continue to interfere in Africa’s affairs and place compliant “strong men” in power, nearly every government on that continent is weak. Presidents and prime ministers exist only to enrich elites and ensure that valuable resources reach the western capitalist nations. It seems ludicrous that Nigerian president Goodluck Johnathan at first denied that the kidnap had taken place, and then vacillated between claiming that the girls had been recovered or that the number captured was smaller than reported. Hashtags and petitions are a poor substitute for a government whose infrastructure is dedicated to producing and delivering oil to the West but not doing very much for its own citizens.

“Relatives of suspected Boko Haram members were detained by the police in 2011 and 2012 and that the group swore revenge.”

It is little wonder that this story is so new to American ears. According to the Tyndall Report, which monitors daily broadcasts of the three major U.S. networks, there was not a single television news story about Boko Haram in 2013. This absence of information comes despite the fact that the group claimed responsibility for the deaths of more than 1,500 people in the past year. Not only is the Chibok case not the first kidnapping of girls, but boys fare even worse in these attacks. Boko Haram killed 29 male students at a boarding school in February 2014. Americans ask why these girls were taken and why they can’t be found without having any of the information which would answer those questions. The anger and sadness exist in a vacuum and are therefore useless in bringing about a resolution.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/freedom-rider-how-not-%E2%80%9Cbring-back-our-girls%E2%80%9D

[Blue_Tires]

13. I don't think Greenwald ever really cared about Nigeria

knows nothing about its peoples, nor can he find it on a map...I think he was just wanted to criticize the White House because that's all he knows anymore...And that's why he waited instead of making his own stance (he does this on pretty much every issue) I promise you if the U.S. had stayed silent, he would have criticized that just as harshly...

[Blue_Tires]

10. Update: Greenwald replies in his usual thin-skinned manner

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/464468662016278528

Jesus fucking Christ this guy is a whiny, pissy-baby piece of shit...I should register another twitter account just to fuck with him some more...

[tridim]

19. Always deflect with baseless Obama bashing, Glenn!!!11

Do they give "awards" for whining? He would obviously win.

[OilemFirchen]

32. There's that stellar "new journalist" we all know and love!

I can just imagine Hemingway pounding out a similar retort.

Still my favorite:

Glenn Greenwald ✔
@ggreenwald

Whiny columnists who sit on Twitter taking endless pot shots, then publicy self-victimize the minute someone says something critical of them

9:30 AM - 28 Sep 2013

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. The guy sounds a bit pissy doesn't he?

[starroute]

11. Greenwald is acutely aware of how Western propaganda works

The story about the kidnapped girls was around several weeks ago, but it got no notice. Then it suddenly exploded into a huge cause, with even Michelle Obama mugging for the camera in support. We've seen this pattern before -- most notably in Afghanistan. The lives of little girls in non-Western nations don't matter to anyone in positions of power unless they can be exploited for propaganda purposes.

http://firedoglake.com/2010/08/06/times-cover-the-cia-and-afghan-women/

I have resisted being pulled into the discussion of the TIME magazine cover featuring an Afghan woman who has been mutilated with the shocking headline “What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan” but some recent “progressive” email list discussions really hit a nerve for me. TIME, along with many “humanitarian hawks,” as one person has described them, used this image to argue that American military action in Afghanistan is the only right course to protect Afghan women. “After all, look at that poor woman – how could we ever think of leaving?” is the response this cover is designed to generate. . . .

The cover and resulting controversy has again led to claims that US military action in Afghanistan is somehow motivated by a concern for Afghan women’s rights yet the same people – on the left as much as on the right – who make this claim, rarely if ever bother to look at the impact of US military actions on Afghan women or to consider the concerns of genuine Afghan women’s rights activists themselves. While a small number of privileged women in Kabul have perhaps gained some freedoms since the invasion (and are favored interviewees of American media), the majority of Afghan women face the same conditions as in the past but with the added threats of US and NATO air strikes and night raids.

As one writer noted in an email today, given that Bibi Aisha’s maiming occurred while US troops were in Afghanistan and the Taliban are not running the country, how does her situation argue that our war and occupation make her safer?

And if these same concerned folks looked to the women of RAWA, women who have been fighting and dying for women’s rights in Afghanistan from before this new “humanitarian hawkishness,” they would learn that the American occupation has not only added danger but has solidified the power of anti-woman warlords through our alliances with these criminals.


http://blackagendareport.com/content/africom-preparing-another-%E2%80%9Chumanitarian%E2%80%9D-military-intervention

The U.S. Africa Command bills itself as a force for “humanitarian” intervention in Africa – but the only humans it serves are outside the continent. “The US has recently pushed itself into Libya, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere, and now has its eyes set on Mali.” . . .

