Thursday 23 July 2009

Empire-Stephen Howe

Empire
Stephen Howe

Wars against Arabs to maintain MNC (multinational corporation) control over oil reserves.
Many Israelis viewed the country’s emergence as an anti-colonial struggle against Arab, British imperialism.
The idea of universal HR is fraud, western powers try to pass off their own very specific and localized idea of what rights should be universal over everyone else’s belief.

Chap 1 Who is an imperialist?
Empire has a complicated history with many meanings associated with imperialism, neo-colonialism, globalization, sub-imperial cultural, post colonial, informal empire and comes with history, ideology, theories and emotions-, defining something as imperial/colonial implies hostility.
The idea that empire is bad, suffuses everything, fiction, fantasy, cinema, video, computer games. The concept has changed from the good empire builders of yesteryears-selfless in Britain and Rome. Indian and Egyptian and Arabs castigate new empires and proud of own ancient ones. Our lives are colonized by technology, media, bureaucracy, large commerce, finance, sports media organizations are empires.
Late 18th century media, whites in North America, after destroying natives, saw themselves as victims of England.
Australians colonized aboriginals , but see themselves suffer from cultural cringe to Britain, risk being colonized by Asian immigrants or a Japanese Empire. The terms empire and imperium have come to mean imperial relations a powerful state and a less powerful one.
The word empire comes from the Latin word imperium . For the Romans, it denoted a dual capacity, to wage war, and to make and execute laws. It also denoted size, absolute sovereignty, no overlord-Henry VIII’s declaration in 1530s. There was too the most explicit use of the term-an aspiration to universality. Christian empire was in principle boundless.
With the advent of Christian monotheism, all outsiders were ungodly and uncivilized.
Muslims and Chinese thought similarly, to bring under empire civilize and religion-conquest morally justified and divinely ordained. The whole complex of ideas became associated with nationalism and race.
Empire, by definition, is a large political body which rules its original border-central power and core territories outside it which dominate over the periphery through conquest, in medieval times through marriage (composite monarchy). Protectorates were the ones which asked to be ruled. Diversity is their essence of inequality, if equal, it would be commonwealth.
Usually involve a mixture of direct military rule, fund raising , indirect provinces ruled by the people sent from the center, tendency to devolve more power to pre-conquest ruling orders. Key in understanding between the rulers and the ruled. Collaborators, locals enjoying wealth and power in return for their people’s obedience and fiancé men, but mostly maintained by violence, some say genocide. Modern world European and racist. (Islamic/Arab dominance over races hierarchal.
Sea borne empires are thousands of miles apart. Internal colonialism (Ireland-England, Algeria-France, ask for independence as culturally different as well treated unequally. Culture is also defined vaguely, belief that dominant were different and superior culturally-buildings, language, technology, sexual behavior, religion. France and Rome imparted their own norms, the British erased it.
Algeria poor, dark ,Arab, France rich, light skinned and French.
In Ireland to choose between the British Irish was difficult
Feelings of cultural division –local, colonial, modern-in Africa Asia, among post-colonial writers. There was diversity, but also brought inter-change, synthesis and hybridity.
Power of the ruler, -centrality of the culture of the empire, soldiers, money to empire, autonomy of the ruled-mass movement of the people.
Arabs-Vandals, north Africans, a thin layer of conquerors, conquered lost . Jews, Canaanites.


Latin America caught up between US and European empires. In 1920s Henry ford built a rubber plantations on the banks of Tapajo’s river in Amazon rain forest to break the British monopoly on rubber (1). The project fell victim to too high land price, hilly land unsuitable for mechanization, heavy rains bleaching nutrients of the soil, labor shortage and conflicts, lack of customary independence for rubber tappers, racism in tasks, abusive administrators treating Brazilians like livestock, alcoholism, riots and mass firings, no expert in rubber planting for 5 years, trees too close together, leaf blight. By 1934 microculus ulei spread and laid waste to the plantation. 17 years, 20 million, 3 million trees, little produce in 1945, Ford sold it to Brazil for 250,000.(Fordlandia was 3 times the size of Rhode Island with latest technology, roads, fire hydrants, hospitals, housing for workers, picket fences, and lawns, churches, golf courses, weekly dances, decent wage free education and health care (3).
3 decades later US corporations and government leaders sponsored a
counter revolution.
Latin American reformers, democrats had taken US promises for democracy and development seriously. Ruling classes, military, catholic clergy and feudal landowners thwarted the attempt. Society polarized between revolution and counter revolution. US facing the USSR sided with terrorists.
Mid 1960s, 37 US corporations business group for Latin America (among the prominent ford, US steel, Dupont, Standard oil, Anaconda corp., IT&T, United fruit, Chase Manhattan). David Rockefeller coordinated with the White house(5), funded rulers kept price down and given financial advice. If that failed, CIA arranged coups Brazil 1964. Chile 1973. some MNCs , ford, coco, Delmonite, Mercedes collaborated with local death squads in 1970s and 1980s. hundreds of thousands killed. Argentinean Ford gave greenish gray Falcon to kidnappers and detention centers for union leaders on its factory
Fordlandia. Reflected a belief that US offered a universal model and if people refused to accept, its will be imposed with the help of coups, insurgencies and death squads.
Latin Americans for a hundred years resisted and forced the US to develop more pragmatic and flexible strategies which helped its WW II rise to global super power status.
Spain conquered much of Latin America a 100 years before pilgrims set foot in New England. For the protestants, Catholic rule represented the most pernicious of superstitions and for the aristocrats, a goad to imposition of God’s will on earth had earthly bounties too.
The combination of corrupt native rulers and innocent people attracted the Christians, capitalists and politics. In the late 17th century, puritan Cottom Mathur and Samuel Sewall visualized a new Jerusalem arising in Mexico. Mathur learned Spanish and with Sewall of witch trials worked for dreamers. In Israel. 9). By early 1800s Cuba was third behind the UK and France as US trading partner, using the experience to push onto Caribbean, China and India (10).
Investment followed especially after 1890 mergers, pouring billions in mining railroads, sugar electricity, oil, agriculture. W.G Grace-sugar in Peru, Guggenheim smelting in Mexico, before diamonds in the Congo, Charles Schwab Chile ore into Bethlehem world’s largest independent steel. Rockefeller Latin American assets used to weaken J.P Morgan’s hold on Wall Street. After the 1898 war Rockefeller-Chase financed most Caribbean agriculture, mining, oil, smelting (11). By 1900 Mexico 25% US investment (12). US companies financed railroads, agriculture, mining oil, smelting and by 1911 owned most Mexican oil and oil establishment in Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil.
1885 Josiah Strong our country “ commerce follows the missionary” (14). Strong shared an unapologetic belief in white superiority with the likes of Theodore Roosevelt of social Darwinism “whites would move…upon Mexico…Central and South America…Africa and beyond” Evangelist moved to South America with native language translations of the bible, with the twin and mutually dependent objectives of American power and second coming.
Capital followed sponsored YMCA pursuit of virtues good for business-competitive, individualistic, innovative, disciplined, respect for private property. Rockefeller foundation medical aid and evangelism(15). US style disciplined workers (16).
19th and early 20th CAD, William ? Perry from TN invaded Nicaragua with a private army assuring easy victory, declared himself president and reestablished slavery, and was recognized by the US till deposed and exiled after another attempt to retake power.
In 1935 Banana king Samuel Murray of Louisiana, Lee Christmas and Guy Maloney to overthrow Honduras government and to replace it with goons who gave him land and tax concessions(17).
By mid 19th century the US took over half of Mexico, between 1869 and 1897 war ships into Latin America 5980 times (18). US backed sugar barons to revolution in Havana and annexed it. Counterrevolution in Brazil at the behest of Rockefeller, sent ship to Rio de Janeiro. 1889 Puerto Rico and Philippines as colony and Cuba as protectorate. 1903 Theodore Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan took Panama province of Columbia (19) home of Southern Command HQ.
Over the next 3 decades US troops attacked 34 times and occupied for short long periods Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, Cuba , Nicaragua, Panama and Dominica Republic. Joint chiefs of staff follow 1898 Spanish war American war (20). Many of the soldiers had fought American Indians and were racists, described opponents as Indian as in Vietnam and Iraq (21). It was “more fun than a turkey shoot”. A marine recalled shooting Filipinos crossing a river in retreat(22).
Lt Faustian Wirkus claimed to be reincarnation of at Haiti ruler, crowned himself king, killed Haitians, playing “ hit the nigger and get a cigar” as amusement back home.923). Marine major Julian Smith Nicaraguans were “densely ignorant , a state of war is to them is a normal condition” Col Robert Denig “life to them is cheap…” (24).General Ivan miller “… brutality among US…is different… (25)”. General Westrmoreland in Vietnam “Orientals don’t value life”. Lt Andrew Johnson in Iraq “don’t know the value of …life…if they shoot...would have no remorse” General Jacob smith in Philippines “I don’t want any prisoners”.
1920s Nicaragua NY Times “first practical lab…post war aviation…coordination with ground troops” For 6 years US troops fought Augusto Caesar Sandino and practiced reconnaissance, air evacuation, leaflet drops, burnt crops, huts, tested helicopter prototype, bombed population (28). First dive bombing, before Luftwaffe, de Havilland biplanes dispersed insurgents.
US controlled raw material transit routes. Initial drive to hegemony and their good neighbor policy 1930-40s. US developed imperial techniques better suited to combat nationalism which made formal colonialism unnecessary/impractical.
By the end of 19th Century the idea of expansion accepted by all power brokers, finance and industry, agriculture labor and evangelist. Appleman Williams “…American welfare…activities outside the US (30). Colonism did not find favor. William Jennings Bryan “Filipinos can not be made citizens with out endangering our civilization and wish to protect US working class (not in fashion any more). Disdain for other races dates to times immemorial-Egyptians, Sumerians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Indians, Arabs all harbored these delusions.
Secretary of State John Hay propounded open door policy to reconcile expansionism with aversion to frank colonization. Demand for equal and open access to the market facilitated inroads to European colonial regions. Eventually finance became the virtual tool to the US informal empire limiting the opposition to direct rule engendering economic ascendancy, would open the field of poor countries to US lenders, investors and industry.
Open door policy had problems. Post 1898 US Spanish war, the US had acquired an empire of sorts, Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico and for varying periods several Central American countries (33). In 1897 Germany had taken over Kiaochow on the south coast of China, led to fears that Europe with Japan will divvy up China. US declared war on Spain to get a toehold in the Pacific.
Letting financiers (and thugs Maloney) to operate as proxies for US foreign interest was proving inconsistently effective.. NY based San Domingo Improvement co in Dominican republic had bought (as they buy African country loans) European loans, led the country to bankruptcy (34).
Nationalist opposition to loan sharks led to anarchy and US handed over to its Caribbean fleet to the company and took the country over in 1905 and instructed NY banks to refinance all the loans including those held by SDIC.
The US also undertook to ‘reform’ the institutions’, as well as nation building in Americas and china (now Iraq, Afghanistan). US foreign policy was geared to the defense of open markets, corporate interest and sanctity of private property and intervened directly to safeguard the interests-n0on-territorial concept of empire, national security, overseas capitalism, global democracy, all became entwined. Taft “substituting dollars for bullets”.

