Hacking Armenia, Iran, Russia, U.S.

It looks like we may have a brand new squealer joining the passel of swine inhabiting Azerbaijan’s sty of hackneyed howlers. Let’s see whether he’ll play well with the old timers: Alexander Murinson, Brenda Schaffer, Jason Katz, Stephen Kinzer, and all the others who prostitute themselves, in one way or another, for Baku’s black-gold-based blood money and brutality. By listing these creatures, in no way do I want to “demean” the much larger barnful of beasts that do Turkey’s bidding. Of course, the lists of the two countries’ lackeys overlap.

This new shoat’s name is Neil Richards.

His short piece “Is Tiny Armenia’s Out-Sized Political Clout in Washington Being Used by Russia” appeared last week in International Policy Digest.

A screenshot of Richards’ piece in International Policy Digest

In it, Richards attempts to delegitimize the “Armenian lobby,” take a shot at Russia and Iran, and question the loyalty of Armenian citizens of the U.S., all at once.

His logic follows this track: The Republic of Armenia has essentially allowed the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and Armenian Assembly to do its Washington advocacy; the Republic of Armenia is a client of Russia; Russia and Iran are allies; Russia doesn’t want the Iran nuclear deal revised; therefore… Armenians in the U.S. are being asked to lobby in favor of Iran (who knew?) to serve Russia’s interests.

Maybe this guy is just a Russophobe capitalizing on the current anti-Russia fervor that has found favor in the U.S. Another piece of his that I found, “Russia’s Spooks Are No Joke, but They’re Not Geniuses,” would certainly support that perspective.

But there is also “Is tiny Armenia’s out-sized political clout in Washington being used by Russia? – IPD” which appeared on Azerbaijan’s propaganda site Trend. Naturally, the author, Leman Zeynalova, unsurprisingly uses the Richards article to attack Armenians. But the two pieces appeared one day apart, on Nov. 21 and 22. Given the time difference between the U.S. (home to the original article) and Azerbaijan, it means that Zeynalova saw, read, digested, wrote, and published in half a day or so. It’s certainly not impossible, but just as easily it could be that Baku, likely through its paid hacks in D.C., had solicited the original article, therefore knew it was coming, had an advance copy, and gave it to Zeynalova who had abundant time to prepare the Trend hit piece.

I don’t know International Policy Digest’s political proclivities, positions, or associations. Regardless, it should be hammered with complaints about such despicable articles as the one by Neil Richards—before that journal becomes another Turko-Azeri mouthpiece.

Garen Yegparian

Garen Yegparian

Asbarez Columnist
Garen Yegparian is a fat, bald guy who has too much to say and do for his own good. So, you know he loves mouthing off weekly about anything he damn well pleases to write about that he can remotely tie in to things Armenian. He's got a checkered past: principal of an Armenian school, project manager on a housing development, ANC-WR Executive Director, AYF Field worker (again on the left coast), Operations Director for a telecom startup, and a City of LA employee most recently (in three different departments so far). Plus, he's got delusions of breaking into electoral politics, meanwhile participating in other aspects of it and making sure to stay in trouble. His is a weekly column that appears originally in Asbarez, but has been republished to the Armenian Weekly for many years.
Garen Yegparian

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9 Comments

  1. There’s no mystery about the goals of these anti-Armenian (mostly Israeli) propagandists. They’re telling Azerbaijan of a benefit of being friendly with Israel. “If you are friendly with Israel, we will make sure your interests are promoted in the Western media and on the Internet while the Armenians are denigrated,” they’re saying to Baku.

  2. On the other hand, it might be a testament to the success of the the Armenian community and the Armenian lobby who have achieved quite a bit, and this seems to be a concern to some entities. US congressman recently visited Artsakh, which is incredible. The ANCA should be applauded and supported in my opinion. I agree also that our grass roots activism needs to be in full motion as these mercenary writers need to be exposed. And the more successful we are collectively, the more we should expect these types of anti Armenian hit pieces and therefore ready …Unite as one. Its the ONLY answer.

  3. I think the important (and wider) issue is not that there are (and always have been) hack writers willing to shill for dictators in return for money, it is that there are far too many dubious internet-based media outlets willing to front their “articles”. Why do these outlets exist, who finances them, and why are they doing this – are they paid to publish them? In this specific case I’m sure the aim of Richards’ paymaster will be more than just to provide material that can be re-quoted on Azeri state media outlets. Many of these sort of articles are being produced so that they can then be cited as “sources” for content placed on Wikipedia by the army of ethnic or nationalist-agenda propagandists that edit war on hundreds of Wikipedia articles daily. Major lobbying firms and PR agencies have their placement administrators on Wikipedia who protect those editors and protect the system that allows their work to continue. I’m proud to say that I was banned from Wikipedia on the specific command of no less that Jimmy Wales himself after I had written that Wikipedia was wide-open to this sort of abuse, wide open to the extent that it is now a news propaganda outlet on a scale and worldwide reach that earlier propagandists like Joseph Goebbels could only have dreamed of.

  4. When it comes to having the US officially and properly recognize the Armenian Genocide, the greatest obstacle we Armenians face is not Turks or even the Pentagon but organized Jewry. Turks are nothing in the US without active and often unconditional Jewish support. Know your enemy.

  5. International Policy Digest have since deleted the article (that it once existed is not in doubt – an archived copy exists at web.archived.org). They also have deleted their about page for Neil Richards. I suspect there is no such person as “Neil Richards”.

  6. “Noah Ross” another recently-arrived-from-nowhere International Policy Digest article “author” is probably the same “Neil Richards”.

  7. You make me laugh Steve. Wake up Armenians. Know your enemy. Worst than Turks or Azeris Or Georgians (Vratsi). You know who I am referring to. The ones who always cry as victim.

    • Really? While you appear to be implying Jewish hands, I see Ukrainian ones at work writing these sort of articles.

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