Michel Collon is a Belgian author, journalist, and historian whose outspoken stance on Western imperialism and propaganda is comparable to former marine Ken O’Keefe or Irish reporter Gearoid O’Colmain (both of who have had much to say on these matters in the wake of the Paris attacks).
Collon slams mainstream media lies and Western foreign policy in an intelligent rant against the blatant hypocrisy of the USA, France and their allies. This debate took place in 2011 just before the invasion of Libya, and as such the focus is whether or not the West should get involved.
However, every single point Collon makes could be applied to Syria– and not only that, but Collon’s words also serve as a warning for what we can expect if the West invades Iran in future.
Collon says:
“I think it would be prudent to remember that each war is preceded with a big media lie. When the USA attacked Vietnam they said it was because two Vietnamese warships attacked their fleet; this was false. When we attacked Iraq, it was because they had weapons of mass destruction, that they were accomplices of Al Qaeda. This was false. When we attacked Afghanistan, it was because they were responsible for 9/11. This was false.There is a media lie for each war. After, we know it’s false, but the damage is already done.”
Collon’s points back up recent claims made by a German journalist that all mainstream news is controlled.
He continues: “We’re told that Gaddafi is shooting at civilians; we’ve yet to see evidence”(watching the video with hindsight reminds us that we never did). He points out Gaddafi offended Israel and the West by supporting Palestine, and by nationalizing Libya’s oil, which made him an enemy of EXXON, Total and BP. Collon also correctly states that Egypt and Tunisia’s governments were once supported by the USA. But the White House feared that if the two countries kept growing, along with Libya they would cause a geopolitical nightmare for Israel…so both leaders (Ben Ali and Mubarak) were ousted during the Arab Spring.
“What is the criteria, according to Europe and the USA, to distinguish the good Arab {countries] from the bad?” Collon asks, attacking the fickleness and double standards of the West. He goes on to suggests a few. Are the ‘good’ Arab countries those which hold democratic elections? Palestine just did that, Collon points out, yet the voter’s choice (Hamas won 56%) was disregarded. The Palestinian President won just 2%, but he was supported by the West. Is he a good Arab or a bad Arab, Collon asks?
“Well, surely he’s bad for not recognizing democracy. But no, according to the West he’s good. And those we bombed were the Palestinians because they didn’t vote well.” He goes on to list Saudia Arabian crimes, largely ignored by the West because the country does as it is told. “The good Arab, in the end, is the Arab who kneels, gives his oil to the USA, and this same guy will be able to treat women as slaves, commit torture and terrorism, and he will never be punished by Sarkozy (former President of France] and Obama,” Collon tells the panel.