Good neighbor policy.

In 1933,FDR withdrew occupation troops, rescinded treaties which gave the US privileges in the Caribbean and Central America and abrogated the Platt amendment in Cuba’s constitution which gave US the right to intervene in its internal affairs and inducted a policy of absolute non-intervention in Latin America which allowed Bolivia and Mexico to nationalize US oil companies and was impartial in disputes between the countries and US corporations, persuaded Import-Export bank to finance a steel mill in Brazil (US corp. won’t 35) and let Haiti buy back its Banque Nationale from the City Bank.
What led to this volte face was the post-depression abrupt constriction of US power. Mexican revolution of 1910-20 Had also destroyed US assets and indicated that the tide of Latino nationalism could not be stemmed easily.
Post civil war US government and capitalists had helped Mexico become a capitalist nation (38). By 1910 more than $ one billion invested (39). Mexicans cut taxes, repressed labor and shifted enormous acreage to mega-farms for the international market. Revolution broke out. Revolutionary leaders enacted land reforms, social democrat constitution before Europe and India and nationalized Standard oil and other foreign holdings.
US reacted with a boycott. Mexico threatened to sell oil to Germany and Japan. Calls for invasion came from congressmen and businesses.
But Mexico was a big country with a large US investment. Nelson Rockefeller, back from tour of the impoverished region “we must recognize social responsibilities of corporations…they (Mexico) will take away our ownership”. They were also worried about European competition and made peace.
Guerrilla war tactics of Sandinistas which fought US marines to a draw between 1927-33 was another lesson. It was US’s first third world quagmire. Sandino with a symbol of a peasant about to behead a marine with his machete tapped into Latin American resentment. He glorified dark skin peasants and disdained Yankees and vilified vendepatries-country sellers. Pro-Sandinista committees sprang up through Latin America and campaigned against the US with protests, meetings and in the media. (42).
He sent his brother Socrates to a US tour under auspices of All American Anti-imperialist League and in 1929 International congress against colonialism and imperialism. A Mexican delegate waved a tattered American flag captured by Sandinistas to cheers and applaud.
On the last day of the Pam American conference in Havana, El Salvador raised the issue of US intervention. That opened the flood gates of criticism/condemnation (43).
Mexican revolution and Nicaragua insurgency helped catalyze Latin American backlash and spurred democrats and republicans into new thinking.. Adolf Berle, a FDR adviser condemned US past behavior (46).
Good neighbor policy was born.
FDR initially used the phrase as a global, not a specific Latin American doctrine. He also gave a call for non-aggression but that fell on deaf years among colonists. He did not have global reach, so the turn to Latin America. It led to a decade of unprecedented hemispheric cooperation and also to a host of multilateral treaties and institutions. That also gave them the stature to advocate end to colonialism and militarism. Historic 1936 tour of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil was an enormous success (47-48)
Latin America helped the US recover from the great depression. (49). Nelson Rockefeller made in charge of inter- American affairs, renewed his call for socially responsible capitalism. (50).
Relations with Latin America involved not only extraction of raw material and a market but also manufacturing called “power block of capital intensive industries…”(51) Mega corporations supported liberalism at home and internationalism abroad. Pharmaceutical firms specially benefited from Latin America. The experience was used later in East Europe, Africa and Asia (52).
FDR also plagiarized several diplomatic drafts from Latin America (53). Good neighbor policy was also an adaptation.
21 Latin American states formed nearly ½ of the delegates which formed the UNO in San Francisco in 1945 (54). They pressured UN to confront colonialism and to adopt a HR policy and to include social rights in the declaration (56). Good neighbor policy replaced the holy writ. ( McKinney had fallen on his knees to ask god permission to take Manila) Liquidation of most colonial possessions justified his aspiration to global leadership. The hemisphere provided an example of cooperative international relations.
The united states repaid the deference of Latin America with expression of goodwill. Latin America provided a model for USG and corporations to extend their sphere of influence to Europe, Asia and Africa. It was a flexible system of extraterritorial domination., allowed the US to structure internal working of allied countries in name of fighting communism to exercise effective control over assets of the countries without formal colonialism.
The Inter-American system undercut the UN too (59). While UN structure and purpose were being defined, US sponsored a mutual defense treaty with Latin America, employing the participants to act against aggression Rio in 1947 (Rio pact). It allowed both sides in cold war to formalize their spheres of influence outside the UNO. NATO and SEATO modeled after Rio.
In 1944, reform swept the continent. Democracy revitalized in some, introduced in others till with in 2 years all but Paraguay, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, under constitutional rule (60). In 1947 US sent signals that preference for democracy was contingent on stability (61).Dominican Republic ‘s Trujillo, Samoza of Nicaragua, latter executed Sandino- US support enhanced.
USG preferred dictators to democrats who might allow soviets to get foothold (62).Demonstrations for higher wages, social security, land and labor reform led to strikes and investment was threatened. Corporations stepped up support of conservative elements, Church, feudal clans and military, aided and abetted by the US launched a revolut5ion. By 1952 Batista took over Cuba and nearly every democracy was subverted.
Increased political oppression created a general radicalization of young people who identified US as the power propping up dictators. US started taking direct role (63).
CIA was established in 1947. began to develop contacts in armies, churches and politicians. It took seven years to execute its first covert operation to overthrow Guatemala President Jacobo Arbenz. Now analysts and historians believe, he was only trying to introduce a new deal style economic program to humanize the country’s brutal plantation economy. He nationalized with full compensation, uncultivated United Fruit co land and legalized the CP.
A bigger operation than the one, which overthrew Mossadeq in Iran in 1954 which took 2 weeks. This one took over a year. Economy was messed up, the country was diplomatically isolated through OAS, mercenary force trained in Honduras. CIA tried psychological war techniques (64) placed stories in local and the US press, transmitted death threats, conducted a bombing campaign to enhance mass hysteria. Rumors that the holy week will be banned and exile Arch Bishop , seize bank accounts and private property and send children to reeducation centers, consulted Edward Bernays, nephew “pioneer of disinformation, and biased radio on Orson Well’s War of the Worlds to transmit radio shows of supposed resistance, even staged air battles. CIA operatives insisted on inspiring fear rather than education (66).US planes, flying low dropped leaflets which were followed by military hits by local agents bombing bridges and roads and military installations, distributed detailed sabotage manuals (69). Sabotage, like all things in life, is good or bad…if objective is good or bad.
Assistant Secretary of state Mann admitted that it was a violation…non-intervention agreement since…good neighbor policy (71).
1961 Bay of Pigs was modeled on Guatemala in 1954. Che Guevara had been in Guatemala in 1954 and had learnt from it, had worked as young MD. Cuba will not be Guatemala, he taunted DC.
The two revolutions polarized Latin America. In Guatemala, they thought, they could work with the national capital. In Cuba 5 years later, they fought both local and international capital.
Following Cuba rural insurgencies in Venezuela, Guatemala, and militant groups elsewhere. Cuba threat, its very existence as a symbol in the very heart of capitalism.
JFK got into office in 1961, and inherited a world in turmoil with imperialism receding in Asia and Africa, leaving behind unstable and poor societies susceptible to USSR which had made great strides in nuclear and missile technology, creating balance of terror. Nuclear war was not practical, conventional war was less effective. Ike had distanced himself from absolutist language of cold war, and held that nuclear war was unthinkable.
JFK contested as a militarist “to pay any price…”, enhanced muscular internationalism, brought McNamara from ford to organize defense and looked to covert operations favorably to break nuclear deadlock and reduce 3rd world nationalism, created special forces, and special groups under Maxwell Taylor in the White House for more flexibility and super power conflict., now in Asia, rather than in Europe.
Kennedy created Latin American Alliance for Progress, promised billions of $ for development in return for breaking up concentration of wealth and power by land, judicial, tax and electoral reform.
But action did not match words and encouraged the most illiberal policies and turned Latin America into a counterinsurgency Lab. Defense and CIA taught interrogation and guerilla techniques and supplied equipment and preemptive coups. National intelligences aided and abetted by CIA Argentina, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador-developed into command centers for death squads while on paper democratic supported, and its supporters singled out for execution. Of the 10 billon offered, little dispensed and that too for death squads, chose containment over change. Johnson and Nixon followed the acts without JFK rhetoric (74).
Johnson changed the tone away from development to private capital to lower tariffs for US exports and lower taxes on profit.( to come to full fruition under Reagan) and also aided, abetted a series of coups-Brazil 1964, Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentina 1976, garrisons, continent.
By 1970 full circle for idealism to militarism Good neighbor policy has allowed extra-territorial aid to allies while gathering economic, political and military influence. Confrontation with the USSR allowed the US to equate its interest with the world’s interest. This was the core of US soft power.
Through the cold war, the US maintained “soft power” in the US, but unleashed the sword and dispensed with multi-lateralism in Latin America, being replicated on a global scale now(75). Corporations nominally supported socially responsible capitalism opposed all models of humane economic development and supported reactionary forces, coups, dictation and death squads.
Neo-imperialists embrace America’s imperial destiny. In their opinion non-intervention promoted Somoza like figures. They preach that limits should be transcended (77).

New Imperialism:

The defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom (GWB). The mix of US right to preemptive strike and to extend liberty is curious. It is a sharp break from the cold war, liberal internationalism, but is embedded in US political culture. Not since Teddy Roosevelt has the US championed aggression as a way to spread universal rights in contrast to Kissinger who introduced détente. Nixon did not think the third world was fit for democracy (he was not far wrong. What he did not realize was that the first world was not either).
Roots of messianic zeal are traced to Reagan who tried to who tried to restore pride. He championed dissidents in red states,. Neo-cons recast cold war as a conflict between good and evil. Paul Wolfowitz persuaded Regan to force Marcos to step down.
During Nixon’s 1958 tour of Latin America, students threw stones at him in Peru, spit at him in Venezuela and tried to sideswipe his Limo. On narrow Caracas streets, the motorcade was attacked with sticks, rocks and steel pipes. Secret service escort drew guns, and Ike ordered the army to get ready to rescue. Rear window of the limo was shattered. Windshield was smeared with spit. He left the next day with tear gas mist.
Hatred in Caracas was worse than the US troops experienced in Philippines, Korea, Iran, Guatemala and Vietnam. Why do they hate us, was asked for the first time. US thought itself anti-colonial, all others regarded it as imperial. 1959 Cuba, 1964 Panama canal riots, insurgencies through out-Casroites per Allen Dulles. JFK resurrecting the cold war using crusader language and deflected it to the third world. Committed to blazing a way between communism and colonialism.
Cuban missile crisis tempered JFK zeal and revealed the USSR not as existential evil, but a state with security interests. But it was too late two late to extricate from Vietnam and LBJ/Nixon dug their heels further. The debate discredited the US and disillusioned liberals, united the left and damaged US moral authority (bombing, napalm, massacre-my lai).
Nixon/Kissinger détente return to balance of power , normalize relations with USSR/china and right to deal with their internal problems, play one against the other, and scuttle in Vietnam. Kissinger eschewed moralism, in stead laid emphasis on business like cooperation and closed door deal making (8).
5/72 Berzhenev and Nixon first SALT. Later the same year reduced friction with china and global division of influence (10). Kissinger obsessed with the left. US lost in South Asia, but contested in Africa. In mid-East it was Iraq, Iran, Saudi and Israel radiating outwards to turkey and Pakistan. Latin America minus Cuba was US owned. Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia toppled in Nixon time. Nixon praised Latin American dictators, like JFK without counterinsurgencies with out the rhetoric-deal with them realistically as they are.
1970 Salvador Allende-Nixon fumed “that son of a bitch, smash Allende (15). CIA make economy scream. Prod its army’s back. It did on 9/11/1973.
It was quintessential expression of detente. Allende detested Soviet suppression of civil liberties and US domination, believed could steer Chile to peaceful road to socialism.(16).
Kissinger took it as a far more serious threat than Cuba. He thought it might spill over to Italy where the CP broke with Moscow and participating in the electoral process, was a wrong message. 9/74 Seymour Hirsch wrote articles based on leaked classified documents by a congressman of USG role-files internal telephone-telegraph. After Nixon fell, Richard Helms CIA chief testified that Nixon ordered Allende overthrow. Church committee in 1975 detailed CIA role.
Frank church committee CIA ties to Mafia. Coups, assassinations, storage of toxic materials (19). Nelson Rockefeller committee on inside activities of CIA, infiltration of police organizations and behavior change-drug experiments, illegal surveillance. FBI harassed MLK, provoked violence to discredit civil rights movement (20).Vietnam, Watergate committees Nixon/Kissinger cavalier attitude to ethical concerns untenable. Dissidents held both US and USSR equally responsible for cold war and nuclear bomb. Concentrate on racial violence/poverty at home and multi-lateralism and economics, imperialism. Watergate exposed Nixon as a paranoid conspirator, and created a permanent anti-militarist opposition.
1973-75 congress was the most anti-imperialist in US history. 1973 war powers act reversed executive decision to send troops abroad. 1974 Hughes Ryan CIA required to inform congress committees its covert operations. 2 years permanent intelligence committee in the senate. 1975 upgraded freedom of information act with enforcement mechanism, abolished un-American activity act. 1976 Clark no support anti communist rebels in Angola. AG Ed Levi ruled out domestic covert operation 1976 Ford executive order prohibit assassination of foreign leaders. 1974-76 military aid to Turkey, south Korea, Chile and Indonesia reduced. Reviewed and veto arms sales, shut office of public safety implicated in HR violations in the third world.
Ed Koch of NY, tom Harkins of Iowa and Donald Frazer of MNB transformed liberal moralism into ethical concerns for the suffering caused by US national security policy.
In 1976 Ed Koch pushed an amendment to stop aid to Uruguay. Pinochet secret police planned to assassinate him. They had killed Allende officials Orlando Letelier and his assistant Roni Moffit (23) with a car bomb in DC at Dupont Circle. But core conservatives democratic and republican remained supporters of militarism of the administration.
Vietnam radicalized the left and the right, fragmenting democrats and consolidating republicans. The new right wanted to restore US authority by military means.
1970 right wing think tanks committee for present danger, free congress, free will, prudent defense called civilian militants (Chalmers Johnson). The ranks included Robert Kagan, Elliot Abrams, and Paul Wolfowitz.
They targeted Kissinger who had been empowered by not being tainted by Watergate. He concentrated on liberals. Secretary defense and Rumsfeld and Cheney , ford’s chief of the staff undercut him and derailed SALT II. They repudiated détente for “undue concessions and secret agreements”. In stead of power politics, they advocated rights of man, rule of law, and guidance of god.
Next they targeted anti-militarists in democratic party. Carter presidency was incoherent. Carter pardoned draft resisters, made HR a basis of foreign policy, and declared US free of fear of communism, which once led us to embrace any dictator who joined us in the fear. He reduced domestic defense spending, overseas commitment, international
