We see similar activities today. Washington attributed phantom horrors to countries which had committed more than their share of documented crimes, Iraq and Serbia. Americans were lied into invading Iraq when the Bush administration relied on falsehoods from Iraqi exiles, most spectacularly Saddam Hussein’s supposed weapons of mass destruction. Much was made of Muammar Khadafy’s nonexistent plan to slaughter Libyan civilians after he threatened his armed opponents. Most recent has been supposed Iranian “support” for Yemen’s Houthis, a local group fighting over domestic grievances for decades.
