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Patrick Henningsen of 21st Century Wire joins us today to discuss his recent article on “Smart Power & The Human Rights Industrial Complex.” Topics discussed include the NGO/State Dept/Pentagon/NATO nexus, the use of human rights as a perception management tool to demonise NATO enemies, and the complicity of the media in reporting these stories uncritically.
SHOW NOTES:
21st Century Wire
Smart Power & The Human Rights Industrial Complex
“Smart Power” by Suzanne Nossel
R2P or: How the Left Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace Wars of Imperial Aggression
Raed Saleh of the White Helmets denied entry into the US
The Syria White Helmets Exposed as US UK Agents Embedded with Al Nusra and ISIS
The term smart power is also attributed to former Assistant Secretary of Defense under the Clinton Administration Joseph Nye, who wrote a book called “Soft Power.” Interesting to note here that Hillary Clinton has numerous times identified herself as being a proponent of Smart Power.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_power
A superb interview that I’ll be sure to pass around as so many are unaware of the stealth use of well meaning people working in or supporting NGOs with their connections to the state and its owners. This arrangement of NGOs, the media both MS and alternative, and the forces of imperialism are but one front of hybrid warfare. The Saker just published an article by Rostislav Ishchenko which ties in nicely with this important interview. Ishchenko puts together the escalating phases of hybrid war in the short article, which we can see currently happening in these different phases in many sovereign locations around the world…Brazil, Venezuela, Syria, again in Libya etcetera
http://thesaker.is/nine-theses-about-the-war-we-are-engaged-in/
Thanks for another insightful, well researched interview.
A key thing to me is how the concept of Rights has been inverted.
The American Bill of Rights, lists “negative” rights; delimiting the power of every man made authority. “Congress shall make no law…” etc. It resorts to The Creator as the provider of these rights.
Atheism, removes any authority above man. (Frequently substituting the scientific priest class!)
In contrast, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, enumerates “positive” rights. The provision of such rights, provides the pretext for the unlimited power of any institution that claims to be championing them. The essence of this list of Rights is to justify the UN’s existence and expansion.
This dichotomy is proven by how starkly the old sentiment of government shall claim no powers that they have not been expressly allowed, with UDHR Article 29.3…
“These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”
Or in the words of George Carlin “You don’t have rights, you have temporary privileges”
The term “Rights” is used as a trump card, to claim altruistic, moral justification for action; even when such action includes bombing families.
I’ve always found positive rights a weird concept. If you’re dumped in the middle of a desert, there’s not much point shouting “As a human being, I have a right to clean water!”
To me the only legitimate reason to acquiesce to any collective convention, is to champion mutual survival. The requirements for such things are temporary and locally specific, and therefore, must be initiated and directed by local people.
Instituting monstrous, lumbering forces such as NATO and the UN to further such things is like asking a short-sighted troll, to use her club to remove a fine cactus thorn from your baby’s little toe.
Cheers
Dave