Earlier today, Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement complaining about “unfounded public insinuations” against them made by the United States, calling it a smear campaign based on “anti-Russian cliches.”
As if to underscore Russia’s complaints, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, when asked during a press briefing about Ukraine’s indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the deaths of some 300 Ukrainian civilians in their attacks, blamed Russia.
“Ukraine is a country with borders that Russia violated,” Harf said of the 300 civilians, adding that Ukraine had a “responsibility and a duty” to defend their territory militarily, “which is what they’re doing.”
When pressed on whether she was “blaming Russia in the whole,” Harf insisted “yes, because Russia invaded a foreign country.” The US has long endorsed Ukraine’s offensive against eastern rebels, and instead of backing calls for negotiations has demanded Russia use its influence to force the rebels to unconditionally surrender to the pro-West government.
HARF! She is the posterchild for how utterly devoid of relevance would be the US State Department. Russia invaded a "foreign country?" The Ukraine? Good lord, the woman is brain dead and the notion of intellectual credentialism could not possibly apply to Harf. Wherever this dumbass went to school, that school needs to rescind her diploma. If in fact she has a diploma.
Harf worked from 2006 to 2008 as an analyst in the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence, before moving into a PR role at The Company for a time. She has a Master’s Degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with concentrations in Russian and Eastern European Studies and Jewish Studies.
Thank you V and I stand corrected. Tommy Jefferson must be proud as proud can be.
I only wish that she was merely an idiot. Unfortunately, her background and her style point toward something more concerning, namely the fusion of the PR efforts of the intelligence organs and the more public-facing elements of the FedGov for propaganda purposes. For this reason, she is part of the CIA's disinformation campaigns. In her back-and-forth with Matthew Lee, she very consciously played with the aspects of security classification in a way that only someone used to working with that kind of information would do.
HARF is as mad as a hatter. And so her Boss – OBAMA.
What are these people drinking?
You are mistaken in ascribing insanity to Harf and all the others in the FedGov apparatus. They are cold-bloodedly evil.
I don’t know what they are drinking but they are so desperate they’ll make up anything for thier war
Jason – you aren't reading The Onion again are you? Maybe Marie Harfwit is hoping for a job on The Onion when she looses her job.
Hey, it's Ghaddafi phoning from beyond! Hey claims he has a “responsibility and a duty” to defend his territory militarily, “which is what he was doing.”. How quaint!
Some years ago,before the russian elections state depatment told that they gave money to orchestrate anti Putin campain.For that reason some of my anti Putin friends decided to vote for Putin.When Putin won, you can follow a clear line of anti russian campain.First I thought it was some hazard.But there an obvious link.It started with Pussy riots,and finished with bad russians against Ukraine.We understand that there is a commercial war behind this.USA could not admit an eurasian union with Ukraine as part of it .But how USA managed to make western media sing the same song and totally ignore the bombing of ukrainian army of its owm population is a mystery for me.It means that tomorrow on other subjects we can be told anything and that we do not have a free press.That makes me worry.
after consulting with counter terrorism experts (and plumbers) it turns out all of these cities are filled with terror tunnels.
"…Ukraine had a “responsibility and a duty” to defend their territory militarily…"
Hell, it works for the Israelis and since there hasn't been an original thought in the US State Department in decades…
Obviously, the Russian government is responsible for keeping order in its own territory and preventing private armies from attacking other sovereign states, but it seems more and more apparent that the Russian government is no longer in control of its territory. In other words, the Russian Federation seems to be collpasing.
What the hell do you go on babbling about?
Thought there was other stuff kinda interesting on July 24th.
Q: Are you saying that (inaudible) had no role in escalating the crisis? Around 300 civilians have died in the shellings.
HARF: I mean, I think there’s absolutely no equivalency here. Ukraine is a country with borders that Russia violated. It’s not about not having a role. Russia —
[The 'equivalency' bit seems like a trained-in reflex she's coughing up to get her in the mode. Basically, normal people paying attention are going to make comparisons and find USg morally lacking. Their response to that–and it has to do with people who're there that shouldn't be–is to cry False Moral Equivalence (recall "immoral inequivalencies"). There is such a thing, but that's not what's happening.]
HARF: I just said I wasn’t going to give you the underlying source for it. […] So if you prefer – if you prefer I don’t give you more information and just say nothing if I can’t give you the source —
Matthew Lee (AP): I’d prefer —
HARF: No, I’m actually asking you a question here. If I can’t give you the source and method, would you prefer I not give you the information? […]
Matthew Lee: — if when you make an allegation like that, you’re able to back it up with something more than just “because I say so.”
HARF: Okay. That’s not what I said. It’s based on intelligence, it’s not because I said so. [Actually, State is "saying so." Implicitly that the 'intelligence' or 'evidence' (which are not the same) is firstly factual/reliable and secondly actually supports what they're telling us it does]
Matthew Lee: Well, it’s not me that’s making these allegations. I mean, you guys get up at the UN Security Council and make these allegations. The Secretary gets on the Sunday shows to make these allegations. And then when you present your evidence to back up those allegations, it has appeared to, at least for some, fall short of definitive proof. Do you —
HARF: I would strongly disagree with that. [why?]
