NYT Hypes Russian Threat to the Internet

[newthinking]

NYT Hypes Russian Threat to the Internet

by Ben Schreiner

As if Americans didn’t already have enough to worry about in regards to the recently resurrected Red Menace, we can now add the fear that those devious Russians are threatening to–horror of horrors–bring down the Internet.

As the New York Times‘ David Sanger and Eric Schmitt report, “Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials that the Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of conflict.”

As Navy spokesman Cmdr. William Marks adds, “It would be a concern to hear any country was tampering with communication cables.”Indeed. Well, unless those tampering with international communication cables happen to be working on behalf of the “good guys” in the National Security Agency, or their equally good partners in Britain’s GCHQ. In that case, don’t consider it “tampering,” but rather something more akin to protecting the homeland from 21st century threats.

Of course whenever official Washington warns of a looming foreign cyber threat (China and Iran being the other favorite punching bags of the Times in this regard), it’s worth remembering that it was in fact the U.S., in partnership with Israel, that was the first state to actually launch a major offensive cyber attack on a sovereign nation. The attack being the Stuxnet virus set loose back in 2009 on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. Such aggression was codified earlier this year when the Pentagon formally unveiled a cyber warfare doctrine sanctioning the use of preemptive strikes. But down the memory hole, it appears, with all that.

And so with all that out of mind, it’s back to Russia’s rising “aggression.” At least as the paper of record would have it.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/26/nyt-hypes-russian-threat-to-the-internet/



It is unfortunate that the NYT, which used to be a good paper, has been allowing itself to be a tool for the MIC in forwarding less than truthful "Narratives". The MIC needs to keep the fear up so out come stories like this which have no real substance, but do a good job working up some of the public. Thus more money for the MIC.


SALON: The NYT’s journalistic obedience

SALON: We restarted the Cold War: The real story about the NATO buildup that the New York Times won’t tell you

[swilton]

1. Thanks for posting - great article!!

Recommend this as a companion piece to the above - an article by Pepe Escobar who seems to have his ear to the ground and his fingers on the pulse of these ongoings.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/269176-pentagon-nato-russia-nuclear-missiles/

[cprise]

2. I recall the rash of severed undersea cables around the ME

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_submarine_cable_disruption

Fast-forward several years...

http://www.securityweek.com/britain-has-secret-middle-east-web-surveillance-base-report


I'll also remind people that Britain is the primary asset amoung the "Five Eyes" -- the culturally Anglo countries that spy on their allies along with the rest of the world. Britain spies on Americans in the US and delivers the info to the NSA.