by Stephen Lendman

Failure to condemn clear aggression shows support. Turkey’s act of war was clear and unambiguous - recklessness against Russia’s real war on terror, polar opposite America’s phony war, backing ISIS and other terrorist groups, not combatting them.

Media headlines should accuse Turkey of naked aggression against Russia, acting recklessly, upping the stakes for potential global war. Instead they suppress what’s vital to know.

New York Times editors cited the risk of “wider confrontation,” falsely calling Obama’s proxy aggression on Syria a “civil war.”

Saying Tuesday’s incident “adds to tensions between Ankara and Moscow, which support different factions in Syria, and threatens to worsen relations between Russia and Turkey’s NATO allies, which have been going downhill since Russia invaded Ukraine.”

Fact: Times editors lied, claiming “Russia invaded Ukraine,” the Big Lie they’ve repeated many times, never citing evidence because none exists - other than phony videos unrelated to conflict in Donbass.

Times editors: “The only winner in a confrontation between Russia and the West is the Islamic State.”

False! Moscow’s campaign continues neutralizing, significantly weakening and destroying its forces, the goal being to prevent their spread to Central Asia and its own territory.

Times and other scoundrel media editors never explain Washington’s full responsibility for creating ISIS, Al Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and other splinter terrorist groups, deploying them as imperial foot soldiers, waging endless wars of aggression.

“(A)n unnamed American official told The Times it appears that at least one Russian jet crossed into Turkish airspace,” they said.

False! Verifiable Russian evidence proves otherwise. US officials know what they won’t explain. Times editors repeated comments from Obama and other Western officials, saying “Turkey has a right to defend itself” - instead of forthrightly condemning its bandit act.

“It’s time for a better approach,” they blustered, “like having NATO and Russia tighten the rules of engagement to better avoid incidents like the one on Tuesday.”

Russian operations are in full compliance with international law - polar opposite US aggression against one country after another, vital information Western media suppress.

The Washington Post sided with NATO, saying it “faces (a) new Mideast crisis…” It lied claiming “Russia back(s) the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (in contrast to) a US-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State.”

Russia supports Syrian sovereignty and the right of its people alone to decide who’ll lead them, free from outside interference.

Times editors failed to explain why after bombing Iraq and Syria since last year, US warplanes failed to destroy a single ISIS target. Its operations support the scourge of terrorism. Russia continues combating it effectively.

WaPo cited an unnamed “US military spokesman(’s) (Big Lie, claiming) Turkish pilots issued 10 notifications to their Russian counterparts, warning that they were in Turkish airspace and that the Russians did not respond.”

False! No warnings were given or needed. No evidence shows Russian aircraft entered Turkish airspace. Claiming otherwise is part of longstanding Russia-bashing.

Neocon Wall Street Journal editors headlined “Turkey’s Warning Shot,” saying “Putin may be testing NATO’s resolve, and the Turks need US support.”

They repeated Big Lies blasted throughout Western media - claiming Russian aircraft entered Turkish airspace illegally and didn’t heed 10 warnings - failing to explain Moscow poses no threat to Turkey or any other nation, or say no evidence support’s Ankara’s claim about Russian aircraft entering its territory.

Journal editors turned truth on its head, saying Tuesday’s incident “fits the Russian pattern of bombing enemies of the Assad regime except Islamic State - a useful reminder that Mr. Putin is not a fit partner in the coalition to fight ISIS.”

Then ludicrously asked “why Mr. Putin would risk provoking Turkey” - when no provocation occurred Tuesday or earlier. Absurdly saying Moscow’s alliance with Iran and its Shiite Muslim proxies in Damascus and Beirut, who see themselves as competing with the Sunni Turks for regional dominance,” may explain what happened - along with Putin “testing NATO cohesion.”

“If Russia continues to prick Turkey and NATO fails to support Ankara, it will expose the hollowness of NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense obligations.” Are Journal editors urging WW III?

Western media are notoriously scurrilous, mouthpieces for imperial power, suppressing what’s vital to report - in lockstep with all US wars of aggression and others planned.

What follows Turkey’s clear act of war against Russia remains to be seen. Putin won’t let it pass without appropriate responses, already being implemented, likely other measures to come.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs