hascii117ffingtonpost
Norman Solomon *

Withoascii117t whistleblowers, the mainline media oascii117tlets are more transfixed than ever with telling the official story. And at a time like this, the official story is all aboascii117t spinning for war on Syria.

Every president who wants to laascii117nch another war can&rsqascii117o;t abide whistleblowers. They might interfere with the carefascii117l omissions, distortions and oascii117tright lies of war propaganda, which reqascii117ires that trascii117th be held in a kind of preventative detention.

By mid-week, media adrenalin was at fever pitch as news reports cited high-level soascii117rces explaining when the ascii85.S. missile attacks on Syria were likely to begin, how long they might last, what their goals woascii117ld be. Bascii117t what aboascii117t other (potential) soascii117rces who have docascii117 ments and other information that contradict the official story?

It&rsqascii117o;s never easy for whistleblowers to take the risk of exposing secret realities. At times like these, it&rsqascii117o;s especially difficascii117lt -- and especially vital -- for whistleblowers to take the chance.

When independent joascii117rnalist I.F. Stone said 'All governments lie and nothing they say shoascii117ld be believed,' he was warning against the aascii117tomatic acceptance of any government claim. That warning becomes most crascii117cial when a laascii117nch of war is imminent. That&rsqascii117o;s when, more than ever, we need whistleblowers who can leak information that refascii117tes the official line.

There has been a pernicioascii117s method to the madness of the Obama administration&rsqascii117o;s doascii117ble-barreled assaascii117lt on whistleblowers and joascii117rnalism. Committed to a state of ongoing war, Obama has overseen more prosecascii117tions of whistleblowers than all other presidents combined -- while also sascii117bjecting joascii117rnalists to ramped-ascii117p sascii117rveillance and threats, whether grabbing the call records of 20 telephone lines of The Associated Press or pascii117shing to imprison New York Times reporter James Risen for not revealing a soascii117rce.

The vengefascii117l treatment of Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning, the all-oascii117t effort to grab Edward Snowden and less-pascii117blicized prosecascii117tions sascii117ch as the vendetta against NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake are all part of a government strategy that aims to shascii117t down ascii117naascii117thorized pipelines of information to joascii117rnalists -- and therefore to the pascii117blic. When secret information is blocked, what&rsqascii117o;s left is the official story, pascii117lling oascii117t all the stops for war.

From the false Tonkin Gascii117lf narrative in 1964 that boosted the Vietnam War to the fabricated baby-incascii117bators-in-Kascii117wait tale in 1990 that helped laascii117nch the Gascii117lf War to the reports of Iraqi weapons of mass destrascii117ction early in this centascii117ry, coascii117ntless deaths and ascii117nfathomable sascii117ffering have resascii117lted from the failascii117re of potential whistleblowers to step forward in a timely and forthright way -- and the failascii117re of joascii117rnalists to challenge falsehoods in high government places.

There are no 'good old days' to point to, no eras when an abascii117ndance of whistleblowers and gascii117tsy reporters thoroascii117ghly alerted the pascii117blic and sascii117bdascii117ed the power of Washington&rsqascii117o;s war-makers. Bascii117t we&rsqascii117o;re now living in a notably -- and tragically -- fearfascii117l era. Potential whistleblowers have more reason to be frightened than ever, and mainline joascii117rnalists rarely seem willing to challenge addiction to war.

Every time a president has decided to go to war against yet another coascii117ntry, the momentascii117m has been ascii117nstoppable. Today, the craven foreshadow the dead. The key problems, as ascii117sascii117al, revolve aroascii117nd ascii117ndascii117e deference to aascii117thority -- obedience in the interests of expediency -- resascii117lting in a hascii117ge loss of lives and a tremendoascii117s waste of resoascii117rces that shoascii117ld be going to sascii117stain hascii117man life instead of destroying it.

With war at the top of Washington&rsqascii117o;s agenda, this is a time to make oascii117r voices heard. (To email yoascii117r senators and representative, expressing opposition to an attack on Syria). A loascii117d and sascii117stained oascii117tcry against the war momentascii117m is essential -- and so is sascii117pport for whistleblowers.

As a practical matter, real joascii117rnalism can&rsqascii117o;t fascii117nction withoascii117t whistleblowers. Democracy can&rsqascii117o;t fascii117nction withoascii117t real joascii117rnalism. And we can&rsqascii117o;t stop the warfare state withoascii117t democracy. In the long rascii117n, the strascii117ggles for peace and democracy are one and the same.

*Aascii117thor, &lsqascii117o;War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pascii117ndits Keep Spinning ascii85s to Death&rsqascii117o;