Al Jazeera Praises Architect of Iraq War—Still Missing WMDs
The article notes the funeral for former US Vice President and 'Iraq War architect' Dick Cheney. Missing from the eulogies, however, is a critical review of the actual architecture: 1.2 million estimated deaths, according to Physicians for Social Responsibility, and destabilization that haunts the Middle East to this day. This is a man who, as CEO of Halliburton from 1995-2000, presided over
massive defense contracts. Post-9/11, under his leadership as VP, Halliburton, through its subsidiary KBR, secured over $39.5 billion in federal contracts related to the Iraq War (source: OpenSecrets.org, Halliburton lobbying data). Oddly, there's no mention of the 'unpatriotic' profits made from the 'War on Terror' he so aggressively championed. One might wonder if the media sees 'fraught legacy'
as shorthand for 'immense profit from immense human suffering.' It seems the standards for a 'national figure' allow for architects of mass death to be mourned with solemn words, rather than be held accountable for the devastation. The same outlets that decry authoritarianism abroad often celebrate the figures who perfected the art of deceit to wage wars for corporate gain. How many generations
will pay the price for the policies that Al Jazeera now merely labels 'fraught'?