E, your monotonous repetition of "puppeteers" is becoming evocative of Party sloganeering throughout the former Soviet Empire.
Let me remind you that, in Nicaragua, when people were finally allowed to freely express themselves, an insufficient number said si to Sandanista. I am not surprised that your brief recap does not even include the word Sandanista.
I will admit that Central/South America was never one of my areas of interest. Aside from a few strongly held general views that I would be comfortable defending, you could probably chew me up and spit me out in little bitty pieces.
Free shot for you, if you want to take it.....
I fail to see how you can hold Reagan responsible for war crimes and at the same time claim he was out of touch with reality -- literally had no idea what was going on. Very curious.
Although you never got around to answering my actual question re. other presidents in our adult lives who were more effective leaders, you seem to be saying that you would prefer any other, perhaps on the basis of there being less bloodshed on their respective watches. Tell me if I'm wrong in this. If I am, you may ignore the following.
JFK -- Bay of Pigs.....lied outright, first to the press and the people, then, to those he sent in harm's way. Obsessed with elimination of Castro. In bed with organized crime. In bed with damn near everybody, if you believe even a little of what you read. Rolled the dice on WWIII during Cuban missile flap. A degree of involvement in assassination of Diem boys (one of who happened to be head of state in RVN at the time but was showing signs of non puppet-like behavior). The loss of Diem virtually ended any hope of putting out the growing fire in Vietnam. Ultimate death toll -- well into six figures, at the least. Made grammatical blunder in famous Berlin speech.
LBJ -- You want bloody hands - this disgusting man had some bloody hands. Lots and lots of blood. White men, black men, brown men. Did they ever bleed.
RN -- Often viewed as an evil war monger -- IMO, mostly because of domestic unrest re. war during his administration. IMO, unrest had more to do with draft lottery (no more student deferments!) than war policies. Nixon campaigned on getting out of Vietnam. He kept his promise. Despite the many who died (on both sides), I find it hard to fault him. Oh, and don't forget China and detente with the Soviets.
Ford -- Was he ever really president? I may have one of those old "Whip Inflation Now" buttons, somewhere. E, if you're looking for that "great" president who had no blood on his hands, I think Ford may be your man! I'm drawing a blank -- did he start a little teensie shoving match ANYWHERE?
Carter -- Another candidate for you, E. I think a thoroughly decent man but an inept world leader. Most likely former president to be currently posting on "feelies" under an assumed name.
Reagan -- No need for a rehash from either of us other than noting that we disagree strongly.
Bush -- Another very decent man, IMO. In spite of lives lost in Iraq, I think Bush prevented far greater loss of life. I think his preparation, conduct and ending of the Gulf War demonstrated the best qualities we could hope for in a president. Not the brainiest guy but knew enough to know what he didn't know.
Bill -- "The Drive-By Prez" -- "The Cruisin' Prez" -- you can have him.
Whatever you think (and I have no thought of being able to change your mind) Reagan was a very popular two-term president who didn't blow up the world. You might as well say he had an ugly nose as he was a puppet. Let's focus on what's happening in 1999. I accept he was your least favorite president of all time. I see nothing to be gained by insulting him and those who admired him.
Best regards,
Mike |