Intelligence operations, which led to limited foreign policy options. He was derided for revolution in Iran, Nicaragua, hostage crisis, USSR in Afghanistan, Marxist insurgencies in Africa, and Central America, inflation, gas shortages. Détente according to right wingers had devolved into appeasement (25), that Carter applied HR more to friends like South Africa and not to enemies like Cuba. But Carter defense spent at the cost of social services. RDF to strike preemptively, support for Afghan mujahideen before the 1979 Soviet invasion to provoke the USSR into its own quagmire (28). Brzezinski initiated active military engagement into the Persian Gulf, defend the region by any means necessary, but he did inject a bit of ethical concern in foreign policy.
Reagan gave fledgling hawks influence.. they came from think tanks, universities and industry, and had no experience of government or diplomacy and replaced experts who might suggest a balanced policy, in CIA and state by creeping substitution. Wolfowitz, head of planning staff brought in Francis Fukoyama, Alan Keyes and Lewis Scooter Libby from his former schools, Cornell and Chicago.
Joining these militarists were Vietnam veterans like Oliver North, Richard Secord, john Singlaub, Richard Armitage. Armitage involved in CIA Phoenix in Vietnam executed thousands of civilians, worked as assistant secretary international security affairs and developed close relations to Pakistan ISI and Afghan mujahideen(30). Singlaub developed network of anti-communist associates.
This group of people committed to military preparedness and generic bellicosity “becomes the highest priority of state”. US was called to a higher purpose. It meant increased defense spending supporting all weapons systems Congressional oversight power over executive and intelligence, executive especially presidential power .
Reagan did talk of evil empire, Armageddon, winnable nuclear war, but in practice he advanced arms control negotiations, refused to act against Cuba (32) and restored aid and diplomatic relations with dictators of in South America.
Conservatives had challenged Carter’s policies blaming him for Sandinista victory in Nicaragua.
Months before Reagan victory, they drafted a new Inter-American policy for eighties (Soviet expansion, American weakness, ideological conflict looming) Santa Fe manifesto presented Latin America as American Balkans soft underbelly and a place to salvage policies wrecked in Vietnam, was replicated but its authors found mid position. Roger Foritan, director Latin American affairs at NSC, Lewis Tainles, ambassador to cost Rica, worked with Oliver north in Iran-Contra(38). They provided one million dollars a day for 10 years to El Salvador and patronized contra in Nicaragua and to the genocidal army in Guatemala. During Reagan years US allies in Latin America killed 300,000, tortured several times as ,many and drove millions into exile. Reagan could get away with it in Central America because the region so unimportant in geo-political sense. The people were friendless. The USSR won’t support them in the US backyard.
Reagan team purged seasoned Latin American hands to be replaced by civilian militarists and Vietnam vets.
1980 realism, which powered US military resurgence, was committed to fulfill US purpose in the world. Central America was its proving ground, as intellectuals Jean Kirkpatrick, the most important among them, worked to restore US self confidence to justify carnage in Central America.
Jean, a democrat disgusted in what she thought her party’s self-flagellation, accepted Reagan invitation to join his campaign (39). She combined theory and practice to rebut post Vietnam anti-militarism.
Her office compiled a voting record at the UN if a country maligned US policy. She demanded an explanation from the representative, pointed out the contradiction of condemning HR in South Africa, not Cuba, or condemn Israel and praise Libya.
She had researched presidential nomination process, wrote terse and accessible essays and defended the institutions of countries like South Africa.
Defeat in Vietnam led many to question wisdom of taking the world as bipolar superpower conflict and recommended ideological pluralism. Bryzzenski “US could adopt a more detached attitude towards the revolutionary process” (42).
Carter had ignored liberal internationalists, but Jean blamed it for the fall of Nicaragua and Iran and for insurgence and revolution every where. Autocrats, no matter how premodern…allow a degree of autonomous civil society. Marxist-Leninist mobilized all aspects of society, making war inevitable to maintain it.
Liberalization was more likely under Somoza than under Sandinistas, forcing allies to democratize was not only bad foe US security but also for the countries too.
Providing Reagan with rationale to reverse Carter’s HR initiatives, she insisted that brute power, not reason gives legitimacy. Carter linked aid to El Salvador to land reforms and reduction in HR violations. She saw competition for power was in the nature of man and foundation of all politics, and advised Reagan to resume aid and efforts to impose order through repression even if it meant death squads, hammered against the concept that US power could or should be used to promote abstractions like HR, development and fairness.. If history is not relevant, then the future is free from the past. Theories cut loose from experience., begin not from how they ought to be…called for diplomacy…valued human action, resolve and will.
When US acts even in self interest consequences will be in general interest.
Immanuel Kant Human progress will result in peacefully ordered
self government.
Until 1980, democrats best represented Kantian impulse in US diplomacy. Republicans balked at it. Reagan criticized for signing 1975 Helsinki accord and entertained dictators like Marcos to state dinner. Haig rejected calls to force democracy on others.
In office, Reagan embraced HR and democracy as foreign policy concerns. US needed military and ideological response to the USSR struggle is for political liberty. Dissidents allowed US to discard a central component of detente and criticize internal affairs of the USSR. In 1985, Reagan forced Marcos out an action like Carter was roasted for and expanded Carter’s nation building program, HR and land reforms.
In Central America cold war again cast as a struggle between good and evil.
Religious groups stood up against atrocities so Reagan gave moral color to conflict in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Conservatives inverted left rhetoric and asked for restoration of the Monroe doctrine-1823 warning off Europeans. Santa Fe manifesto asked for war of liberation in Cuba and el Salvador and Guatemala against the USSR. Speech writers were true believers, influenced policy as never before and raised rhetoric level. They came to believe that the language of HR and social justice gained ground with anti-war movement and could be harnessed to US foreign policy.
GWB reversed Nixon “decades of excising…tyranny in pursuit of stability…instability and tragedy. Jean K politicians draw on their faiths in American decency…to act…with resolve in the world. Brutality and democracy together with torturers, freedom fighters, mass slaughter instrument of US policy.

