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Originally posted by moki: I agree that what happened in the Phillipines over a century ago was utterly wrong. However, you cannot "extrapolate" that to confirm your view of "America's aggression" With our military in the state it is in right now, we could invade, occupy, and dominate literally any country on the planet. We're not doing that. I'd also caution you to note that many of the wars we've fought in were to stem the red tide of communism. It's easy to argue now, with the fall of the USSR, that it was pointless and bloody, but I personally believe that fighting those bloody wars caused the world to end up better than it would have had the kind of communism in the USSR, China, and other countries spread. Also keep the context in mind; the Cuban missile crisis is what fueled America's very real fears of communism coming to our shores. I for one am glad we don't have a nation like DPRK on our doorstep to contend with. Speaking of that, many of the wars we have fought were indeed good things. World War I. World War II. The Korean War (South Koreans of the right age group still thank us eternally), and ultimately, the demies of the USSR. Hell, it can be argued that we're even bringing China around (slowly), not through force, but through capitalism. |
I don't really have time to delineate the entire course of US foreign policy over the past century, I will, however, point out the points you are missing.
1. One can, in fact, "extrapolate" what happened in the Phillipines at the turn of the century, because it was not an isolated incident. This is my main point. It's hard to turn off that voice that says America is good because it's what we're taught from the day we're born, unless we happen to be born elsewhere. It's easier to name countries we haven't intervened in. The list is truly staggering. Some select few:
Hawaii
Cuba
Samoa
Phillipines
China
Phillipines (again)
Panama
Nicaragua
El Salvador
Mexico
Columbia
Guatemala
Mexico (again)
Mexico (yet again)
The scary thing about this list is that it only goes up to 1917, a good deal prior to the mounting communist hysteria (i could go on if you like). For stuff after world war 2, the list looks like this:
WORLD WAR II 1941-45
Fought Axis forces for three years; first nuclear war, against Japan.
GREECE 1947-49
Supports and directs extreme right in civil war.
PHILIPPINES 1948-54
CIA directs war against leftist Huk Rebellion.
PUERTO RICO 1950
Nationalist insurrection challenges American occupation; US command operation puts down rebellion.
KOREAN WAR 1950-53
Joins South Korea and other allies to fight China and North Korea.
IRAN 1953
CIA directs overthrow of elected left-leaning government, installs Shah.
GUATEMALA 1954
CIA directs exile invasion and overthrow of leftist government; military junta installed.
LEBANON 1958
US occupation ends under UN Observer Group.
VIETNAM WAR 1960-75
Fought South Vietnam rebels and North Vietnam forces; 1-2 million killed.
CUBA 1961
CIA-directed "Bay of Pigs" invasion.
LAOS 1962
Green Berets active in training, military buildup, support of rightist forces during guerrilla war.
PANAMA 1964
Control of Panama Canal Zone challenged; rioting against US forces.
INDONESIA 1965
Army coup assisted to an unknown degree by CIA; left-leaning elected government toppled; between 250,000 to 1,000,000 lives lost.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1965-66
Troops invade during election as pre-emptive action against leftist rebellion or communist government.
GUATEMALA 1966-67
Command operation; Green Berets aid in combat against leftist rebels.
CAMBODIA 1969-75
War against leftist forces; intense bombing; up to 2 million killed.
OMAN 1970
US directs Iranian invasion in support of Omani government against Marxist "Dhufar rebellion."
LAOS 1971-73
US directs South Vietnamese invasion.
CHILE 1973
CIA-backed coup ousts elected leftist president; rightist dictator installed.
ANGOLA 1976-92
CIA assists South African-backed rebels.
EL SALVADOR 1981-92
Advisors aid government forces against leftist rebels.
NICARAGUA 1981-90
US directs guerrilla exile invasion ("Contra war") against revolutionary government; US forces plant mines.
LEBANON 1982-84
Marines help police negotiated evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization; US forces combat Muslim and Syrian fighters in support of Christian government.
HONDURAS 1983-89
Military bases established for US-backed "Contra war" with Nicaragua.
GRENADA 1983-84
US troops topple pro-Cuban government.
LIBYA 1986
Air strikes against nationalist government with terrorist links.
BOLIVIA 1986
Operation Blast Furnace; US troops and Bolivian police face peasant resistance in cocaine-producing regions.