Just as Washington’s corporate interests are hidden behind “humanitarian interventions,” the UK Prime Minister David Cameron will run the same facade. In February he hosted an international conference on Somalia, where he pledged more aid, financial help and measures “to fight terrorism” in Somalia. Cameron does not tell you that those so-called terrorist forces are funded and supported, and ultimately steered by the Western intelligence agencies – whereby they control all sides of the local conflict.

Note they are using the same recycled narrative in Mali now, fighting “Islamic extremists” there – promoting freedom and democracy in the region, etc.
Mali’s vast potential wealth lies in mining, agricultural commodities and oil. And these proven reserves are not currently exploited. Interestingly enough, Ghana and Mali together account for 5.8 percent of total world gold production. These assets are the true focus of US and UK interests in Africa – not humanitarian concerns.


[Blue_Tires]

14. I noticed the story weeks ago...

just because U.S. media are being johnny-come-latelys on this (and that includes Greenwald -- He's had jack shit to say about the issue until Washington offered to send help and now all of a sudden he's an informed expert), doesn't mean the story didn't exist...Of course the wider story (this is where the global media comes in) is why Goodluck Jonothan has been so incapable/unwilling/indifferent to doing something, and how many more children will vanish before somebody does take action...

You realize the U.S. doesn't need this humanitarian crisis as some kind of cover to exploit Nigeria's mineral wealth, right? Nigeria's government is corrupt to the CORE and they will happily continue to sell us their natural resources at bargain basement prices, just like they've been doing with China and everyone else all these years...So I'm not quite clear on the logic behind that assertion...

But at the end of the day it's just another brick in Glenn's wall of blind, seething hate for everything related to the Obama administration (including anybody who doesn't hate Obama as much as he thinks we all should)...Those of us who give two shits about the missing will try to find a solution, while those who want to endlessly hate and play Monday morning quarterback from the sideline will do whatever...

[starroute]

27. "Just like they've been doing with China and everyone else"

That may be the key. The US at this point isn't satisfied with access -- it also wants to exclude China from markets and resources. What do you think the TPP is really about?

There's a good article about the Nigerian terrorists at http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2014-02/04-/boko-haram-nigeria-islamic-terrorists/viewall -- it makes it clear that the government, hapless and corrupt though it may be, has been sending in its own Army and doing everything it can think of to put down the insurgency. The real problem appears to be that the area in question is desperately poor, is on the edge of an advancing desert, and doesn't trust the central government. But under those circumstances, what could the US possibly do besides send in the drones to shoot up local wedding parties and generally make things worse?

And as for Greenwald -- I certainly find him annoying a lot of the time. He tends to get a bee in his bonnet and keep harping on it endlessly. But I'm also fairly sure that there are deliberate attempts to destroy him going on, mainly as a result of his association with Snowden, and that makes me very distrustful of threads like this one.

[SidDithers]

22. FDL and BAR...

and

Sid

[geek tragedy]

30. "even Michelle Obama mugging for the camera"

Nope, no ODS there, nope.

[KoKo]

56. Agree and thanks for this post...link. We use women and children to further

our ambitions. After our invasion and occupation of Iraq the latest news out of Iraq is that they a re-instituting marriage laws allowing girls as young as 9 years old to be sold off in marriage comittment to anyone who wants to buy them. Along with the depleted uranium the disruption of their whole way of life..and displacement which has caused birth defencts and the displacment has torn apart families from their way of earning a living...what have we done to bring Freedom and Democracy to the Women & Children of Iraq.

Afghanistan statistics coming out show that in many cases nothing has changed for Afghan women and children and in many areas their lives are worse.

We use women and children to start interventions. And the propaganda (news stories and testimony from props and then some gruesome photos) come first to whip up the outrage and then comes the Think Tank "experts" who blitz the MSM and what's left of the Print community and next thing we are in another area of the world intervening for their minerals, oil, or strategic positioning next to some area we want to control carrying on that it's about bringing "Freedom & Democracy and Protecting Human Rights for Women and Children."

Those of us old enough and well-read enough to see this play over and over again....have had enough.

[rhett o rick]

15. I am not familiar with The Daily Banter, but this looks like an out of context hatchet job unless

they have substantially more that just this tweet.

[Blue_Tires]

18. What is the "context" of Greenwald's tweet that the rest of us are missing?

Because he never clarifies or elaborates...And when given a chance to elaborate he did what he always does which is to call everyone names like a third-grader

In my experience I've never known a fellow "journalist" who was so inept at properly using language to convey meaning...I mean, this is something he should have learned in high school English...

