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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (8861)	11/4/2001 2:44:32 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Hi CB, Re: Very sensationalistic, Ray, Very dismissive, CB, but I personally see the right wingnuts among us being either in denial of the existence of the abuses, or outright endorsing state terror for the sake of maintaining order and the special privilege of the elites, at the expense of campesinos and indigenous movements throughout Latin America. Thanks for the advice on where to expend my "personal capital". Since I've no expectation to convince you of an alternative to your particular moral and ethical worldview, I merely present these items for the education of those on the thread who may be unfamiliar with the long reach of U.S. control over the affairs of other nations. SOA is part of the long stated U.S. hegemony over the hemisphere. I like to refer to Gen. Smedley Butler's comments about his actions in the early 20th Century, because today's policies are merely a continuation of America's domineering attitude that's completely ingrained in our national policy: <Snip> War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses..... There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism. It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism..... I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service. I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents. trilia.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plus ca change, la plus l'meme chose? Regards, Ray