Journal: Foreign Policy

This is a reply to this post.

1. Prove Allende was overthrown by the CIA, please.
2. Prove the US Government had any control over the Venezuelan coup, please.
3. Prove the Pakistani government supports Al Qaeda, please.
4. Show me the reference where the United States government said Iraq would be a cakewalk. Please.
5. Show me proof that the international press is any more accurate than the NYT, please.
6. Please prove all your allegations against Bush, particularly regarding the election, please.
7. Prove the CIA is full of criminals, please.

You know what, I can't prove that Allende was overthrown by the CIA. But I can add at least two more instances to the above that you seem to have conveniently left out.

Perhaps you've heard of East Timor. If you have, and you're familiar with the history of East Timor you might also know that on the day before Suharto invaded East Timor President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henrey Kissinger visited Suharto. Now I suppose you'd like to tell me that the subject of the invasion wasn't at least one of the items discussed. No, I don't have any special knowledge of that meeting, nor can I cite any references, but the interesting item to note would be that the invasion started as soon as Ford and Kissinger were back in US territory.

And maybe you've even heard of Cyprus? I imagine that you think that Turkey just decided that they would launch an attack to save their citizens from being persecuted by the Greeks? And you thought they would do that on their own, without asking anyone's opinion? Maybe you know that in the year prior to the invasion Greece finally overthrew the dictatorship established by the US and England.

So by now you must be telling yourself that I'm some kind of european left-wing radical, right? Except that I'm not; I'm an american. But I'm one of those americans who think that questioning authority is one of the principles upon which our country was founded; and damn you if you think its treasonous to do so, for surely you failed to understand something about the history of the country that you profess to cherish. And I don't know about the parent post as I haven't bothered reading it.

As far as the foreign press being 'more' accurate than The New York Times, well, perhaps you'd like to tell me the The New York Times is more accurate than The Guardian or Le Monde. By the way, I usually read the International Herald Tribune, which is owned by The New York Times.

But if you're going to tell me that Fox is objective journalism, or even CNN for that matter, you're wrong. Not dumb or stupid, just plain wrong. I've seen it with my own eyes. And if you think for one second that the invasion of Iraq wasn't motivated by some ill-conceived power trip you're also wrong. Or maybe you should ask yourself why Halliburton has open-ended contracts worth tens of billions of dollars, awarded as quickly as they were announced, for which _your_ tax dollars are paying (I had $72,000 in exceptions which are being taken to pay for your tax break, or rather to finance the War on Iraq).

But lastly let me tell you about Chile. You see, I lived in Chile. So I think I might have a perspective that you're lacking, with your red, white and blue, dyed-in-the-wool mindset. Yeah, we (US) needed the copper, and yeah, Allende nationalized businesses that he had no need or reason or even sense in nationalizing (or perhaps you can tell me what relation a candy factory has to national security). But that most certainly doesn't justify the abuses that took place under Pinochet. Or should I start telling you about people held on islands and tortured for months at a time, for no other reason than that Allende picked them as his Minister of Culture.

I suggest that you consider foreign opinions as readily as you consider those from your own country, and ask yourself if there might not be some truth behind them. Truths that you most probably would be a little uncomfortable in acknowledging. As for myself, this much I know to be true. Or don't you, who work for the Department of Defense, know of some of our own dirty little secrets?