Remember the menacing story blasted across the mainstream media just days ago of the USNS Rappahannock firing on a small boat in the Persian Gulf? Big headlines, breathless coverage. Immediately the US media began to blame Iran — surely it was Iran, it must be!!! No, it was a 30 foot boat with some Indian fishermen in it, trying to earn a living, who swore that the US Navy’s tale of plenty of warnings before the shooting was totally bogus.
But readers of earlier this week would not know that because after the initial scare story grabbed the headlines, the “rest of the story,” as they say, was buried at the bottom of mainstream press outlets. (Compare the link in the above NY Times “rest of the story” with the enormous headlines when it seemed to be breaking in a way that may have discredited the Iranians or any other “bad guys”).
What the “free media” in the US won’t touch (because it is embarrassing to the state), the “mullah media” in Iran will certainly bite on, with the funny title “Trigger happy US Navy brings Wild West to Persian Gulf” and the even funnier cartoon:
Sadly, what is not funny is that an Indian fisherman is dead and at least two others are wounded. Their livelihood is gone. All because they chose to fish in a Persian Gulf that is increasingly crowded with US warships, amped up, trigger happy, and ready to start World War III.
5:55 am on July 19, 2012
