OPINION:
Remember that “bombshell” intelligence-community leak during the thick of the 2020 presidential campaign, the one that purported Russia was placing bounties on the heads of American troops in Afghanistan? Well, despite the nonstop hysteria it garnered, this supposedly breaking development has proven to be bunk after all. Now that Washington-swamp paragon Joe Biden has taken the reins at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., bureaucrats cynically divulged they actually have “low to moderate confidence” that the Kremlin incentivized the Taliban to kill American soldiers.
Naturally, amid an election year with “Orange Man Bad” in the White House, liberal stalwarts and media hyenas jumped all over the bounty controversy. Then-nominee Biden derided President Trump’s ostensibly substandard response as a “dereliction of duty” and a betrayal of American soldiers. Peter Bergen of CNN dubbed the intelligence “richly reported” and claimed, “Trump simply doesn’t want to hear anything bad about his buddy Putin.” The Washington Post had the audacity to give Mr. Trump an obscene four “Pinocchios” for shrewdly discounting the uncorroborated intelligence as “fake news.”
What happened to journalistic integrity? These aren’t journalists; they’re partisan activists.
While liberal outlets can repeatedly gaslight demographics and hyperventilate over bogus narratives without any repercussions, conservatives face targeted suppression on social-media platforms solely for their beliefs. Right-leaning outlets, like Fox and Newsmax, endure near-constant scrutiny.
The ramifications of selective deep-state leaks to the sensationalist media are not limited to domestic parameters. Sensitive leaks have a compelling pull on America’s fundamental foreign policy and its relations with allies. Why would any foreign nations cooperate with the American intelligence community if their conversations could be exposed to the press at any point for political expediency?
As a result of these criminal leaks and mass amplification of unsubstantiated intelligence, another disturbing trend has emerged: the forceful sway mainstream media and big tech hold over American foreign policy. Why do our leaders continue to relentlessly fret over Russia, a nation with an economy the size of the state of Texas, while remaining deafeningly silent on China, America’s unequivocal chief adversary both militarily and technologically? Maybe because those helming the levers of power have something to gain, like unfettered access to China’s lucrative consumer market.
In the end, there’s only one nation laughing at America’s persistent national discord, compromised intelligence community and domineering corporate influence: China. It’s gaining ground and not turning back.
GRANT GIERHAHN
Chicago
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