Cunningham portrays mainstream Western media as an extension of imperial propaganda and argues that the long-term goal of Zionist policy is the creation of a “Greater Israel” through the annexation of Arab lands and destabilization of the region. Expressing outrage over the recent attacks on Iran and the killing of civilians, he calls for global public awareness and resistance to the destructive alliance between Washington and Tel Aviv. Read the full text of this exclusive interview below.
"These days, the world is witnessing blatant acts of aggression by the Israeli regime against Iran and its people. In your view, why does this regime commit such crimes against defenseless civilians in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran? What drives it to continue these aggressions, including targeted assassinations?"
The Israeli regime was founded in 1948 on genocidal violence and has sustained itself over nearly eight decades with genocidal violence. It has gotten away with mass murder with impunity because of unwavering support from the United States and other Western states. It is a rogue state that views itself above international law and all humanitarian norms. It is driven by a cult-like Zionist mission to expand its territory under a delusional notion of divinely ordained right. Its fascist disregard for Arab people is akin to the Nazi regime’s policy of lebensraum at the expense of what the regime views as “subhumans”. This perverse, criminal ideology is part of the explanation for the Israeli regime’s relentless violence and aggression. The West’s criminal complicity bestows impunity and unrestrained violence. There may be more proximate factors in the recent surge in genocidal campaigns, such as Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu using the chaos as a way to divert from his legal prosecution case for corruption, which would likely see him spending the rest of his life in prison. Another factor is furious revenge for the humiliation the Israeli regime suffered from the attacks launched by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on October 7, 2023. Again, Western governments' support for Israel’s crimes is a major impetus for the regime to repeat its crimes. The United States, in particular, bankrolls and weaponizes the Israeli regime while protecting it from litigation at the United Nations.
2. "The Israeli regime claims to be targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, yet it clearly strikes hospitals, infrastructure, and media institutions, with many of the victims being women and children. How can this contradiction be explained? What is the real objective behind these actions?”
Everything that has been said above about the Israeli regime’s criminality and genocidal psychopathy also applies to its attitude and conduct towards Iran. The Israeli regime believes its own propaganda about Iran seeking to make nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. So, targeting Iran’s legitimate civilian nuclear sites is not surprising. Nor is it surprising that Israel indiscriminately bombs Iranian civilian centers to inflict mass casualties. Killing Iranian civilians, like killing Arab civilians, is of no moral concern to the Israeli regime because of its genocidal mentality. I think also that the objective was to terrorize Iranian society to incite political instability in Iran and foment “regime change”. Netanyahu publicly called for this as an outcome. This aggression is, of course, a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law. But the Israeli regime sees itself as above the law, partly because of US and Western political support.
3. "Although the UN and many human rights organizations have documented the war crimes of the Israeli regime, Western governments continue to support it militarily and politically. Why do you think Western countries largely remain silent in the face of these crimes?”
Western states defer to the United States because they are vassals. Also, the Israeli lobby in Western states is a toxic influence on Western governments, which ensures they unconditionally support the Israeli regime regardless of the crimes it commits. Some European states, for example, Belgium, Ireland, and Spain, have criticized the Israeli regime. French President Emmanuel Macron has timidly voiced concerns over humanitarian conditions in Gaza. But note how the criticism of the European states is remarkably muted and hesitant compared with their vociferous condemnation of Russia over Ukraine, even though the violence is incomparable with the genocide inflicted on the Palestinians by Israel. The United States supports Israel unswervingly because the regime is an imperial garrison state for the US in a strategically vital region. That was why the Israeli state was set up and continues to be propped up by Washington, regardless of the heinous crimes and violations of international laws. The European lackeys defer to the United States, the lead Western hegemonic power, as they always do. Thus, we see collective cowardly silence.
4. "Western media often portray the Israeli regime as acting in 'self-defense,' while ignoring its massacres of civilians in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as its assassination campaigns. How do you interpret this media bias, and what can be done to counter it?”
It is a reflection of the astounding propaganda function of the mainstream Western media. The corporate media have always conformed to the geopolitical agenda of the United States. Thus, attack Russia, blow up gas pipelines, antagonize China, invert reality by accusing Russia and China of threatening global security, when in reality, the United States is the threat. But despite the absurdity, the Western media toes the line because of its ideological control. Therefore, it is not surprising that such media can debase the truth and moral principles by peddling Israeli lies justifying the mass murder of innocent civilians, women, and children. It is repugnant but not surprising that the Western media act in such an abject way. Because it is a propaganda system for imperial power. And if the imperial power’s proxy, the Israeli regime, is committing crimes that the imperial power wants to cover up, then the media will obligingly provide the requisite service. What can be done to counter the system of lies is for alternative media outlets to work hard to tell the truth to the world.
5. "What do you believe is the long-term goal of the Zionist regime’s aggressive and expansionist policies? What threats do these ambitions pose to its neighbors in the Middle East?”
As many other commentators and analysts have contended, the Israeli regime is obsessed with a messianic cult-like ambition to form a Greater Israel at the expense of Arab neighbors. It’s an ongoing annexation that began in 1948. The strong Christian Zionist lobby in the US lends important support to that project. But also, more generally, the imperial US state is the key sponsor driving the project, a project that ultimately is prone to self-destruct, just as the imperialist US state is prone to self-destruct from material overreach and moral corruption.
6. "What is your personal reaction to the recent attacks by this regime against Iran and the killing of civilians? What message would you like to share?”
I am horrified and disgusted by the rampant, incessant criminality of the Israeli regime and its Western complicit supporters. It is shocking that such crimes can be committed with impunity and with arrogant contempt for international law and basic moral values. The scenes of human suffering are heartrending. It is frightening that we are living in a world where fascist genocide is televised without any condemnation from Western governments, parliaments, and media that otherwise proclaim themselves to be paragons of civilization. It is admirable and inspirational to see people in Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen resisting this criminality and bravely paying a price with their lives for their resistance. We can only hope that their sacrifices and those of the innocent victims in Gaza can manifest in international mobilization of all decent people to rise up and defeat the evil of imperialist power so that justice and peace can prevail in this world.
7. "The United States routinely vetoes UN resolutions condemning the Israeli regime's crimes. In your opinion, do U.S. policies enable and sustain these aggressions? How can both regimes be held accountable?”
Yes, definitely, the US veto over international action to stop the genocide is fueling the genocide. The US is therefore complicit in this genocide. Washington is giving impunity to a genocidal regime. It cannot be stated any more clearly. The people of the United States must contemplate the nature of their government, their mass media, and the nature of US global power. The US political and economic system is an abomination not just to the people of the world but also to the majority of American workers and their families, that is, the large majority of the US population. The people must resolve to change the system fundamentally. That will require political consciousness, organization, and international solidarity for justice and peace. If the US political system can be overhauled – and why not? – to become a genuinely people-centered system, serving public need, not private greed, then the whole world will benefit from peace, not least from the collapse of the Israeli regime, which relies on US imperialism for its survival.
NOURNEWS