On the eve of Secretary of State Blinken’s trip to China, a flood of stories appeared, detailing a supposed Chinese “spy base” being constructed in Cuba and negotiations to establish a “military training facility” in that nation.
The stories were based on “leaks” provided to eager reporters. (Does anyone expect those reporters to be treated like Julian Assange, who similarly published leaked materials?)
But the spy base isn’t actually a base. Reuters reporters went to the site and were able to photograph a series of radar antennas. In fact, the site was the subject of a 2016 denunciation by Senator Marco Rubio! Reuters reports that the site “reemerged from obscurity in 2016, when U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a critic of the Cuban government, demanded Havana ‘kicks out this Chinese listening station in Bejucal’ among a list of actions, including holding free elections, which he said he would require before reaching any deals with Cuba.”
Despite the installation not being a base, and not being new, the Wall Street Journal obligingly published articles under such headlines as “Chinese Troops on America’s Doorstep.”
The stories were ammunition for war-mad legislators. “The aggression of China continues,” said Senator Josh Hawley, while Blinken was “flying over to China ... to grovel to Beijing.”
Senators Rubio and Mark Warner — co-chairs of the Senate Intelligence Committee — penned a joint statement that it was “unacceptable for China to establish an intelligence facility within 100 miles of Florida.” Of course, the plan to expand NATO to Ukraine, which is precisely zero miles from Russia, is solmenly declared to be Ukraine’s inalienable right.
Such is the situation of intelligence “leaks.” Used by the unipolar lunatics, they are a means of influencing policy, by shaping the national narrative. But when they reveal misconduct, the leakers (Edward Snowden) and publishers (Julian Assange) are attacked.
Such hypocrisy was recently called out by President Lula of Brazil during his trip to Italy:"And say what crime he committed. What was the crime that Assange committed? It was the crime of denouncing the abuse … of American espionage against other countries in the world. Including spying against Petrobras. You know, so, excuse me for saying this, but I am saying it in all press conferences: I am outraged with the lack of solidarity with a journalist who is being victimized because he denounced what every journalist would like to denounce if he had received the news as he did.”
