As Palestine makes its way into the headlines again, it’s necessary to examine not only the history of the near 70 year occupation, but the media’s culpability in pushing a devotedly pro-Israel/anti-Palestinian narrative.

During the most recent assault against the besieged Gaza Strip, even the most progressive news outlets attempted to present “both sides” of what was transpiring, as though it was anything less than a horrific attack against an occupied people who continue to struggle for their survival.

The disingenuous mainstream rhetoric writes off Palestinians as being brutal savages or human shields. The human shield myth is especially pervasive throughout the Empire’s historical revisionism, despite there being usually no evidence to back it up. In this episode, Dan Cohen, an independent journalist who lived in Gaza throughout the last weeks of the war, speaks about the terrifying moments he was made to be a human shield, not by Palestinians – but by Israeli forces.

Dan Cohen and Rania Khalek, associate editor at Electronic Intifada, join Abby Martin as she investigates the US media’s pro-Israel narrative and deep-rooted propaganda inside the settler colonial state.

The Distortion & Death Behind Israel/Palestine Coverage

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FOLLOW // @EmpireFiles and @AbbyMartin

WATCH // YouTube.com/EmpireFiles

Image by flickr user Jordi Bernabeu Farrus

The so-called “Global War on Terror,” which has wreaked the globe in ceaseless warfare, has long been draped in the language of humanitarian imperialism. The United States has worked tirelessly in order to paint military invasions as liberatory efforts, using the 9/11 attacks as both a shield and a catalyst.

While men and women die fighting wars on behalf of US politicians, who admit that they cannot win the very conflicts they wage, patriotism is used to turn aimless combat into fundamental battles of legitimacy and self-security.

All the while, a US policy of aggression that spans democratic and republican administrations has ripped any sense of security out of the lives of Afghan and Iraqi civilians, among others. Afghanistan’s future was said to be democratic post-US invasion, but reality has been quite different. At the start, in order to combat Soviet influence in the region, not only did the US hand out millions of dollars and weapons in order to fund extremist groups, the mujahideen were warmly welcomed by White House officials. In Iraq the US employed sanctions in order to better decimate the country should politicians choose to divide it. That time came with the first salvo of the war on Iraq which turned the cradle of civilization into a bloody epicenter of cancer and orphans.

ISIS rose out of the ashes of the very death and chaos in the region that the US has created. US foreign policy, which is based on military and economic alliances, has given extremist forces the arms and the reason to continue in their brutalization of minority sects. But ISIS isn’t the only group arrogantly taunting civilians with death; Obama’s administration has turned the calm skies of places like Pakistan into nightmarish killing fields with his drone policy, and his drone program is only getting bigger.

Watch as Abby Martin delves into the lies of the US Empire and uncovers how the establishment media has distorted historic realities, and used 9/11 in order to fuel America’s two longest running wars.

9/11 and The Belligerent Empire

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FOLLOW // @EmpireFiles and @AbbyMartin

WATCH // YouTube.com/EmpireFiles

Photo by US Army

As the futures of whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange hang in the balance, the fate of another has been sealed for 35 years. Chelsea Manning sacrificed it all to leak classified information which exposed some of the most heinous US war crimes from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Manning shattered paradigms yet again by coming out as transgender. In a recent interview from jail, she discusses her legal fight for hormone therapy as a means to help other transgender prisoners to survive. In her first tweet via third party she thanked journalist Alexa O’Brien. And for good reason.

Alexa remains tirelessly dedicated to the Manning case. Since 2012, she’s provided an archive of the only available transcripts of her Manning’s closed trial. Alexa fights not only for whistleblowers, but also to preserve civil liberties. She was one of the plaintiffs on the National Defense Authorization Act lawsuit filed against President Obama, led by Chris Hedges, and was foundational in the US Day of Rage, the initial Occupy Wall Street organizing group.

On this edition of Media Roots Radio, Abby and Robbie Martin speak to Alexa about Manning’s exposures, the ongoing erosion of civil liberties and her research into the conjoining of entertainment, tech and military industries.

If you want to directly download the podcast, click the down arrow icon on the right of the soundcloud display.

This Media Roots podcast is the product of many long hours of hard work and love. If you want to encourage our voice, please consider supporting us as we continue to speak from outside party lines. Even the smallest donations help us with operating costs.

Listen to all previous episodes of Media Roots Radio here.

Follow Abby @abbymartin, Robbie @fluorescentgrey & Alexa @carwinb

Photo by torbakhopper

Media Roots Radio presents ‘The 9/11 Bulletin’, featuring an in-depth discussion between Robbie Martin and 9/11 justice seeker and activist Jon Gold. They dissect the mountain of evidence that points to foreknowledge of the terrorist attacks and subsequent cover-up by the 9/11 commission.

More Resources

*Jon Gold’s YouTube channel is an excellent and plentiful resource of rare 9/11 videos

*In-depth fact sheet providing bullet-proof evidence that the Bush administration lied about 9/11

*Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox blog

*Jon Gold’s book 9/11 Truther: the Fight for Peace Justice and Accountability

If you would like to directly download the podcast click the down arrow icon on the right of the Soundcloud display. To hide the comments to enable easier rewind and fast forward, click on the icon on the very bottom right.

This Media Roots podcast is the product of many long hours of hard work and love. If you want to encourage our voice, please consider supporting us as we continue to speak from outside party lines. Even the smallest donations help us with operating costs.

Listen to all previous episodes of Media Roots Radio here.