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A former reporter of the CNN says the US-based network and other American mainstream media are engaged in the ³constant demonization² of Iran and Syria. "There is constant demonization of Syria, Iran and other countries on the US mainstream media," Amber Lyon said in an exclusive interview with Russia Today on Friday. ³I think this is an overall really harmful to journalism [sic] theme of these mainstream outlets following in the steps of US government and kind of shadowing how the US government feel about these areas.² > Lyon went on to say that Iran, in particular, is regularly demonized by > mainstream US media outlets, describing the attitude as ³dangerous to the > American public because they are not being given the accurate story and > accurate picture of our foreign policy.² ³I fear that we are starting to see a constant demonization of Iran on US networks,² she said, ³in what appears to be a systematic matter.² The American journalist pointed to emerging concerns among ³many² [US] journalist that ³we are going to head into Iraq-Number-Two, except this time itıs with Iran.² Lyon also said that CNN was bribed by Bahrainıs regime to censor a documentary on its brutal crackdown on popular protests. The former CNN correspondent produced the documentary on the brutal suppression of nationwide protests in the Persian Gulf kingdom over six months ago and although it was aired domestically within the US, its broadcast on CNN International was suspiciously withheld, raising charges that the management of the mainstream TV network had pulled the plug on the news story. During the interview Lyon also revealed that CNN gets paid by despotic regimes to produce and broadcast what she referred to as ³infomercials for dictators,² saying that the sponsored content of such pieces aired on CNN International ³is actually being paid for by regimes and governments.² ³This violates every principle of journalistic ethics, because weıre supposed to be watchdogs on these governments,² she added. ³And thatıs the issue here, that CNN is feeding, then, this propaganda to the public and not fairly disclosing to the public that this is sponsored content.² She further noted that other than some Persian Gulf Arab regimes, CNN has also produced such sponsored infomercialsı for governments of Georgia and Kazakhstan. > Lyon also elaborated on the hurdles she faced in Bahrain while trying to > produce her news documentary, including an instance when she ³sneaked into > some of the villages² to witness atrocities such as shooting fleeing hospital > patients by birdshot and beating of ambulance drivers, after which she was > ³violently detained² by masked and heavily armed Bahraini security forces who > attempted to ³erase all the video that they found [on us].² The US journalist then insisted that she and her female producer had to ³hide some discs² to get them out of the country. ³You can imagine Bahrainıs surprise when we got back to the US and this content was airing on CNN, and right after that is when the phone calls started coming into the network complaining about me and trying to get my coverage off the air,² she said. MFB/HJL/MA __________________ Mekonnen Tesfahuney, Docent (Associate Professor) Karlstads universitet Fakulteten för samhälls- och livsvetenskaper Avd. för geografi och turism 651 88 Karlstad Tel: 054-700 13 33 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Frċn: "Kevin M. DeJesus" <[log in to unmask]> Svara till: "Kevin M. DeJesus" <[log in to unmask]> Datum: lördag den 6 oktober 2012 07.20 Till: <[log in to unmask]> Ämne: Syria Inaction Could Ignite a Fragile Region (Ulgen) FYI, KDJ http://www.carnegieendowment.org/2012/10/05/syria-inaction-could-ignite-frag ile-region/dz91 Syria Inaction Could Ignite a Fragile Region Sinan Ülgen <http://www.carnegieendowment.org/experts/?fa=expert_view&expert_id=547> Financial Times, October 5, 2012 With Turkeyıs decision to authorise military action in Syria, the wave of Arab uprisings threatens to degenerate into interstate conflict, which will have disastrous consequences for regional stability. However, the emerging conflict between Turkey and Syria is also a stark reminder of the international communityıs failure to develop a cogent response to the new challenges it faces in the region. Sinan Ülgen <http://www.carnegieendowment.org/experts/?fa=expert_view&expert_id=547> Wednesdayıs mortar attack by Syrian forces, which killed five Turkish citizens in a border town, was one transgression too many for Ankara to absorb. Turkey retaliated by shelling Syrian artillery. The government had already incurred domestic criticism by sticking to diplomacy when Syrian forces shot down a Turkish reconnaissance aircraft and fired on refugee camps within Turkish borders. This time, a military response was all but inevitable. Despite a lack of support until now for Ankaraıs assertive policy of backing Syrian rebels, the loss of Turkish life has fired emotions and overturned previous opposition to military intervention. Turkeyıs retaliation has met with public approval. However, this does not mean that the crisis cannot be contained. A direct confrontation would damage Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president. More active involvement by a large neighbour can only strengthen the opposition and precipitate regime change. But it would also be very costly for Turkey. Economic growth, the main achievement of the government, is already slowing. The uncertainties ushered in by a crisis with Syria would be bound to hit investment and growth further. Turkey is also in the middle of constitutional reform, an exercise that does not mix well with war. The worsening security environment may make it impossible for politicians to make the trade-offs that would be required to establish a more liberal social contract. But above all, a direct confrontation with Syria would complicate the Turkish governmentıs efforts to deal with a resurgence of Kurdish terrorism. However strong the arguments for containing the conflict, there is no hiding the fact that the dynamics unleashed by the Arab revolts now make the regional order extremely fragile. The international system has so far proved incapable of dealing with these regional consequences. It was relatively easy when revolts turned into reforms, as in Egypt or Tunisia. But when revolts failed and reforms became elusive, the internal fractures became sources of regional tension, now raising the possibility of interstate conflict. The international consensus that emerged for intervention to support the Libyan opposition is very unlikely to be replicated here, given Moscowıs position on Syria. The emerging conflict between Turkey and Syria must therefore be seen as a reflection of the international systemıs failure. The westıs reluctance to act on the responsibility to protect in Syria an allegedly cherished concept put Turkey in the vanguard of the reaction to the Assad regime. The international community must now face the consequences of its inaction. But it must also begin a far broader debate, to reassess how and when safe zones should be set up within war-torn countries to prevent conflicts spreading to neighbouring nations and the region. Any future prospect of collective action based on the responsibility to protect depends on this discussion taking place now. A failure to undertake this critical dialogue will deal a fatal blow to the ability of the international system to uphold a moral order and punish violations of fundamental freedoms. The immediate conclusion ought to be a shared decision to intervene in Syria and establish havens for Syrians fleeing the massacres orchestrated by the regime. But in a world where the US is immersed in its election campaign, with little sympathy or attention to spare for international woes, and where the EU continues to battle one existential crisis after another over the euro, this is unlikely to happen. In its absence, the potential for this regional crisis to escalate suddenly is very real. The security blanket the international order once provided to prevent armed conflict breaking out between states, during the bipolar cold war era and the unipolar post-cold war years, is gone. This is a stark illustration of the risks the region now faces in its absence. This article originally appeared in the Financial Times. <http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/69686b6e-0d4f-11e2-97a1-00144feabdc0.html#ax zz281sZYqX8> -- Kevin M. DeJesus, PhD http://independent.academia.edu/KevinMDeJesus Post-Doctoral Research Associate Rhode Island College/Multi-University Research Initiative Craig Lee Hall, 143 600 Mount Pleasant Avenue Providence, RI 02908 401-456-8696 Co-Editor, H-Mideast Politics http://www.h-net.org/~midepol/ Book Review Editor, H-Africa http://www.h-net.org/~africa/ Coordinator, Mobile Loaves and Fishes Project First Unitarian Church of Providence http://mlf.org/ Mobile: 401-559-4056