[rhett o rick]

49. "What is the "context" ", exactly, what is the context? nm

[Spazito]

20. Greenwald is the REAL POS used car salesman...

He is disgusting. He's always trying to sell shit as if it is gold, as if it's a lamborghini when it's actually a pinto.

[bvar22]

43. Greenwald is the REAL POS used car salesman...

... with a Pulitzer Prize in the Top Category of Public Service.

""We are truly honoured that our journalism has been recognised with the Pulitzer prize," said Alan Rusbridger, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian. "This was a complex story, written, edited and produced by a team of wonderful journalists. We are particularly grateful for our colleagues across the world who supported the Guardian in circumstances which threatened to stifle our reporting. And we share this honour, not only with our colleagues at the Washington Post, but also with Edward Snowden, who risked so much in the cause of the public service which has today been acknowledged by the award of this prestigious prize."

What have you done lately,
and have you considered you might be on the WRONG side of History here?

[Spazito]

46. The Guardian received the honor...

and Greenwald is still a POS used car salesman.

[arcane1]

21. I'm not reading it that way at all.

It seems he's saying the “horrifying” part is "the ability to ignore virtually all history", not the actual act of rescuing the kidnapped girls.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

23. That's because you know how to diagram a sentence.

Others in this thread are at least pretending they're not able to understand sentence structure.

[geek tragedy]

29. We understand that Greenwald finds the prospect of the US

helping find those girls worse than those girls getting sold into sexual slavery for the rest of their lives.

Which is why we think he's a piece of warmed-over libertarian shit, and a knee-jerk, negative nationalist who thinks the US is capable of nothing but evil on the world stage.

He's a hybrid between Noam Chomsky and Ron Paul.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

31. We? You should probably speak on your own behalf when misinterpreting a simple sentence.

[geek tragedy]

35. It's no misinterpretation. Greenwald is touting his standard

hybrid of Ron Paul extreme isolationism and Noam Chomsky "US is pure evil on the world stage" ideology--that no good can come from the US doing anything about anything else in the world, so we should never try.

And that any attempt by the US to do anything is some secret imperialist plot.

Plus, the fact that he doesn't give a shit about gender-based violence, people in Africa who aren't being droned, etc.

This is a guy who claims to care about Internet freedom but REFUSES to criticize Russia and China.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

36. You truly don't know the history of the US in Africa.

There was a recent tweet about that...

[geek tragedy]

38. Ha, apparently you also believe that anyone who disagrees with St. Glenn

is ignorant of history.

It's horrifying how some people literally can't conceive that people can know stuff and still disagree with them.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

40. No.

That serves as a reply to your post here, and to the other one you just replied to in another thread. You're trying to pound this into a set of binary choices. It's not.

[Ash_F]

34. We don't read here on DU. You came to the wrong website.

That thread title roped me in pretty well. Well played, OP. Well played.

[bvar22]

44. You are absolutely correct, arcane1,

...and EVERYBODY who passed High School English KNOWS it,
but some are more interested in Getting ON their Two Minutes of Hate that getting the TRUTH.



You will know them by their WORKS.

[rhett o rick]

50. Threads like this are a shame. Democrats spewing hatred and ignoring

important issues like the TPP, fracking, cuts to SS, attacking the widening inequality gap, XL Pipeline, net neutrality, GMO's, Wall Street control of our government, etc.

And why Greenwald, Snowden, Michael Hastings, Chelsea Manning, Julius Assange, Wikileaks, OWS, whistle-blowers in general? Because they dare challenge authority. That's a no-no in an authoritarian culture.

The oligarch overlords cultivate this hatred. They recognize it's diversionary effects.

[MohRokTah]

25. Jon Stewart has a phrase for people like Greenwald.

"Douchenozzle for Freedom"

[OnyxCollie]

26. Your Greenwald hate aside,

the NSA is still violating the Fourth Amendment.

[Tarheel_Dem]

28. Not being a fan, I'm not shocked at all. Human rights aren't his thing.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

39. Kick

[all american girl]

47. His second tweet makes me just say wow.

I was a teen age girl and have a 15 year old girl...again wow. I think all girls deserve better than his attitude...sorry if I've made some made.

[Jake Stern]

51. Whatever one's opinion of Greenwald, it doesn't take a psychic to see the potential mission creep.

Going from "We're here to save these girls!" to "We must stay and defeat Boko Haram!" thereby inserting ourselves into another African civil war.

Pray that if we DO go in it won't turn out to be nearly the epic shitstorm Somalia was.

[Enthusiast]

52. Completely unrecommended

[appacom]

54. Greenwald is no more trustworthy than Fox news

Google him and see how NOT a journalist he is