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US Foreign Fallacy: Wars in the East,
Coups in the South
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(PL) its Bolivia s turn on the butcher board The half century of feral foreign policy during which US administrations predictably choose to intervene militarily against governments which it deems unacceptable in the Middle East and Asia, while quietly assassinating and fomenting coups in South America of similarly disapproved of governments, would be considered brutish diplomacy, had not this administration sunk it to the level of demoniac.
We the people, Congress and the Judicial System seem unable to harness the military-industrial complexs ravishing of the East in domino fashion unless and until the citizens of the invaded country and too many American deaths cause the administration to desist. This scenario may change with the strengthening of the 118 countries of the Non Aligned Movement so that such nations do not have to stand alone. European nations, for the most part, behave with Bush as they did with Hitler, licking up his scraps while hoping he will be satiated and quiet down.
Latin America is a different story. There our unsavory interference has long taken the path of training and paying nationals to do the dirty for us, isolating a country to take out populist leaders in one way or another populist leaders being those who work for and with the ordinary people. This is no longer working as well as it did in Guatemala , Panama , Chile , Nicaragua , and elsewhere, as the majorities become aware of who is the puppet-master, the people see their leader less as their boss and more as their spokesperson and the countries begin standing together. US intervention hasnt worked in Cuba , it was tried and failed too in Venezuela , and it is being attempted again right now in Bolivia (although it hasnt given up on Cuba and Venezuela ).
With Latin American countries under attack we can be more immediately effective. We dont need to go there ala the Sandalistas, but what we can do is make the general US public aware through publishing on Internet and demanding that the corporate media publish what their government is doing and the reality of what those countries are trying to accomplish; letter writing, e-mails and phone calls to government and corporate officials work too.
In Cuba the US has literally tried everything for nearly 50 years; from direct invasion (Bay of Pigs), through a complete financial, commercial and economic blockade, the longest in world history, now tightening its screws on third country banks and corporations as well, biological warfare, countless assassination attempts, terrorist attacks on planes and hotels, bombarding with radio and TV propaganda there and feeding disinformation to the press at home, preventing US citizens from going to see for themselves or even buying a real bottle of rum, to paying saboteurs and dissidents these often petted and feted by who else? -- our European allies. The Cuban revolution, to Washingtons chagrin, continues its process, with more than enough doctors per capita to send them healing all over the world, and becoming an advance guard and symbol along the way.
Venezuela, which carries the Bolivarian unity pennant and learns from Cuba, has likewise suffered US sponsored provocations: border incursions by neighboring paramilitary, a coup attempt, foiled assassinations, media manipulation, foreign (our) meddling in its elections and continuing threats of violence. Venezuela is another vexation, improving the peoples quality of life and offering cheap oil to the poor of other nations including the US-- , while its oil resources make it invulnerable to a financial siege.
Bolivia is the new kid on the chopping block and thus most vulnerable to US not-so-covert machinations. What are we doing to Bolivia ? As tried in Venezuela , the US is encouraging destabilization, a possible coup attempt, assassination and a separatist movement, basically promoted by multinational hydrocarbon magnates, fronted by national wannabe magnets and fed by conservative xenophobia against indigenous peoples.
Meanwhile, rewriting contracts continues under the nationalization of hydrocarbon legislation, hard won by the social mobilization of resistance, while the government is kept busy stymieing every transnational trick, legal and otherwise.
In addition to the Constituent Assembly that will rewrite the Constitution and re-found the country, successfully blocking attempts to sideline it, indigenous people are also demanding that companies like Repsol pay compensation for the past decade of exploitation. Repsol, like others, has over-exploited, causing severe environmental damage, including to a national park, plus soil erosion, incessant noise, and contamination of rivers; while removing 13.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and several million barrels of petroleum, none of which benefited the Guarani people whos environment they destroy.
Yes, in the Middle East and Asia we must continue our struggles to bring the troops home and prevent them from leaving their blood and murdering others someplace new to enrich the coffers of arms dealers. But Latin America also needs our truth-telling and public outcries at intolerable blockades, undiplomatic interference and general failure to respect peoples´ sovereign right to make their own choices of government something we can learn from them.
ef ccs PL-55 Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM
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