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Bellingcat have done all kinds of investigations, including some which embarrass or implicate in war crimes governments like that of Ethiopia, Chad, and Cameroo
by _djo_ 5y ago
Bellingcat have done all kinds of investigations, including some which embarrass or implicate in war crimes governments like that of Ethiopia, Chad, and Cameroon who are US allies.
Here's another example, which highlights the lax security of US troops guarding nuclear weapons in Europe, and which strengthens the hands of activists campaigning for European governments to disallow those agreements: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/05/28/us-soldiers-expose-nuclear-weapons-secrets-via-flashcard-apps/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/05/28/us-soldiers-expos...
However, it's important to emphasise that a group can have a singular focus area and still be independent. Its researchers all have their own personal interest areas and areas of expertise (esp. in language), which drives the kinds of things they focus on. As long as nobody is directing them, and so far nobody has provided convincing evidence of that, it's not something you can rely on to prove bias. A smoking gun would be if it emerged that they actually worked on something that would embarrass the US or UK and then covered it up.
Are they pawns for the West? Maybe. But we need better evidence than this to make that a believable case.
Wikileaks I believe was accused for instance of actually having damaging documents on Russia and deciding not to release them for some reason. It was an active decision they made despite having the means, and went against their professed claim of not holding back.
- pydry 5y agoYour article reminds me of another article I read about horrendous nuclear weapons security in the US that appeared years before bellingcat existed. It seemed as weird then as it is now that the US government would willingly embarrass itself, but I can see how it might come about as a result of interagency rivalry and/or frustration that deep-seated dangerous security lapses were getting bureaucratically buried. I'd be deeply surprised if Bellingcat released anything that embarrassed the director of the CIA. I glanced at the bellingcat page on Ethiopia to see if they really were undermining the integrity of a US ally as you implied. Top story is about the fact that they're using Iranian drones, which is a bit of a poke in the eye to the US, and, depressingly, probably is the aspect of the conflict the CIA feels most invested in.
- _djo_ 5y agoOr, the alternative and simpler explanation: Bellingcat aren't directed by the US government in the way you believe. Nor were the journalists who exposed lax nuclear weapons security in the past.
- pydry 5y agoI looked up one. It was announced by an air force general in a press conference. So yeah, real woodward and bernstein stuff.
- _djo_ 5y agoYou found one example of self-reporting and that suddenly invalidates all independent reporting? That makes zero sense.
- VSerge 5y agoAlso, the article says Bellingcat received under 100k last year from the NED, so maybe a salary for a permanent employee. This is a very light investment if the goal was to effect large impacts on major targets.
- tata71 5y ago> Bellingcat aren't directed by the US government in the way you believe. The CIA aren't directed by the US government in the way you believe.
- southerntofu 5y ago> horrendous nuclear weapons security in the US Nuclear security is a joke everywhere. This industry has one of the worst track records of reliability/security, not just in the US. > I'd be deeply surprised if Bellingcat released anything that embarrassed the director of the CIA. A New Platform Tracks Airstrikes in Yemen ( https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2021/07/20/a-new-platform-tracks-airstrikes-in-yemen/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2021/07/20/a-new-platfo... ) The Telltale Traces of the US Military’s New ‘Bladed’ Missile ( https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2021/08/26/the-telltale-traces-of-the-us-militarys-new-bladed-missile-r9x/ https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2021/08/26/the-... ) That's what i found in less than 5 minutes browsing links on that site. I would assume that's embarrassing for US intelligence services, but hey what do i know.
- realmod 5y agoIt is ignorant to reduce US policies into an ally or not dichotomy. An entity being allied with the US does not mean that it will always work in the interest of the US, e.g., Germany's NS2 project. And US-Ethiopian relations have deteriorated significantly in the past two years. Partly due to Trump siding entirely with Egypt in the Nile/GERD contention, going so far as to state Egypt should bomb the dam. And more recently, due to US engagement in the horrific Northern Ethiopian war, where human rights violations have been committed by all sides. However, the US has only enacted sanctions against the Ethiopian government and its allies. And some Ethiopian officials have accused the US of abetting the rebels.