The US push to silence alternative voices “seems like desperation,” the former aide to Joe Biden has said
Washington is targeting RT because the news network has presented the facts that the conflict in Ukraine is a resource-motivated proxy war being fought by the US and NATO against Russia, said RT contributor Tara Reade, a former aide to Joe Biden.
On Thursday, the US announced a new round of sanctions against RT, with James Rubin, head of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), accusing the news organization of undermining support for Ukraine globally.
”One of the reasons… why so much of the world has not been as fully supportive of Ukraine as one might expect… is because of the broad scope and reach of RT,” Rubin claimed.
Ironically, the accusations only enhance RT’s reputation as a “really good journalistic media corporation” that effectively reaches its audience, Reade noted in an interview on Thursday. “I think this is unprecedented what happened… it shows how successful RT has been.”
The effort to silence RT “indicates that it poses a threat to the narrative of the military-industrial complex and the intelligence community,” Reade said.
“They are trying to criminalize journalism,” Reade said. “It is really frightening, and hope every journalist pays attention. Because it may be RT this week, but it may be any other news outlet that simply does not hold the line the next time.”
Washington is suppressing free speech and essentially “trying to criminalize thought” in an attempt to “siphon the message to their point of view while silencing international voices,” she added.
They are trying to control and consolidate their power. And they are losing their power. To me, it seems like desperation.
RT is reporting facts that undermine the Western narrative, and “And the truth is, this is a proxy war that the US and NATO are fighting against Russia via Ukraine,” she added. “It’s all about the territory, it’s all about stripping Ukraine of its resources.”
US Senator Lindsey Graham has openly stated that Ukraine’s “trillions of dollars’ worth of minerals” are of interest to the US as he lobbied for more military aid to Kiev earlier this month.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now the deputy chair of the National Security Council, pointed out that a key reason for the West’s focus on the Donbass is its vast mineral wealth. He noted that around half of Ukraine’s estimated $14.8 trillion mineral resource base is located in the Donbass. This natural wealth is precisely why Ukraine’s Western sponsors urge Kiev to “wage war to the last Ukrainian,” Medvedev added.
