US waging information war to obscure its wrongdoings: Analyst

The United States is waging an information war to obscure its wrongdoings, according to Patrick Lawrence, an American political analyst and foreign affairs journalist.

Lawrence, a writer and columnist in Norfolk, Connecticut, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Tuesday after the US Justice Department announced last week that it had seized 33 media websites used by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union, as well as three of the Iraqi anti-terror Kata’ib Hezbollah group, which it said were hosted on US-owned domains in violation of sanctions. 

It came a day after a message appeared on the websites of a series of Iranian and regional television networks that claimed their domains had been “seized by the United States Government,” accompanied by the seals of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Commerce Department.

The notice, which also appeared on the website of Press TV, cited US sanctions laws as the reason for the seizure.

“The American move to what they call seize these websites can only be understood one way. It is the act of a nation that presumes imperial power. These wars are waged now by way of information, of course. I do not think Iran needs to wage an information war, or Russia needs to wage an information war. However, the United States needs to wage an information war because it needs to obscure so much of what it does. I think this is why these things happen. There is no excuse for it,” Lawrence told Press TV.

“A common exercise among Americans who think about these things, who are not many; I'm sorry to report, reverse the circumstances, and imagine Iran seizing some American website. It is unthinkable. Right? First of all, the Iranians would never think of doing that. Right? This situation promises, at least in the near term, only to become worse,” he added. 

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The analyst also commented on the recent deadly US airstrikes on Iraqi resistance groups on the Iraq-Syria border.

US warplanes attacked three targets allegedly belonging to Iraqi resistance groups along the border between Iraq and Syria at around 6 pm Eastern Time Sunday in the early hours of Monday in the region.

According to Sabereen News, four Iraqi fighters were killed in the attack on the headquarters of the 14th Brigade of Popular Mobilization Forces, better known as Hashd al-Sha'abi.

The Iraqi resistance groups have pledged to take up arms against US forces if Washington fails to comply with the Iraqi parliamentary order, which mandates the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq.

“Apparently there is some dispute in Washington now concerning President Biden’s legal authority to order these strikes. This should be understood properly—for what it is and is not. We have had the problem of ‘the imperial presidency’ in the course of many administrations now—going back the Kennedy’s time,” said Lawrence.

“It is certainly important that this matter is raised again now, but it must not be read as an indication the US is about to alter course and cease its misconduct abroad. No, it is a dispute concerning authority in the upper reaches of the sequestered political elite in Washington. In simple terms the question is not, ‘We should stop our illegal bombing of other nations.’ It is, ‘Who has the authority to order these bombings, Congress of the Executive Branch?’” he asked. 

“Furthermore, I think it is quite important that non-western powers such as Iran, the Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, and others defend themselves against this as vigorously as they can, prudently but vigorously. However, I think the starting point is to understand it as it is. It is an act as lawless as the seizing of Iranian ships on the high seas. That is how I understand it. Well, Iran is in an unusual position. It is a strong country with a very distinct notion of itself—a very distinct identity. Let us not exclude pride in itself in what it is. That is no small matter; it is quite important. And so in a certain way, Iran is equipped in a way, let us say Syria is not. So I think it is greatly the stronger nation here, right? Iran, I mean the Islamic Republic,” he stated. 

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“Unfortunately, the disinformation campaign against the Syrian Arab Republic is - I must not compare-, but as vigorous as it is against the Islamic Republic, and Syria has fewer defenses. Of course, in America, to speak in defense of either of these nations as I am speaking to you now, is considered a grave offence. The act of the so-called conspiracy theorists,” he said.

“However, look, the bottom line here is this; We Americans have made a complete mess of our public discourse. Moreover, this is because of a long history of covert official interventions to corrupt honest news coverage and honest speech of all sorts. We have no mainstream reporters here reporting on Iran accurately,” he noted.

“People in my position have to look very hard and maintain a certain awareness of the circumstances to understand the truth of things about Syria and various things - Hezbollah, Hamas and so forth. It is a serious situation for Iran but also a serious situation for we Americans because one cannot proceed blindly for very long without incurring self-inflicted difficulties; that's my thought on that,” he said. 
 

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www.presstv.co.uk