The Corporate Media Never Talks About US Imperialism
The New York Times and other establishment outlets like to paint North Korea as an irrational actor hell-bent on destroying the United States. But you can’t understand North Korea’s nuclear program without talking about US militarism.
People watch a TV showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch at the Seoul Railway Station on August 10, 2019 in Seoul, South Korea.Chung Sung-Jun / Getty
On Tuesday, the New York Times issued a front-page warning: North Korea has been conducting missile tests that show technological advances aimed at subverting US missile defense systems.
Like so much reporting on US-DPRK matters, the article — coauthored by David Sanger and William Broad — manages to report something legitimately concerning (inflamed tensions between nuclear-armed countries is never a good thing) while conveniently ignoring the role that US militarism (excuse me, defense strategy) played in creating the problem in the first place.
Sanger and Broad report that the recent North Korean tests reveal “greater range and maneuverability that could overwhelm American defenses in the region.” Some of the missiles, they note, are designed to defeat missile defense systems like Aegis and Patriot, which the United States supplies to Japan and South Korea. The DPRK’s new missiles — which could carry either conventional or nuclear warheads — therefore threaten US allies and “at least eight American bases in those countries housing more than 30,000 troops.”
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