Ɖ Mrdoc mīdia’z Ćîna c’roṇvîṛs cnspiṛsi hz wn em: gt Trump riilectd
(Transcription of an article published in the Guardian on 8 May 2020)
Nyz Corp z campenñ fl-bòr fr ɖ YS prezidnt, wɖ rports v a Wūhan lab ‘intelijns’ dosie biyñ sīdd acrs its empîr
Cevin Rud, Frîde 8 Me 2020
In libṛl dmocṛsiz, ɖ integṛti, imparśiaḷti n pṛfeśṇlizm v intelijns-ejnsiz matrz. Ɖt’s ẃ it z isnśl ɖt intelijns-ejnsiz rmen alūf, nt onli fṛm ɖ p’liticl dbets v ɖ de, bt olso fṛm ɖ poḷsi-dsiźnz ɖt indivijl guvnmnts me tec. Ɖ intelijns-cḿṇti’z cor tasc z t pṛvîd brūṭli rịlistic anaḷsis on ɖ ʈret-invîrnmnts w fes so ɖt guvnmnts cn ɖen mc ɖ bst-informd poḷsi-dsiźnz poṣbl t prizrv ǎr comn s’kṛti.
Ɖ fełrz v ɖ intelijns-cḿṇti bfr ɖ Irac wor, ɖ guḷbiḷti v mć v ɖ wstn mīdia, az wel az ɖ sinicl mnipyleśn v bʈ bî ɖ p’liticl clas v ɖ de, pṛvîd s wɖ a starc rmîndr v ẃt cn g radicli roñ. On 8 Sptmbr 2002 ɖ Ny Yorc Tîmz publiśt wn v ɖs snćri’z most conṣqnśl nyz-articlz. Ɖ fruntpej stori, s’plaid bî ɖ Bś admiṇstreśn, clemd ɖt Sadam Hŭsein hd stept p hiz qst fr wepnz v mas dstrux́n bî aqîrñ ci cmponnts fr a ńclir wepn. In ɖ YC, ɖ Bler guvnmnt’s “doji dosie” cmpǎndd ɖ err. Jon Hawd dd ɖ sem in Ostreła. Ɖ probḷm wz ɖt it jst wz’nt tru. Ɖz wr oṿegd storiz dzînd t sofn ɖ public p fr ẃt wd bcm a dzastṛs wor.
Ɖ inveźn v Irac in Marć 2003 casts a loñ śado. Hundṛdz v ʈǎzndz v ppl wr cild, frst in ɖ inveźn, ɖen ɖ insywñ ceos, ɖen in ɖ rîz n fōl v Izlamic Stet. It streñʈnd Iran’z hand in bʈ Irac n Siria. It cntribytd t a masiv ǎtflo v refyjīz acrs ɖ wrld, a factr in ɖ rsrjns v ɖ far rît acrs Yṛp. N Wośñtn hz spent nirli tū decedz trapt in a Midl Īstn mes v its ǒn mcñ, dvrtñ mć v its atnśn fṛm Ćîna’z rījnl n globl rîz.
Laiz wr rportd az facts. Creḍbl sceptics wr dǎnpleid, ignord or atact az unpatriotic “apizrz”. Ɖ ʈril v landñ a big “stori” oṿtc ɖ mīdia’z funḍmntl dyti t privnt ɖ public fṛm biyñ dsivd. Jrṇlists hu b’livd ɖe wr muṣlñ p t a lūmñ s’kṛtiʈret trnd ǎt t b wrcñ instd agnst ɖer ǒn cuntriz’ loñ-trm inṭrests. N in ol ɖs ɖ Mrdoc mīdia wr līdñ ɖ pac acrs ɖ anglosfir az ɖ unrilentñ ćirlīdrz fr wor – n viḷfayñ ɖoz, lîc m, hu opozd it.