Almost 'till the end there, she's circumvented the issue that State has no standing to assert what 'intelligence' sez. Mighta resolved the issue, e.g., by asking her to apply the Iraq-Scale:
Are you saying this 'evidence' or 'intelligence' is better than what you used to get us into Iraq? How much better? Is it, say, three times better than what got us into Iraq? Would you give it four Iraqs, maybe? Come on, tell us how confident you really are.
Ukrainian army regularly target russian journalist and kill them.They do not need evidence and witnesses who film what happen.
quick-googled "ukraine kills journalists" …seems to confirm some have been killed there recently.
I'm willing to bet…a lot…that Ms. Harf has come no closer to the "intelligence" or "evidence", chose your poison, than I have…or yourself (an assumption on my part since for all I know, you're James Clapper – though based on your comment stream, you're obviously not ignorant as to what constitutes a lie.)
Harf worked an analyst in the CIA Directorate of Intelligence during the reign of Bush the Lesser. She did a transitional job as a PR flak for the CIA starting in 2008, before being assigned to the State Department for the purpose of making sure that there was a more uniform platform of agitprop in FedGov utterances.
No intel background here. Handled 'confidential' tech information for a few years, some of which I was supposed to know well, and most of which dem Rooskies and anyone else who cared almost certainly had before I was born. (so often wondered why it's classified…make us feel important?)
Hadn't quite occurred to me that Harf might not have …read anything herself. I'd buy that.
…
Somewhere in there, she was equating 'intelligence' and 'evidence.' Caught my attention because http://news.antiwar.com/2011/07/11/state-dept-off… "Incredibly…Nides conceded that … “There is no proof since it is just intelligence,” … adding that no documentation could be produced and any information they theoretically have to back up the allegations was classified. Well, that's honesty. So it was probably a memorable 'error' in State internal discussions on PR, and that might contribute to her behavior. ~~'er, you know, evidence, intelligence, whatever.'
Thing is that I think I know: State needn't be as rigorous as a Court is notionally and a case for war and other forms of sucking us dry needn't be anything close to what a Court should require just to hear a case, etc… So the spokes-folks rely on projecting authority –they can even give you the giggles talking vaguely about what they're doing clearly just trying to sound professional, erudite, and legit…one clue being certain repeating weasel words … They are entertainment.
Matthew Lee's questioning was probably the toughest thing she's had to handle as a PR flak, and she was clearly ad libbing her responses. Lee's big weakness, though, is that he was too indirect about how he asked his questions, although his sarcasm was evident. He should have told Harf that if her bosses at State and CIA couldn't even bother to doctor some grainy images to bamboozle the booboisie, then they are laughing stocks and no one with a brain temperature above 95 degrees believes them.
My impression thus far, too, is that it's mostly Matt who get's-away-with things. Don't quite understand: are they trying to keep it friendly–since e.g. they might like to talk privately to the spokesees–or actually scared of getting cut off somehow or another? On either 24th or yesterday Matt prefaced a question with something I remember kinda like: ~~"one question which you're probably going to take as insulting and throw a tantrum over it…" So they're wary of tripwires, but those are probably the questions that correctly challenge State's credibility. I think reporters have even tried to calm Harf down, and I wondered if she dreads having to relay that some 'intelligence' really makes State feel pretty.
I believe that Harf believes that she has credibility, not based on her thin experience but due entirely on the fact that she is a spokesperson for State…and as everyone knows State never lies. So, she doesn't understand why her nebulous statements or lies should be questioned, especially by the fawning press.
As for the deference some of the press shows her, yes, she strikes me as the petulant type who would ban an unwieldy reporter from attending her pronouncement sessions.
Does the State Dept accept US blame for the civilian deaths in Gaza? After all, we supplied the weapons…
silly rabbit…
Stupidity is — As stupidity does
As the Ukraine freedom fighters are pro-Republic, as pro-European separatists are those fascist coup mercenaries who were hired to establish total anarchy, Russia has shown much wisdom in allowing the Western powers to display their stupidity, for all the world to see.
If the American people want to live under a Neo form of nonexistent democracy, if American people chose to be fooled in every election with word as hope and change, which in reality these word nothing but hollow, then it is their "democratic" rights to do so. People in eastern Ukraine and other part of country don't want to live under a non existing democracy nor they want to live under a Neo fascism regime which USG is supporting, that is the choice of people in eastern and other part of Ukraine and America have no internal nor external legal right either to support Neo fascism or dictate their idiotic politics to Ukrainian people.
Look: you American people, your government gambled $5 billion dollars in Ukraine and they are losing it, that was your money, now the very same "democracy" blaming everything on Russia because they lost your money which they will never get it back, nor you will see a penny of it.