Going Ape-

US unable to control insurgents decided to use local death squads (2-3). Bathist thugs used for assassination, burning, rape. Electric drill in knee caps (4). A military officer told Seymour Hirsch “we are going to be riding with bad boys (5).
Disjuncture-bring democracy with assassins and rapists at the very heart of neo-imperialism driven by punitive idealism. US learnt from El Salvador and Guatemala to farm out violence. The outsourcing allowed people like Cheney to claim success for US values, when in fact it was “built on the foundation of corpses” (6).
Nicaragua disjuncture of idealism with political terrorism against communists nudging policy from containment to roll back. Corollary to idealism was political terror, faith in US message justified atrocity in name of liberty.
Real insurgency (primitive) techniques are a step towards the primitive Col Waghelstien who led US military advisers in el Salvador (7). Victims were found with cut fingers, burns, amputations while alive, no bullets which could be traced. In the country side army massacred peasants with more ferocity, but in the same fashion. 12/1981, over 750 civilians killed in the village of El Mozote in El Salvador with tracks later with machine guns. 1 year later bullets found made in Lake city MI, made for USG (8). 1981-83 100,000 Mayan peasants killed in Guatemala in a leftist area, children thrown in rivers, with heads bashed on rocks, gutted live, mass rapes, amputated genitalia, arms and legs, burned alive, cut open pregnant women, pulled fetuses out (9). Soldiers trained by beatings, degradation and sewage baths, raise puppies, drink their blood. Contras decapitated, castrated and foreign aid workers used spoons to gouge eyes, cut breasts, ripped flesh off bones.
Waghlestien moved away from sophisticated fire power, psychic operations, intelligence, grass roots work, integration of local supporters into national political structure as legitimate sources of authority, alleviate poverty, nation building to total war at grass roots level.
Military leaders were planning for nuclear/conventional warfare in Europe. Wienberger/Powell doctrine reoriented military so it could not be easily used as an off hand extension of politics. Army was made dependent on reserves so politicians would think twice before engaging in long campaigns with out exit strategy (10). Early 1980s funds for special/covert operations reduced a great deal. Regan went along with army autonomy but revived confidence, promoted non-conventional war fare in the third world.
1981, Theodore Shackley wrote the third option “use of guerilla warfare, counterinsurgency techniques and covert actions (11). Shackely, Singlaub, North. Armitage either served or became contractors in intelligence or defense (12). Fred Ikle, Richard Perle (13).
Low intensity warfare proponents advise removal of root causes of instability. El Salvador, military oligarchic rule, landowners controlled political institutions, work force and land. System corruption, privileges, cruelty-favorite pastime was to shoot peasants in the country side at random (14). From 1974 government responded to demands for reforms by increased death squad executions (800/month by late 1970s). Repression united the opposition including some progressive churchmen. 1980 archbishop Oscar Romero was killed. Opposition resorted to armed revolution. FMLN.
Early 1960s state, CIA, Green Berets and US aids organized 2 paramilitary groups which would form the back bone of the death squad system (ANSESAL and ORDEN) part of JFK campaign to preempt communist subversion in the third world. Post Castro DC pledged to commit similar change and set out to turn lethargic intelligence local units to a national network coordinated different branches and supplied equipment instructed in riot control, record keeping, increased arrests and surveillance.
Death squads though adopted colorful names like the white hand printed on the body of the victim or the door of the intended victim, were mere appendages of US created managed and supported intelligence system. The first ‘disappeared’ occurred in Guatemala in 1966 by a unit created and supervised by US security advisers (18). General William Yarborough advised Columbia government in 1952 to set up a paramilitary unit to sabotage and terrorize against communism-death squads under another name.
Yarborough was the prime agent in organizing Green Beret with Vietnam in 1960s for extra judicial killings (he also coordinated army intelligence with FBI’s COINTEL-PRO in early sixties), not just to eliminate opposition but to engender fear and anxiety . USIS printed scores of thousands of leaflets with a ghostly eye to be left on corpses or homes of those suspected of harboring Viet cong.9190.
Care was taken to make sure that death squads were not affiliated with government agencies (20) to allow plausible deniability. But in 1960, bodies were so numerous that the state department had to admit links between intelligence services and death squads.
1960 South Asia and Central America served as campuses for counterinsurgency with Yarborough and likes traveling back and forth. Green Beret were working with Columbian military as pre Vietnam experiment in McNamara’s system approach and conducted a scorched earth campaign in 1964, using Napalm for the first time. Death squad work was counter terror indistinguishable from terror (23), an extension of tactics used in Philippines.
Rational choice theory-human behavior is rational and conditioned by the imposition of limited set of options (25). Struggle between authority and rebellion was “contest in the effective management of coercion” (26). Ferocity and capriciousness must not so massive as to make compliance…as safe as non-compliance.
White House committed to staying once removed from the conflict. (Col Steele) commander Military Group 84-86, now supervises Iraqi paramilitary).
El Salvador army increased from 5,000 to 53,000 trained at fort Benning GA, the idea to make it professional and break hold of paranoid elite, wean it away from violent defense of status quo. By 1983, they were becoming effective in small unit search and destroy operations which negated ‘winning hearts and minds’ policy. They also tried to militarize country side and used food and help as leverage. It became the most ambitious nation building program and found few takers. But Salvadoran military wanted to demolish the country and killed up to ½ million (37). The political group backing them was modeled after Nazis.
US backed Duarte Christian. Democrats decimated by repression. In 1984, he won presidency but the army threatened coup, if any talk of prosecuting of officers or reforms. US trained officers were the most extreme rightists.(38). Duarte relied on political repression. Reagan funneled $ 2 billion in 8 years, but did not permit state managed programs to break extreme concentration of political and economic power. They forced Duarte to free trade rather than industrialize and reduce social spending to a point a decade earlier. Regan also stopped Duarte from negotiating with the opposition. US did threaten to cut off funds in case of coup, but they ditched Duarte and aligned with oligarchs and the military (42).

Genocide Option-

Not attempts at ‘winning hearts…’, “but sheer brutality and kept guerillas from victory”. Terrorism works (45).. Jean k in Hobbes. Problem …death squads repugnant to Americans are deeply rooted in political culture…” (47). School of Americas…it insisted balanced national security imperatives with respect for HR.
Manuals by US designed to create psychological fear, sexual humiliation, sensory deprivation, success depended on how to cause three Ds-debility, dependence, and dread (53). Torturers defected and testified , that they received direct training from US instructors “make him stand up, don’t let him sleep, keep him naked, in isolation with rats and cockroaches in the cell, put cold water on him, temperature changes”. Regulate application of suffering (as they …now, pain, severe pain, psychological pain, lasting injury. Threat of pain and trigger fear more effective than pain itself. If a suspect does not respond to threat, it must be carried out. By 1991, $ 6 billion, 50 to 60,000 dead civilians, 24-34,000 military deaths.
Guatemala became a lab of repression “Elemental sources of resistance, huge scale of killing of Indians…(62). By early 1980s, genocide had become an option.

Revolution out of the hands of revolutionaries-

In the 1960s, they organized guerilla armies in ethnic groups in ?Vietnam and Laos preached end over means and built transnational and anti-communist networks.
In 1979, Nicaragua revolution Sandinistas were made up of a coalition of capitalist, Marxists, Socialists, Catholics-adamant nationalists wanted more humane and mixed economy, state directed investment and social services, never violate HR through out the contra war.
US organized a meeting between contras and Argentinean intelligence brought on board. Contra patrons were Oliver North, William Casey,(CIA) also involved Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Panama, and Israel, , Pat Robertson, Rev moon, SAVK, mercenaries. Olie North US arms at inflated prices for contra finding (73). Cocaine and Marijuana dealer planes in return for US market.(74). They were a bunch of killers (75), slaughtered people like hogs (77). Sexual violation…tendency to kidnap young girls (79). By the end 30,000 thousand children killed mostly by contras.
Reagan called contras moral equivalents of our founding fathers.
By the end of 1980s, expanded special forces, set up unified command for low intensity warfare and created Asst Secretary for special operations. ICJ at the Hague ordered the USA to pay Nicaragua for mining its harbor. US withdrew from the court. They learned to bypass congress, created clandestine network. Instill a culture of loyalty “ to raise a question was to be negative thinker” (89).
Right wing militarists called themselves revolutionaries and offered free market absolutism allied with people who killed hundreds of thousands in the name of police liberalism, moved to its logical conclusion by training and arming cadres of high tech holy warriors” in Afghanistan and rolled back enlightenment as well (90).
The one obstacle that remained was the distaste of Americans for torture…dead children, starvation…combat (91).

Politics of New Imperialism:

Post 9/11 permanent war footing was “a form of domestic collective therapy” (1). Liberals joined in 92). Vietnam highlighted the porous border between domestic and foreign policy. Protests helped end the war, but also led to legislation to curb government, especially CIA power. Not just military defeat in Vietnam, but revulsion at the brutality committed through out the world.
Reagan organized “psychological operations…to influence population…in enemy territory” (4), and inside the US. First PR campaign against the press, congress and the academia, loosened restraints on domestic surveillance, repudiated the Rockefeller committee and mobilized militarists, evangelists, turned the Republican party into a mass movement of the right and a dominant political force.

Media:

1/83, Reagan created a domestic task force “…to support…national security objectives” (5). 5 months later office of public diplomacy under the Cuban Otto Reich. It was staffed by psych war fare operatives of CIA and the my. (7), placed under the authority of State to bypass 1947 National Security act which prohibited CIA from domestic spying. Reich was reviewed weekly by Reagan NSC members Walter Raymond, coordinated NSC work with republican committed PR firms, fund raising etc to circumvent law which prohibits White house , , spending money to lobby congress, re funds used for TV newspaper ads (10) funneled through Swiss banks to contra weapons. Formatted perception management guidelines evil, puppets and racists for Sandinistas, freedom fighters, poor, religious for the contras. Shifted threat perception from communist to terror in cost Rica and El Salvador(Iran, Iraq Syria) linked them with Arafat, Gadafi and Khomeini (13), Jewish persecution (14), and presented to Jewish journalists (15-16). Black power movement was also so maligned).
Produced White papers, briefings, pamphlets, and books (18-19) on el Salvador and Nicaragua and distributed to Churches, HR and professional groups with cover letters tailored to their interest (20), arranged conferences (21). In one year alone 1500 speeches, material to 1600 libraries, 520 political science faculties…(22). Jean k , Elliot Abrams, William Casey and others made speeches. Reagan “embodied triumph of emotion over substance” (24) with little respect for history or fact. The goal was not forming concusses for the right (27), rather to keep the opposition from forming one, and by making it too costly for journalists and politicians to challenge policy by shifting the debate in government favor. Opposition dissipated effort,( took too much time and effort to research rebuttal) refuting propaganda, rather than present a positive case for non-intervention (7/2005 Newsweek reported desecration of the Quran to humiliate prisoners). 1985 Frank Wohl, marine ROTC Graduate and anti-communist witnessed an execution, dug his grave with his own hands, took some powder, lay down in the pit, and executed himself, was actually stabbed by contras, covered by dirt, contras went away. They threatened NPR, forced them to hire right wing commentators, congressmen stood to lose office. Congressman Michael Barnes of MD, lost senate bid due to smear campaign (41).
Timed a contra operation to coincide with congress vote in funding (42). Initiated similar operation (office of public diplomacy) for South Africa and terrorism. Media was not quite so untamed. Ben Bradlee of Washington Post “return to deference of presidency” (45).

