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FLASHBACK - October 2002

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WORLD WAR III LOOMS
Former Speaker of House Declares World War III begun on NBC's "Meet The Press"
MER almost exclusively reported Walter Cronkite's World War III Warning in 2002

MER FLASHBACK - MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 17 July 2006: Future history may recall that it was with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, then Israel's greatly expanded war in the Middle East in 2006, and then the expansion of it all to war with Syria and Iran, that World War III was finally ignited out of control on planet earth.
Of course before that there was 9/11. But then before that there were the Palestinian "Intifadas", Gulf War I in 1991, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and of course we could go on backwards. For all of these events are related one way or another even if the corporate media continually refuses to make the vital connections.
Finally "World War III" has made it to national TV in the USA however.
That was the theme in fact of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday. His prescription, bomb and destroy everyone who dares oppose the US and Israel.
A few years ago, before the invasion of Iraq, no less a newman than Walter Cronkite was warning of World War III but prescribing a far different course. Even with Cronkite's unique stature however, he was hardly heard. Back then the corporate media wasn't even willing to report Cronkite's warning for he insisted that it was the policies of the United States and the Bush/Cheney Administration that were primarily responsible.
MER has been reporting about the escalation toward World War III for many years now, including Cronkite's prescient outspoken speech back in 2002 as he did what he could to prevent the Iraq invasion/occupation.
Here is the MER FlashBack to that speech by Walter Cronkite, first reported in October 2002 with this previous Flashback earlier this year on 28 February:

28 February 2006

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News, Views, & Analysis Governments, Lobbies, & the
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MER FlashBack - October 2002:

World War III?

�We�ve got an oligarchy here, not a democracy. Our democracy
is in some danger if we don�t concentrate on educating the populace.�
- Walter Cronkite, 27 October 2002

MER - MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 27 February 2006: As the preparations for the Iraqi invasion/occupation were underway early in the Bush/Cheney first term, long-time journalist Walter Cronkite decided to speak up with a big warning -- a warning that World War III itself could be in the balance.

�The threat from the White House is to go in anyway... I see the
possibility if we do that of really setting forth World War III.�

Cronkite's speech was given at Texas A&M University on 27 Feb 2002. MER reported it immediately the next day (see the MER FlashBack below). But not the Washington Post or the NYTimes. And there were no appearances for Cronkite on Nightline or Charlie Rose or Larry King, not even on his own former CBS network 60 Minutes or Face The Nation. No matter how knowledgeable and credible you are it seems, no matter how important what you have to say -- and what subject is more important than World War III? -- if you aren't in power and playing the game by narrow Washington rules the big doors to be heard are closed most of the time.

Walter Cronkite may or may not not have thought of himself as a modern-day Paul Revere -- but history's verdict is still out on his bold warning.

Now, a few long and very bloody years later -- with Iran now in the cross-hairs, with Iraq sinking into an abyss of civil war, with the 'Clash of Civilizations' already ignited, with the disingenuous Middle East 'Peace Process' shattered, with world energy resources on the edge, with both pandemic bird flu and environmental disaster threatening -- the dangers of which Cronkite warned are facing us all even more now than then. It is not a time for acceptance, complacency, or naive prayers. As the activists are rightly chanting 'The World Can't Wait'. It is a critical time in history requiring bold analysis and commensurate action to prevent the impending cataclysms.

As was the case when Cronkite spoke a few years ago certainly do not expect the corporate-sponsored government-interconnected big 'mass media' to do the job seriously and consistently telling it like it really is and then offering up what really needs to be done. As Cronkite also warned about the media itself, "We have no history now of the Persian Gulf War. We have only what the military reporters wrote and that�s what their bosses told them... It seems to me that as citizens, we should get this info so we can shout to Washington..."

MER FlashBack - October 2002:

Former CBS Anchorman, One of Most Respected U.S. Journalists, warns of World War III

MER- MiddleEast.Org: It was some months ago now that in remarks to a Jewish audience in Arizona a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was "sure" that World War III was approaching and everyone should get prepared. Sunday, 27 October, one of the most senior and most respected U.S. journalists warned that the U.S. could bring on World War III if the Bush Administration carries through with its threats of unilateral, pre-emptive war on Iraq.

Journalist Cronkite warns against
potential war

By CHRISTOPHER FERRELL
Eagle Staff Writer

Eagle photo/Dave McDermand

Walter Cronkite, whose career as a journalist spanned six decades, speaks at Rudder Auditorium on Sunday afternoon.