Ɖs brñz s t ɖ Covid-19 pandemic n ɖ public hlʈ n ic̣nomic mêhem it hz unlīśt acrs ɖ glob. Ɖ śir magṇtyd v ɖ damij mīnz ɖt ɖ ppl v ɖ wrld hv evri rît t nǒ hǎ ɖs cem abt. Ẃɖr Ćîna’z ny clas v “wlfworịr” dipḷmats cer t rec̣gnîz it or nt, ɖr r funḍmntl qsćnz w cn ol ljitṃtli dmand ansrz t. Ɖz includ ɖ oṛjin v ɖ vîṛs in Wūhan; ẃɖr ɖ rliist jnetic evidns v ɖ ǎtbrec hz bn proprli prizrvd fr indipndnt rsrć; ɖ denjr v wîldlîf “wet marcits” in ɖ trnzmiśn v sć vîṛsz; ẃt dlez ocŕd in noṭfayñ sntṛl oʈoṛtiz; ẃ sm locl medicl staf wr îɖr sîḷnst or puniśt; ẃt dle ocŕd in noṭfayñ ɖ Wrld Hlʈ Orġnîześn v hymn-t-hymn trnzmiśn, gvn Ćîna’z obḷgeśnz undr ɖ reḷvnt inṭnaśnl hlʈreğleśnz. Ɖr r olso funḍmntl qsćnz on ẃɖr ɖ WHO proprli dsćarjd its mandet t pṛvîd clir n rli wornñz t ɖ inṭnaśnl cḿṇti. N ẃɖr naśnl guvnmnts tc ol nesṣri ax́nz t priper fr ɖ vîṛs rīćñ ɖer ǒn śorz, or ẃɖr ɖz wornñz wr ifctivli ignord – az apirz t hv bn ɖ ces in ɖ YS.
Entr ɖ “globl xclūsiv” stori v Rūṗt Mrdoc’s Ostrełn Dêli Teḷgraf last wīc-end, hedlînd “Ćîna’z bati sayns – bomśel dosie lez ǎt ɖ ces agnst ɖ Ppl’z Rpublic”. Ɖ pepr clemz t hv bn līct a 15-pej rsrćdosie priperd bî uņemd “wstn guvnmnts” on ɖ Ćînīz guvnmnt’s culpbiḷti fr ɖ ǎtbrec. Ɖ clir infṛns fṛm ɖ Teḷgraf rport z ɖt ɖ dokmnt wz priperd bî ɖ “Fîv Îz” intelijns-cḿṇti lincñ ɖ YS, YC, Ostrełn, Cnedịn n Ny Zīḷnd intelijnșrṿsz. Uɖr Mrdoc jrṇlists, rīriportñ ɖ stori, hv xpresli stetd it wz a Fîv Îz dokmnt. Ẃl ɖ articl itslf śîz awe fṛm stetñ xpliṣtli ɖ dokmnt’s oʈrśp, ɖ nyzpepr gz on t dītel a numbr v invstgetri ax́nz biyñ unḍtecn bî ɖ Fîv Îz t nêl ɖ Ćînīz stet’s rsponsbiḷti.
Ɖ most criticl part v ɖ Teḷgraf nyzpepr rport dīlz wɖ apaṛnt dviźnz amñ ɖ wîdr intelijns-cḿṇti on ɖ oʈntiṣti v ɖ “Wūhan l’boṛtri līc” ʈīsis. N it’s hir ɖt Mrdoc’s pepr bcmz xplisit in its asrśn ɖt ɖ Fîv Îz rsrćdosie hlps vaḷdet ɖ az-yt-unpruvn clem bî Doṇld Trump n Mîc Pompeo ɖt ɖ vîṛs wz “invntd” at ɖ Wūhan l’boṛtri. Ɖ articl n asośietd storiz r lêst wɖ culrfl rportñ abt Ćînīz “batvîṛs” rsrćrz – “batmen”, “batwimin” n uɖr têlz fṛm ɖ Wūhan batcev. Nnɖles, hvñ dlivrd its p’liticl ordinns in s’port v Trump n Pompeo, ɖ Mrdoc stori cerf̣li n clevrli sīcs t cuvr its tresz bî stetñ rpitidli ɖt nʈñ z yt prūvn abt ɖ l’boṛtrilīc.
Ɖ Mrdoc jrṇlist in qsćn, Śari Marcsn, a fy dez lêtr pops p az ɖ prîm inṭvy on ɖ Mrdoc-ǒnd YS cebl TV netwrc Fox Nyz. Ɖ inṭvywr z nn uɖr ɖn Trump’s prsnl feṿrit, Tucr Carlsn, hu tgɖr wɖ Śōn Haṇti r hiz ćirlīdrz-in-ćīf in ɖ Americn mīdia. Rît on cy, Tucr ćîmz in ɖt ɖ dosie “z ɖ most sbstanśl conf̣meśn v ẃt w’v sspctd ɖt w’v hd so far” n ɖt “bcz it’s a multinaśnl ef̣t I ʈnc it wd b hard t dsmis it az a p’liticl dokmnt”.