Deference:

In Vietnam, journalists too independent with own source of information. In Central America, defense and CIA gave privileged access to certain reporters-embedded ones in Iraq- (46), established cordial relations making them loath to write anything to jeopardize it. Bonding created sympathy.
Anti militarist congressmen were no march for a coalition of Republican and conservatives. Reagan converted democrats to his cause. 1986, congress approved 100 million for contras.
In the Iran-contra scandal, contained press did not want another president brought down. Perpetrators were pardoned-Abrams, Negreponte and Reich were given jobs under GWB.

Attack:

New right whittled down checks on intelligence gathering by the congress and Supreme court (51). Miranda, search and seizure, wire tapping, congress oversight were regarded as symbols of shackles
1979 Future NSC chief Dick Allen consolidation of all intelligence agencies, dilute freedom of information act, and drop prohibition for CIA and FBI to share information and joint teams for domestic and foreign intelligence (52).
After Reagan won , Heritage foundation also weighed in (530. (this agenda fulfilled in Patriot Act).
FBI found no evidence, but investigated religious groups, United Auto workers, offices of Pat Schroeder, Chris Dodd, John Kerry and others.. Massive investigation ensued at the request of CIA and NSC (61). 200 incidents of intimidation and break ins (62). Abduction and rapes (630. Reagan pardoned 2 former FBI officials (65)..
New right worked to mobilize for an enhanced martial and imperial foreign policy, addressed cold wars, policy opinion makers, militarist, Christian right .
1 By 1970 neo-cons )liberal anti-communists) joining national right to a common and present danger, prudent defense, coalition for democratic majority-derail SALT II, and alarm over abandonment of Taiwan, support Israel and vigorous response to third world nati9onalism, fortified by the liberal Moynihan.
2. Militarists Singlaub brought together Saudi, South Koreans and Taiwanese with local contributors. The outfits were precursors of Dyna corp. and Black water.
3. Religious right-relations between evangelism and imperialism Evangelism as contributory to biblical fulfillment (72). Billy Graham drew connection between crisis at home and crisis abroad. John Price and Jerry Falwell interpreted defeat in Vietnam as a moment in history. US stood against at precipice of spiritual collapse. Culture was ERA, abortion, gay rights, disarmament. Rev Moon and Pat Robertson’s 700 club pitched in.
Satan Economics:
Liberation theology Socialism of revolutionary movement led to redistribution of wealth as well as Marxism. Many Sandinistas were Catholics, even priests in US churches and Quakers too. Right described the coalition as Satan economics.
Well before Islam became the supreme enemy, Christian Humanism came under attack.
Apocalyptic and universalist passionate conservative Christianity melded with secular elements under Nixon.
Ties between the White house and conservative groups became tighter.
Emerging movements with a sense of its own power. Central America was too small, wanted to go into Afghanistan to world revolution, Cambodia, , Laos, Libya, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cuba, team also took matters into their own hands.
Cheney’s most important atonement was restoration of power of presidency, not Afghan Iraq war or tax cuts or energy policy.
US diplomats-ethical foundations rejected by Kissinger Real politic or guilt wrecked moralism in the way of restoration of US politics in the world.

Economics of New Imperialism:

Even before the invasion of Iraq, contracted a consulting firm to “…induct liberalized economy in the country” (1). Paul Bremmer imposed to institutionalize corporate power, lowered tariffs to 5% (or removed them) tax to 15% flat disallowed labor organizations, allowed foreign ownership of land, unlimited repatriation of funds, land off the public sector, employees and privatized state industries (2-3). Stopped farmers to save seeds, to buy from Monsanto and Dow chemical, Iraqi order 81 re state industries, food subsidies dismantled. (5), militarized version of free market, through naked dispossessions.
In early 20th CAD, US introduced reforms. Capitalism due to reach its South and Central America.
During the cold war, economic development from Truman to Carter to reduce attraction of Marxism. Rostow a Kennedy aide believed that end point of third world modernization would be a welfare state.
GWB promoted not reform, but raw capitalism like McKinley, but minus protectionism to save corporate power from regulation in free marker absolutism,
3/75 Milton Friedman invited to Chile as Pinochet unable to control inflation, advised shock treatment-stop printing money, reduce spending 20-25% lay off thousands of public employees, reduce wage and price control, privatize state enterprise, deregulate capital market.
Friedman insisted that “economic freedom requisite of for political freedom”. In a speech “Role in destruction of free society”…welfare state - present difficulties were almost entirely due to the 40 years of trend to collectivism…” coercion rather than freedom (11). Between 1950-70, 100 students received…hands on training in Chile and then in Chicago.
Starting 1950 Argentina, Chile, Brazil envisioned an active role for the state in the market inflation, was not due to a country’s irresponsible monetary system, but due to deep structural inequalities between developed and undeveloped countries. Students returned to Chile to purge universities of develop mentalists. And set up free market institutes funded with corporate money reform capitalism. While Kennedy was promoting Alliance for Progress, he was funding future death squads too. While Truman to Nixon embraced Keynes, Chicago became the madrassah for capitalist insurgency.
Brazil followed Friedman’s shock therapy and severe recession and unemployment sky rocketed. Chile allowed 100% repatriation of profits at guaranteed exchange rates.
1944 Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Von Hayek, Austrian émigré professor at Chicago state planning would produce “bondage and misery”. Chile constitution- economic liberty and political authoritarianism as complementary elements.
Pinochet was torturing people so prices could be free.
Reagan ‘s initial base opposed to East coast corporate elites, Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger international democratic liberals
Pat Robertson, Joseph Coors, Bo Jones, John Rushdoony, Richard Devos, Nelson Hunt-internationalists would sell US, if it increased corporate profits.
New deal liberalism died in 1973, with oil price going up and 17 month long recession. Third world economic nationalism was identified as an obstacle to economic recovery.
Forbes 500 made peace with the right and called for arms build up.

Rules of the Game:

Across the board tax cuts, increased defense spending, tight money to reduce inflation-mutually contradictory. The greed level got out of control.
Budget director David Stockman on arms build up and tax reduction, increase interest kept up to global austerity to reduced political liberalism, halted democratization of wealth, reduced union power, reduced corporate taxes, reduced social welfare. Europe had to impose severe austerity to stem flow to dollar. In the third world overwhelmed by recession of 1973-80, the debt rose to 474 billion from 130. for every point for interest raise, 2.5 B added to interest.
Reagan used monetary policy as a club to assert America’s national interest…that allowed US to maintain its primacy even as its industrial base was eroding.
Reagan Cancun 1981:
Pre-Cancun dsevelopmentalists increased financial aid to developing countries, sent technology from the West to the East,, reduced tariffs to 3rd world manufacturers, allowed full sovereignty of 3rd world to assets, WB subsidiaries expropriated, nationalized , set price for Cocoa, coffee, tea, sugar, hard jute-jute, cotton, rubber, copper, tin. Canada and Europe backed the above.
Pierre Trudeau/Willy Brandt. Francis Mitterand supported increased aid from 26 b to 50 B.
But the US trade, not aid, cut aid by 15%.
Reagan rejected all the above in Cancun, breaking with cold war US policy of competing with the USSR. Rather than a “path to equity” per Raul Prebisch, Argentinean economist and chair of UN commission on Latin America-have losers and winners.
Debt ridden countries, the losers, should reduce taxes, devalue currency, reduce health, education, welfare funding, control labor, abolish environmental laws, deregulate, allow 100% profit repatriation, lower/abolish subsidies to national industry, free interest rate, privatize industry, state utilities, race to the bottom to attract foreign capital.
Latin American conquest-1 Plunder Gold/Silver Spanish/Portuguese
2 US corporate expansion-extractive firm United Fruit, source of raw material control, ports, rail, mines , oil
3 starting in 1960s All public owned utilities sold off to best connected , not the highest bidder (Yeltsin in Russia) (62)number of billionaires went up(Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico and 17 million destitute Mexicans). Vast web of bribes…swindles accompanied the sales of government servants and corporations winked at by the US and IMF.
Argentina assumed responsibility for private loans, the funds had gone to off shore banks (64). Bolivia sold oil companies 1995-96, airlines, phone, electricity, railroad and water in 1997 (income 60, water bill 15, rates up 200%, not allowed to catch rain water (Gabriel Garcia Marquez-Autumn of the Patriarch, Island no longer Island, sea around sold. Cheap consumer goods and promise of better service lured some in addition to executives of the nation, high tech, high wages for a few (India), oil prices up by 4 times and need to install heavy manufacturing forced others to hyperinflation.
Most important $ used as a weapon.
Economic success 1950-1970, demanding rights and rules.
Bush allowed El Salvador close to negotiated end of civil war, withdrew support from Contra. Carter had blocked federal prosecution of Noriega. With the cold war ending drugs-arms running which had raised funds for Contra became untenable. A month after the fall of the Berlin wall, bush took him out. It was the first aggression in the name of nation building with overwhelming force, broke the policy of hiring surrogates and served as a warm up to Gulf I.
New leaders made aware of the cost of challenging Washington and institutionalized laissez-faire.