October 28, 2002 (Bryan/College Station Eagle)

Walter Cronkite, the veteran newsman who covered almost every major world event that took place during his six-decade career, on Sunday warned that if the United States takes action against Iraq without support from the United Nations it could set the stage for World War III.

�The threat from the White House is to go in anyway,� Cronkite said. �Our only ally would probably be Great Britain. That is not good enough. I see the possibility if we do that of really setting forth World War III.�

Cronkite spoke at Texas A&M University�s Rudder Auditorium on Sunday afternoon as part of the Wiley Lecture Series. Donnis Baggett, editor and publisher of The Bryan-College Station Eagle, interviewed Cronkite, asking him about his views on issues including America�s war on terrorism, the U.S. economy and the perception of the media�s liberal bias.

Cronkite said he believes the best way to handle the situation with Iraq would be through a two-stage resolution adopted by the United Nations. It should first call for weapons inspections and then an invasion if inspectors are not allowed or they meet interference. Such a strategy could help the United States gain other allies, especially Russia and France, he said.

�The legitimacy of our actions would be endorsed through the United Nations,� Cronkite said.

If the United States goes in without worldwide support, however, other countries in the region such as Iran and Pakistan could retaliate against the U.S., Cronkite said. He said the threat of nuclear exchanges between India and Pakistan could be increased if a conflict arises.

Cronkite, who began anchoring the CBS Evening News in 1962, said the country is at a very critical point in its history. The only other decade that compares, he said, is the 1960s, which saw the beginning of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement come to the forefront and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Medgar Evers.

�That was a tough 10 years,� he said. �But this period, with the threat of war with Iraq on tap, economic difficulties and terrorism are something we must be terribly concerned about.�

Cronkite said he fears Americans are learning less and less about what their government is doing, and worse, they do not seem to care.

He cited recent presidential elections that have seen less than half of registered voters go to the polls. The result has been leaders who are chosen by about a quarter of the electorate.

�That means we don�t have a democracy,� he said. �We�ve got an oligarchy here, not a democracy. Our democracy is in some danger if we don�t concentrate on educating the populace.�

Educating Americans should rest with the media, he said. But more often than not, nightly newscasts and the networks� magazine-style shows focus more on entertainment than hard news. Cronkite said this approach is the result of directives from the companies that own the networks to make things more �interesting.�

He said the ability to get the news, especially during times of war, also is becoming more difficult.

Since the Vietnam War, Cronkite said, the media has not been allowed to take its cameras, pencils and notepads into the field with the soldiers to give an accurate account of what is happening.

During World War II, reporters were in fox holes, and during the Vietnam War they were on the battlefields.

In many cases during WWII, the reports would have to go through intelligence officers all the way up the ladder to London, where top military censors decided if the information could be released. If security reasons prevented its release, the news was held until the threat passed. But information was not kept from the American public.

Cronkite said Americans may have thought they got the full story during Operation Desert Storm, but the media was denied much of the type of access it had been granted in the past.

�[In past conflicts], you wrote it to be the history,� he said. �We have no history now of the Persian Gulf War. We have only what the military reporters wrote and that�s what their bosses told them. That�s not good enough.�

Cronkite admitted that in some cases, such as the recent congressional report that outlined the country�s homeland security weaknesses, he wonders whether or not reporting all the facts is in the country�s best interest.

�It seems to me that as citizens, we should get this info so we can shout to Washington, �Let�s get this game going,�� he said. �But at the same time, there�s a terrorist cell sitting there saying, �That�s how we do it.��

But for a country�s citizens to be truly free and the government to be held accountable, he said people must have a free press that gathers all the facts.

He said an example of the alternative would be a situation like what he witnessed after WWII, after the Nazi concentration camps were freed. The people who lived in nearby towns cried at the sights of the persecuted Jews and told reporters they had no idea of what was going on behind the walls of the camps.

Many were probably telling the truth, he said, but that did not make them any less responsible.

�They applauded as Hitler closed down the independent newspaper and television stations and only gave them his propaganda,� Cronkite said. �When they did not rise up and say, �Give us a free press,� they became just as guilty.�

The most honest, most comprehensive, and most mobilizing news and
analysis on the Middle East always comes from MER. It is indispensable!"
Robert Silverman - Salamanca, Spain

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The most honest, most comprehensive, and most mobilizing news and
analysis on the Middle East always comes from MER. It is indispensable!"
Robert Silverman - Salamanca, Spain