Ɖ truʈ z, at ɖs stej, nn v s nǒ dfiṇtivli ẃɖr ɖ vîṛs cem fṛm ɖ Wūhan l’boṛtri. Ɖ bst w cn d z axpt ɖ Ostrełn guvnmnt’s asrśn ɖt ɖs z at bst a 5% posbiḷti. P’liticli, ɖ botm lîn z ɖt ɖ līc v ɖs alejd Fîv Îz intelijnsdosie t ɖ Mrdoc mīdia in Ostreła, bfr biyñ rīsold bac intu ɖ YS p’liticl ōdịns bî ɖ vri sem Mrdoc mīdia, apirz dzînd t bac Trump’s n Pompeo’z clem. Bt ɖs tîm wɖ ɖ add “oʈntiṣti” factr v ɖ dosie biyñ “multinaśnl” n nt jst a norml drop fṛm ɖ Ẃît Hǎs t Fox, ẃć hv bcm a dîm a duzn.
Ɖs z ol abt YS preẓdnśl poḷtics. Ɖr r ʈri iśuz in ɖs campen: Trump’s hanḍlñ v ɖ vîṛs; hǎ t dig ɖ YS ǎt v its vîṛs-indyst ic̣nomic houl; n hu cn b most hardlîn on Ćîna – ɖ Doṇld or “Bêźñ Bîdn”, az ɖ Rpublicnz nǎ sīc t tag hiz Deṃcratic oponnt. Ɖr’z litl els on ɖ tebl. Ɖrfr, yzñ an intelijnslīc pśñ Ćînīz culpbiḷti, lōndrd ʈru a foṛn cuntri, trboćarjd wɖ ɖ creḍbiḷti factr v biyñ an alejd Fîv Îz product, hlps ɖ parṭzan p’liticl cōz. N let’s b clir: Mrdoc z campenñ fl-bòr fr Trump.
Hir r qsćnz nǎ fr ɖ Ostrełn guvnmnt n ptnṣ́li its Fîv Îz partnrz. Frst, wz ɖs an “intelijns” product, or wz it simpli opn-sors mtirịl d’rîvd fṛm inf̣meśn in ɖ public dmen? Secnd, wz it an oʈ̇rîzd Fîv Îz product, or wz it jst priperd in ɖ YS? Ʈrd, hu līct it, gvn ɖt līcñ sć mtirịl z a criminl ofns – az ɖ YS hz md plen in its hanḍlñ v Ćlsi Manñ’z n Jūłn Asānj’z cesz ɖt includd ɖ larj-scel unoʈ̇rîzd rlis v claṣfaid Fîv Îz mtirịl. Wr eni ministrz v ɖ Ostrełn guvnmnt cmplisit in ɖs? Or wz ɖ YS embsi in Canbra involvd? F ɖ Ostrełn guvnmnt z sirịs abt ɖ pṛtx́n v claṣfaid dokmnts, ɖen ẃ hz’nt a fl p’līs-invstgeśn bn cmiśnd? Or z ɖ guvnmnt firfl v ẃt it mt dscuvr f, az z lîcli, ɖ līc hz bn drivn bî p’liticl n ilectṛl inṭrests wɖn ɖ YS.
Ɖ xtnt t ẃć ɖ Ostrełn intelijns-cḿṇti hz sòt t distns itslf fṛm ɖ “dosie” sjsts it dz nt wś t b in eni we drwn intu dmestic poḷtics – îɖr Ostrełn or Americn. Ɖ Britiś intelijns-cḿṇti z rportidli dwñ ɖ sem. Ɖs z gd. Ɖz insttyśnz apir t hv lrnt fṛm ɖ Irac wor fiasco n ɖ p’liticl abys v intelijns-ejnsiz ɖt ocŕd at ɖt tîm. Bt on ɖs qsćn, ɖ bitr lésnz v Irac apir t hv bn lost on Trump n ɖ Mrdoc empîr ɖt s’ports him.
Ćîna hz mć t ansr fr, includñ ɖ ultiṃt oṛjinz v ɖ vîṛs. Bt f Trump’s clem in ɖ Wūhan l’boṛtri sāga ultiṃtli endz p biyñ dspruvn, îɖr bî ɖ Fîv Îz or bî YS intelijns itslf, ɖen ɖ îṛni z ɖt ɖ net p’liticl winr wl b Ćîna. Rmembr ɖ hymilieśn ẃn no WMD wr faund in Irac? Bêźñ wd sīc t xoṇret itslf az a rzult v igrījs preẓdnśl oṿrīć – wns agn edd n abétd bî ɖ Mrdoc mīdia. Ɖs z ẃ ɖ woćwrd v eni sfisṭcetd intelijns-ejnsi z cōśn in indorsñ preṃtyr cncluźnz untl ol ɖ facts r on ɖ tebl.