Free Trade-Neo-Liberalism:

Clinton made globalization the center piece of his policy, ratified NAFTA, and WTO, signed more than 300 trade agreements, talked of just balance between free trade and development, but environment, labor aspects of NAFTA had little teeth, compared to protection of property and corporate rights, making it all but impossible to reverse the dispossession in Latin America during Reagan-bush period.
Clinton and the democratic party had embraced free market absolutism and American militarism, and was a bridge between Reagan nationalists and the lesser Bush revolutionary imperialism and wanted to distance themselves from Carter’s Hamlet like dithering. Clinton expanded historian Andrew Bacevich concept of defense to maintain trade globally and policing crises. National security bloated into global security, from containment and roll back to enlargement (73).
Even before 9/11, free trade capitalism, American interest is world interest, willingness to use force was very much there. Wolfowitz under Clinton…bombing Iraq…regularly with out a whimper…in the congress…press…but lacked purpose and focus (74). The Lesser Bush hitched predatory capitalism with/to military might and mission. Clinton evangelical opportunism now fire and brimstone.
“single, sustainable model for national success. Freedom, democracy, free enterprise. Free trade is true freedom.

Failure of Neo-Imperialism:

The lesser Bush during the campaign called on the USA to act with humility and rebuked Clinton for adventurism. Republican’s were beholden to Christian bas, fundamentalists wanted to play providential role to push the US to redeem the world. Intellectuals joined evangelicals, took up promotion of corporate oversea expansion. Bush neo-cons had dreamed of a new Pearl Harbor a year earlier, harnessed the force of American revanchism, linked to messianic idealism(1). “ I was lifted up by…testoterone and anger” the lesser Bush after 9/11 (2).
Washington consensus “free trade plus constitutional rule leads to peace and prosperity in the world”
1947-1973 under state developmentalism per capita income rose 73%. 1980-1998, under free market fundamentalism, it stagnated at 0% (5). 1960 11% destitute ($ 2.00 a day). 1996 - 165 million (6), 2005 221 million below poverty line, increase of 20 million in 10 years. (7). Tax shifted from income to sales.
Shock therapy- -long recession, increased unemployment and reduced social services Argentine Labor industry force reduced by 1/3 (11).
Inflation reduced in early 1990s boom, billions poured in Mexico and Argentine.
12/18/94, well connected Mexican converted billions of pesos, devalued capital fled the banks, rescued by a loan of 50 billion, brokered by Clinton-Greenspan, which was a bail out of US banks and funds.
Poverty increased, wages lowered, decimation of local industry due to import of cheap goods and half million peasants driven off small farms (11).
Argentine worst peace time economic collapse in history (15).by mid 1995, little left to privatize. Draconian cuts in social spending still, couldn’t pay the debt. 1992, it defaulted , Peso went down the drain. Poverty increased to 58% from 21%, millions to the ranks of the destitute.
Brazil more reluctant to dance to the tune, state controlled 40% finances, never launched all out war on labor(Chile and Argentine did). Crisis not as bad as in Chile and argentine.
Bolivia 1985 inflation 23,000%-divested from public sector, allowed to reschedule its debt, poverty 97% in the country side (16). Cheap imports, , peasants hungry, unions busted, unemployment high, and fewer working hours (17)., moved to cocoa farms, led to drug crisis, cocaine liberalization , made it easier to launder drug profits.
Chile 7% growth rate, poverty from 39 to 23%, life expectancy increased from Pinochet years by converting country into a work house in 2004. Labor 2250 hours per year(19). In fulcrum of neo-liberal model extract more profit in fewer hands.
2002 Chile 20% children (3 million) in poverty. Privatized pension did not do well (20).
After the collapse of 1983 state promoted exports and used regulatory laws. Restriction on financial markets (21). Post Pinochet tax , raised expenditure for HEW.
Nicaragua and el Salvador:
US involved only in drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and not in Reagan pledges of democracy and development.
Iran and Syria next in line for democracy.
Education
Iran literacy 80%, Guatemala 70%
Syria 77% Nicaragua 68%
Poverty
Iran 40%
Syria 20%
Guatemala , 60 %, (23)Honduras and El Salvador 20% wealth inequality in all
( 24)
Environmental degradation:
Crime rate up in and is globalized “in gangs with militaries involved, used for social cleansing, removing delinquents through executions (28).
Peasant cast out in vast inhabitable slums minus most basic needs (29) descend into fundamentalism and street gangs.
It is an economy that can make profit only by low wages, increased productivity. US can use consumer power, military power, status of Dollar-national reserves of the world, transactions.
Borrow at a lower rate and lend at a higher rate.
13 children die every minute in the third world due to money siphoned from social services to debt service (30).

Latin American Left:

More than 100 food riots in major cities since 1976 to protest IMF restrictions (31). Bolivia regained water, gas, oil. India fighting patenting medicinal plants. 2004 Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, , Lula in Brazil, Kirchner in Argentina, Vasquez in Uruguay, Eva Morales in Bolivia, Sandinistas in Nicaragua and Ecuador (32).
Naomi Klein-Brazil rural activists, Argentinean unemployed, Bolivia’s Indians are waging the real war on terror. By providing alternatives to fundamental tendencies which exist, wherever there is true desperation (33).
Latin America resisted corporate integration of globalization , one overarching objective shared by all is to wriggle somewhat free of US control.
Free trade Agreement of America (FTAA) would further tighten intellectual property specially those of Pharmaceutical with price of Aids drugs doubling likely (34). Corporations could sue government over actions that would diminish the potential future profits. In Mexico they have eviscerated environment, health, labor legislation and safety standards and will compel the nation to deal with US alone-Market polygamy-US will have multiple partners, but they will have only US as partner.

Five Wars:

Drugs, arms trafficking, intellectual property, money laundering, indigenous property.
Hugo Chavez criticized IMF US backed plotters in 2002, increased his prestige as Bay of Pigs did for Castro.
Mexico hesitated to support Iraq war, threatened with internment of Mexicans as Japanese were in WW II (36), Caribbean’s were threatened with reduction in aid (37), Latin Americans endorsed International Criminal Court. Bush reduced aid (38). Brazil opposed FTAA, could sell to Antarctica. (39).
Tied down in Mid-East could not go war, but defense department quietly began to militarize relations (41). Radical populism could link up with Islamic fundamentalists-Chavez and Morales singled out. Bush identified leftist groups as the main threat (45). National intelligence council indigenous movements as that in Bolivia could…converge into some radicalized non-indigenous movements… by 2020…obtained adherence of majority indigenous people and spill over” (46). Washington pushed for new hemispheric security to integrate with US military command stricture and remove the fire wall of police and the military, involve army in domestic policy. Number of US trainees increased by 52% 9n 2002-03 (48).
Rumsfeld snubbed 2004 Quito summit, (50).

