22 Feb
2003
22 Feb
'03
12:54 p.m.
Well, I was trying to be good and not pique the ire of
my neighbors to the south in my mother's and wife's
birthplace, but I find I can't hold my peace at the incredible
amount of BS, most of which is parroting the Bush
administrations lies and more damnedable lies.
The list you quote from is of course only a partial list. It
doesn't mention the US role in the genecide of tens of
thousands of Guatamalan indigenous people in the 80s,
earlier massacres in northern Brazil to pave the way for
Rockefeller oil explorations, it's establishment of the
infamous "School of the Americas" which trained most of
S.A.'s secret police and heads of death squads, it's long
time support of the viscious Papa Doc Duvalier of Haiti,
and later intrigues against it's democratically elected
leader, it's recent role in supporting the aborted coup
against Venezuela's Chavez which was reversed by
peoples outrage several days later, and a multitude of
others designed to maintain US hegemony (the Monroe
Doctrine) over Latin America for the benefit of United Fruit
and the US banks.
It gets much worse in other parts of the world including
such things as US support of the Suharto regimes
takeover in Indonesia which resulted in the genocide
of 500,000 Javanese in a period of a couple of months.
The list of US client states is like a whos-who of the
most tyrannical regimes in world history.
I've found the american people on the other hand, among
the friendliest and warmest I know, despite the occasional
"Ugly American" big bucks lout but like most others
shake my head at their incredible political naivety.
I was no big fan of Eisenhauer (also a Republican) but
at least he was honest about why the US was playing a
military role in the far east, and on his departure warned
the US peoples about the growing danger of the US
Military-Industrial complex.
Lawrence
On 21 Feb 2003, , Jim Arnott wrote:
Al Hartman wrote:
lgwalker@ mts.net
But, this time we will take Hussein out of power
and
set the people in Iraq free.
Yup, set 'em free just like we do everywhere...
We'll just mention the western hemisphere, but it really is
a global tendency we have. Setting people free...
A history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and the
Caribbean
1823: The Monroe Doctrine declares Latin America to be in
the United States "sphere of influence."
1846: The U.S. provokes war with Mexico and acquires half of
its territory, including Texas and California.
1855: U.S. adventurer William Walker invades Nicaragua with
a private army, declares himself president, and rules for 2
years.
1898: The U.S. declares war on Spain and as a result annexes
Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Hawaii.
1901 : With the Platt Amendment, the U.S. declares its
unilateral right to intervene in Cuban affairs.
1903: The U.S. encourages Panama's independence from
Colombia in order to acquire the Panama Canal rights.
1905: The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
declares the U.S. to be the policeman of the Caribbean; the
Dominican Republic is placed under a customs receivership.
1912 : U.S. Marines invade Nicaragua and occupy the country
almost continuously until 1933.
1914: Mexican refusal to salute the U.S. flag provokes the
shelling of Veracruz by a U.S. battleship and the seizure of
parts of the city by U.S. Marines.
1933: U.S. Marines finally leave Nicaragua, but are replaced
by a well-trained and well-armed National Guard under the
control of Anastasio Somoza.
1954: The CIA engineers the overthrow of the
democratically-elected government of Guatemala; 30 years of
military dictatorship, repression, and violence follow.
1961 : The U.S. attempts to overthrow the revolutionary
Cuban government at the Bay of Pigs.
1965: Johnson sends 22,000 troops to the Dominican Republic
to combat the constitutional forces trying to regain power.
1973: The CIA helps overthrow the democratic government of
Allende in Chile in favor of a bloody dictatorship.
1981: The Reagan Administration begins the contra war
against Nicaraguan civilians.
1983: The U.S. invades Grenada to overthrow a popular
government.
1989: The U.S. invades Panama to arrest accused drug dealer
Manual Noriega.
1990 : The U.S. intervenes in the Nicaraguan election
process through covert and overt means.
<http://www.cc.ku.edu/cwis/organizations/las/interven.html>
Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at
last.
--
If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the
person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be
harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house,
there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the
nation, there will be peace in the world. ~ Chinese Proverb
~