Saakashvili – the shame of the Western media
from Russia Today

Much to my delight, the word is getting out. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is slowly but surely being seen for what he is: a liar and an opportunist. However, my delight will never make up for the disdain I have for those among the commentariat who have protected him and covered up his lies. Western mainstream media continues to disgrace itself. And at the same time it lectures Russia about media standards. Again, we witness in front of our very eyes the death of outrage.

During Saakashvili’s war, we mostly heard from Saakashvili – not his victims or the Russian side. This of course was all so convenient for Saakashvili and his Western handlers. It was supposed to be that way. Saakashvili after all is Western – he’s “just like us.” But is he? Well, if he is just “like us,” we should be ashamed of ourselves and change – and look for better stooges to advance Washington’s neocon agenda.



The timelines are now becoming clear. Saakashvili ordered an attack against civilians he called his own. He said he “loved” the South Ossetian people and that we would never harm them. Only hours later, he attacked them in their beds – a 12-hour assault against innocent civilians. When things didn’t go the way he expected, he blamed Russia. The West’s commentariat swallowed this hook, line, and sinker. This was the commentariat’s first shame in the affair - much more follows.

To this day, Saakashvili is getting away with murder. Saakashvili started a war, with Washington’s support, and now expects a very pliant Western media to bail him out. Amazingly, and almost meeting his expectations, he nearly pulled it off. But the truth is catching up with him. Finally, there are those connecting the dots – Saakashvili has problems with dots being connected. He never really expected this. His Washington handlers in Tbilisi and the US were tasked with sanitising all of this. But it is not happening.

CNN, the BBC, Sky News, and all the American domestic networks cannot admit to their appalling coverage of Saakashvili’s preemptive war. Now they all prefer to ignore the facts that are coming to light. They simply lack the professional guts to admit they were wrong when the world needed the truth. Sadly, this is very much part of a trend.

I am pleased that at least more and more print media outlets are now reconsidering what really happened a month ago. They certainly don’t have a balanced view of Russia’s position regarding this conflict, but at least they are distancing themselves from Saakashvili’s. This is a small step towards correction and commitment to the truth.

Saakashvili is on his way out. Something tells me he won’t get the Western media coverage he wants and expects. The West’s media loves winners and morally defensible heroes. The more we learn, the less Saakashvili is either.

Peter Lavelle, Russia Today