Hard Power:

1980s, DC launched a hard nosed Cocoa eradication program which had been brought on by new lib policies of uprooting peasants and driving them into Cocoa.
Bolivian army, DEA agents, private security firms targeted small vulnerable families (51). 60 peasants activist killed late 1990s, homes burnt, many arrested and tortured (52). Thousands arrested on little/no evidence and held indefinitely with out charge. (53). USA aid contracts given to corporation linked firms which worked with private sector to enhance laissez faire.
600 tons of Cocaine/heroin, 4 decades long civil war killed 8,000/year. Marxists and all funded with drug money, execute reformists and activists with impunity-4,000 union workers since 1980, plus hundreds of thousands internally/externally displaced. Porous borders Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, and Venezuela, drug and combat. US airfields with centers all over with local thugs and troops and training pre 9/11, US troops fought drug dealers, since then fight insurgents as well. Lawlessness that breeds terrorism, fertile ground for drugs that support terrorism (57). Ashcroft
Little or no aid for poverty which breeds drug trade or land reform, industry or rural development. Even council on foreign relations criticized ignoring social reforms (58). HR violations increased.
3.3 billion for Columbia went to the army and vigilantes, which are indistinguishable from each other (59-60).2 US special forces officers were arrested in 2005 for supplying over 3600 rounds to a vigilante (paramilitary) group (61).
War on drugs has not reduced narcotics as war on terror has nor reduced global terrorism.
US military outsourced to security firms (63).
Dyn corporation has its own mini air force (64). (600 million contract supply toxic herbicide with little direction/regulation).
In 1930 DC renounced engagement in unilateral armed intervention. Second phase 1954 CIA organized Guatemala coup, dirty war, disappearances. The third round is free trade-desolation and despair. US using army to protect its interest. Lula and Kirchner and democracy is meaningless with out ending poverty and unemployment. Globalization has generated unprecedented concentration of wealth.
Iraq is not Arabic for Latin America. Eliot Abrams who equated HR with homicidal contras appointed by Bush for global consent on democracy. Dick Cheney El Salvador with 50% below poverty was model for Iraq. Negreponte as ambassador to Honduras involved in hundreds of executions (1).
As situation worsened in Iraq, US adopted El Salvador option, rely on local paramilitary (4). And like in el Salvador the situation is out of control. New militarists embrace the idea that the US has not only the right but ability to order the world. El Salvador is Spanish for Vietnam. They wanted Cuba. Reagan gave them Granada-population 90,000.
Bush follows preemptive idealism. Reagan never invaded Eastern Europe, Wesley Clark told a congress committee..
Conservatives today are seizing the mantle of idealism-Karl rove (7).
1980s rehabilitated over violence as a legitimate instrument of state and it has taken a near metaphysical meaning. “The best democratic ever invented is US army (9).
Peggy Noonan, Wall street journal columnist and bush speech writer equates road to war as Christian Calvary (11).
Office of public diplomacy disbanded after it came out that it used public funds, CIA and Pentagon operatives to manipulate public opinion. Yet fusion of PR, media manipulation and grass roots activism is perfected, established component of US foreign policy.
1991 White House working with committee for free Kuwait hired Hill and Knowlton, a PR firm with republican ties, staged photographs mannequin showing Iraqi atrocity, video of Kuwaiti resistance fighters, marched 15 year old Nayirah claimed to be a volunteer in Kuwait hospital, witnessing Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators. Leaving them on cold floor to die. Turned out to be the daughter of ambassador (12) in the USA. It was a complete fabrication.
Clinton made regime change in Iraq official policy. CIA, Pentagon paid hundreds of millions to Rendon group to lay groundwork for removal of Saddam, creating Iraqi National Congress with Ahmad Chalabi as its head. 9/11 office of global communications to start Iraqi war, coached Iraqi dissidents on TV and also White house and Cheney “no one freelances on Newsweek-Newsweek (13). Rendon group monitored news from all over the world and responded with counter propaganda.(14). James Bamford investigative journalist doing it in 195 newspapers in 43 countries in 14-15 languages. Iraqi defector Saeed Al Haidiri gave Judith miller the story of upgrade in Iraq nuclear facility in NY times which Bush picked up –all fabricated by Rendon group funded by Pentagon.
In Reagan time PR people discovered terrorism was generated more negativity than communism. Post 9/11 US purpose driven nation- big money, Madison avenue, grass roots, like Swift boat against Kerry. Central American cordial relations with journalists led to tight control over journalists in Newsweek. Patriot act is a successful attempt to restrict constitutional guarantees in the name of security as is extra ordinary rendition (15).
Britain manipulated intelligence and media, interagency war party, autonomous of state, wiretap, surveillance of anti war activists. Antecedent in Reagan Latin America. He also built populist and Christian support for aggression.
Reagan economists, militarist, reformist, realist, idealists dismantle welfare at home, free market abroad.
Alliance of neo-cons, Christian evangelists, conservative movement passionately believes in righteousness of American power. Pat Robertson assassinate Hugo Chavez 2005. America stands as a beacon of light to the world-bush on the first anniversary of 9/11. Jesus replaced by the USA “Freedom god’s gift to mankind” Norman Podhoretz “war on terror…war against radical Islam, Jerry Falwell. Pat Robertson, Franklin graham “Muhammad…terrorist and Islam evil…(18). “deep physical, social and spiritual deficits in Islamic world (19). William Boykin “US will win the war on terror as Christ is bigger than Allah” promoted to number 2 position in Pentagon.
In order to prop up a deeply indebted economy, demands an aggressive foreign policy. Imperialism creates ever more crises for ever more intervention. Free trade absoluteness creates instability, needs power to impose order. Experiences in Gitmo, Abu Gharaib, Fellujah, deaths in custody (20) Domestic discontent fueled by gutting social services needs constant mobilization against terror.
Theories cut free from experience are blindingly optimistic, not how things are, but how ought to be. US will not tilt for democracy at the cost of stability. In Latin America the US fought against democracy. In mid-East trying to build democracy “ we are an empire, create our own reality (23).
“popular spirituality away from mystical pantheism…conceiving god as non-manipulative (unlike Pat Robertson’s god) brought popular religion in closer conformity with…monotheistic ideals (9).
Religious militancy has no doubt received a shot in the arm from increasing access to international events. 9/11 was charged by depiction of Gulf I and stationing of American troops in the holy soil. Israeli atrocities shown all over the world inspire many a suicide bomber. Devastation of Newsweek post Gulf II has led many to give up many normal even progressive lives for the ‘asceticism, privation and rest to life and limb of Jihad. Fundamentalists have been successful in suppressing programs which show ‘naked female’ and other evils of the west in such disparate countries as Pakistan and Algeria and Iran.
Khomeini wrought a revolution based to a large extent on audio and video cassettes smuggled into Iran. Al Jazeera disseminates TV images of the cartoons of Min a Dutch magazine and inflamed passions, not possible a few decades ago. Osama bin Laden’s video maintain his charisma (and won the election for Bush in 2004). It is quite clear though if such videos are manufactured, technically, it is easy to do so, for such critical times as a few days before Bush-Kerry election or to justify the surge in the number of US troops in Iraq.
Fundamentalists choose the images they want to see Muslims are moved by Israeli raids on Palestinians, while people in the West are more affected by suicide bombers.
Sexual interaction seen on the beaches in the US, Europe and Israel is perceived by the Muslims as a pagan threat and is used as a tool against the West.
But electronic media may have a negative impact on fundamentalists too. Beheading ‘loose women’, beating unveiled females, stoning to death, cutting off hands and feet, public hanging, all produce revulsion. The recurrent violence of the 1990s…culminating in 9/11 is above all a reflection of the movements structural weakness…” (10). From another perspective, it may be the evidence of desperation 9/11 bombers were not illiterate out of work young men from a deprived background. They were highly educated and accomplished men with a bright professional career. (their counterparts support Israel which they hope the savior will obliterate. They hinder the fight against global warning on the ground that it was going to be destroyed any way.
All the Muslim governments are perceived to be in the hands of stooges, satraps and tyrants working the will of neo-imperium. Insurgencies occur in countries against the government with increasing frequency. Nasser’s coup of 1951, Khomeini’s take over in 1979, though diametrically opposed in intent were ardently welcomed in all Muslim countries.
Since the implosion of USSR, the West is seen by fundamentalists as the great Satan and by progressives as agent of MNCs.
Future is fraught with a real possibility of extinction of life on the planet. Israel has an arsenal of atomic bombs. Pakistan has a large enough collection to take care of the mid and far East. If Iran develops a respectable nuclear power and Israel attacks Mecca, Madina, dome of the rock, we can say good by to ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, Greek and Indus civilizations and smuggled dirty or small nuclear bombs into the West is not beyond the realm of imagination.
Neo-cons and theological cons are joined by
-mistrust of multilateral negotiations
-evil exists as motivating force
-US military be used to confront evil
-free market as man’s fulfillment.
Washington concessus:
-Austerity to a punishing degree
-privatization
-market liberalization
no matter it leads to staggering poverty and inequality.
Venezuela and Argentina growth off the charts
Chile and Brazil sluggish growth.
Latin America:
-economic diversification
-regional integration
-development policies
trade among integrating council …(12) member up 110% since 2003 and increased with China and Asia, autonomy from US market help renegotiate loan at favorable rates.
With economic power comes political freedom. Countries refusing to go to war on terror, opposed Iraq war did not pass the law to exempt USA from International court and refused to isolate Venezuela, refused to back US backed candidate to OAS. US unsuccessful in preventing leftists to power in Peru and Mexico. Hopefully democrats will revert non-intervention and just policies and good living.
But democrats financiers committed to war production and speculative capital and free trade. Leadership terrified of anti-militarism of its rank and file. Democratic presidential candidates will (are) criticizing the way it is executed, not why.

No comments:

Post a Comment