Next came brave Syria, which has resisted at terrible cost; but the propaganda war runs thick.

Few in the west seem to be able to penetrate it.

What was at first said to be a nationalist and secular ‘revolution’ – an uprising against a ‘dictator’ who was killing his own people – is now led by ‘moderate rebels’ or ‘moderate Islamists’.

The extremist Islamists, who repeatedly publicise their own atrocities, are said to be a different species, against whom Washington finally decided to fight. Much of this might sound ridiculous to the average educated Arab or Latin American, but it retains some appeal in the west.

War Propaganda and Dirty Lies supports Dirty Wars

Repeated dirty lies feed the dirty war on Syria but, after a while, we can recognize some patterns: