In April, Veterans for Peace Chapter 162 sent a letter by postal service to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now (DN) asking for better and more diverse coverage on Syria.  The letter was published online at Dissident Voice.

Two months have passed and there has been no response. Meanwhile, we have heard from many DN listeners who have also written about this issue and, like us, received no reply.

Dear Amy Goodman and Producers at Democracy Now,

Please take a closer and deeper look at Syria.  There is a huge amount of public confusion and misinformation about the Syrian conflict. Partly because of this, the conflict continues with the U.S. and allies pouring billions of dollars annually into trying to overthrow the Assad government. There is a real danger the conflict could escalate into a confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

 While the mainstream media has dutifully echoed the propaganda of neocon hawks, promoting the unsubstantiated "Assad-Did-It-Again" story of his using chemical weapons on his own people when he had nothing to gain by doing so, etc., we expect a much higher standard of journalism from you, Amy Goodman.

 We are asking you for better and more diverse coverage on Syria: that you include more guests who are reporting from inside Syria and who are not relying on suspect sources like the White Helmets or other Jihadi-affiliated sources.  And when you do feature guests promoting the U.S. State Department line, please ask them penetrating questions, such as where their funding comes from and who their information sources are.  Please don't just give those war-promoters a platform.

 There's a story behind the story of what's happening in Syria, and a deeper story behind that, which takes us back to the U.S. and the military-industrialists who benefit, the politicians -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- who do their bidding, and the mainstream media who willingly promote their policies.  These entities combine to manipulate us into accepting such policies and paying the costs, physically, financially, psychologically, and ultimately with our health and our lives.  It all ties together, and that's how we need to hear it.

Following are examples of articles with information and perspectives which need to be heard on Democracy Now:  

Syria: Was It Really “A Chemical Weapons Attack”? by the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS),  April 11, 2017

An Assessment of the White House Intelligence Report About the Nerve Agent Attack in Khan Shaykhun, Syria, by Theodore A. Postol,  April 14, 2017 by

How Media Bias Fuels Syrian Escalation by Rick Sterling, April 10, 2017

Who Are Syria’s White Helmets? By Vanessa Beeley,  June 21, 2016

What’s really happening in Syria: A consumer fraud lawyer’s mini-primer By Robert Roth,  January 2, 2017

Destroying Syria: a Joint Criminal Enterprise by Diana Johnstone, October 4, 2016

‘The Resistance’ That Doesn’t Resist War by Dan Kovalik,  Apr12, 2017