IRAN 1987-88
Intervention on side of Iraq in war against Iran.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS 1989
Troops restore order after civil unrest spurred by Hurricane Hugo.
PHILIPPINES 1989
Armed US aircraft support constitutional government against failed coup.
PANAMA 1989-90
Nationalist government ousted by 27,000 US soldiers; more than 2,000 people killed.
GULF WAR 1990-
Operation Desert Storm drives Iraq out of Kuwait; 200,000+ killed. No-fly zone ongoing; periodic bombing.
SOMALIA 1992-94
US-led United Nations occupation during civil war.
YUGOSLAVIA 1992-94
US troops in NATO operation to enforce sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro.
BOSNIA 1993-95
Operation Deny Flight patrols civil war no-fly zone; air combat, Serbs bombed.
HAITI 1994-96
Troops restore elected leftist president to office three years after coup.
CROATIA 1995
American and NATO forces attack Bosnian Serb airfields prior to Croatian offensive.
SUDAN 1998
Pharmaceutical factory with terrorist links bombed; retaliation for terrorist attacks on US embassies in Africa.
AFGHANISTAN 1998
Bombing of Islamic fundamentalist military camps; retaliation for terrorist attacks on US embassies in Africa.
YUGOSLAVIA 1999
US aircraft play the key role in heavy NATO air strikes against Serbian forces in Kosovo.
COLOMBIA 2000
Special Forces train anti-narcotics and anti-rebel battalions, supply combat aircraft.
MACEDONIA 2001
US forces in NATO's Operation Essential Harvest partially disarm Albanian rebels.
AFGHANISTAN 2001
In retaliation for terrorist attacks in US, forces attempt ouster of Afghanistan's Taliban government, attack bases linked to Islamic militant Osama bin Laden.
The point being, America is the number 1 modern aggressor.
Also, don't forget about the internal strife and persecuted citizens (blacks, the poor, socialists, women, immigrants, homosexuals, labor strikers, etc.) The groups were treated none too good, either.
2. We are, in fact, invading other countries, flexing our military muscle. Remember Iraq, i.e. yesterday?
3. If the spread of Soviet style totalitarian state-communism, then why the aggression against vietnam? nicaragua? cuba? guatemala? cambodia? the list goes on and on. These were peasant countries, whose only crimes were organizing poor citizens into viable independent communities in the face of US hegemony. Now, from the point of view of Industry, they represent catastrophe.
4. I'm not sure where you got your information, but the Cuban missle crisis was not the beginning of communist hysteria. Far from it. It may have been its peak, but we were terrified of communists as early as the 20s. The cuban missle crisis is interesting, though, because it represents the apogee of the general populace's ignorance regrding american aggression. What was the story there? Russia created a communist state in cuba, gave it nuclear missles, and told them to aim them at the US. Well, there are several things wrong with that official story. First of all, Russia had no hand in cuba until America cut of foreign aid. Why did America cut off aid to cuba. Well, after the grass roots populist movement there overthrew the us installed dictator Batista, Castro moved to set up a nationwide system of education, housing, and land distribution to landless peasants. The government there confiscated over a million acres of land from three american companies. America cut off aid, refusing to purchase sugar produced there. Russia picked up the slack. This is where americ gets worried. The cia funded and trained a thousand exiles to institute a regime change. Unfortunately, castro was immensely popular and the invading forces were thoroughly routed. Keep in mind that this all flies in the face ofTruman's "rule of law" a treaty signed by the US stipulating that "No state or group of states has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatsoever, in the internal or external affairs of any other state." Also at this time there was a federal operation called COINTELPRO (counter intelligence program) which, aside from lovely domestic business involving the murder of a black panther leader organized by the FBI, is a stunning example of US Terrorism. They bombed hospitals. They bombed factories. they killed popular leaders. All in cuba, all unreported at the time. The declassified record is shocking. You can read a copy many places online if you're interested. etc. etc. This is getting long...I better stop here on cuba, although I highly suggest reading more baout cuba for a good general picture of american involvement outside its own borders in the post-war era.
5. Lastly, I urge you to be more skeptical of american governmental practices. You can learn a lot, but you have to ask the right questions.
6. One more thing. I don't hate america. Americans can be pretty darn goodwilled, charitable, friendly people. Powerfull americans, however, are a whole other story. Why would you stand up and defend these people who don't care about you? You owe them nothing.