U.S. Interventions in Latin America - Page 2

ImusWallower · 11-17-2007, 02:06 AM

and people say the US does it all for Israel and the Jews. hmmmmm

BleedingPinky · 11-17-2007, 07:23 AM

LOL! Well, we are the new Roman Empire I guess. I remember once I was talking with a friends father at Tulsa. He was a very well respected phisician in the city. Around 72 y/o or so by the time, already retired. One day John (his son, an aeronautical engineer working for Rockwell) and I went to visit him. While sat on his black leather comfort chair in a real dark environment, boy, I´ll always remember that issue, lol, he asked me in a real quiet calmed way: ' Why is it so different north from south right at the Mexican border?' .....
I remained in silence, as he was obviously asking the question in order to answer himself. ' The english came to these lands to build up a new community, while the spanish came here for the gold'. Interesting observation, but me, being a 'WASP' born at NC lol! I see things from a real different point of view, but hell, in a sense we both are inmigrants, as I myself have settled in Spain for good or for bad. Anyways, back to the subject. Yeah, gotta love Kissinger´s way of keeping ahold of our back yard!

sunflower · 11-17-2007, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisbb

and people say the US does it all for Israel and the Jews. hmmmmm

It just means a shift in priorities, that's all.

VKMHVM2 · 11-17-2007, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisbb

and people say the US does it all for Israel and the Jews. hmmmmm

Do you really want to get into Middle Eastern meddling? That's a topic for another post. Don't change the subject.

ImusWallower · 11-17-2007, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VKMHVM2

Do you really want to get into Middle Eastern meddling? That's a topic for another post. Don't change the subject.

just pointing out that American imperialism started with the Monroe Doctrine, not the creation of Israel

VKMHVM2 · 11-17-2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kanadesaga

Welcome to Amerika!!

We talk a good game, sell that bs to the whole world. But our actions are far from the rhetoric.

the majority of those little excursions into Latin America had a company or corporation somewhere in the genesis of it.

Damn, I used to like Chiquita bananas before I learned about this stuff.

sunflower · 11-17-2007, 10:55 AM

Rafael Trujillo took power in the Dominican Republic in a 1930 coup d'etat and received enthusiastic backing from Washington for most of the next 30 years. His methods for suppressing dissent were sickeningly familiar-torture and mass murder. The US raised no objections, and Trujillo returned the favor by becoming a totally reliable supporter of US policies in the UN.

As often happens with such tyrants, however, he got too greedy. His personal business holdings grew until he controlled some three-fifths of the Dominican economy, which threatened the "favorable investment climate" that client states are set up for in the first place.

Also, when it started to look like Castro's revolutionary army would take over Cuba, the US began to worry that Trujillo's excesses might inspire a similar revolution. For whatever reasons, the CIA began plotting Trujillo's assassination in 1958.

Trujillo's life came to an abrupt end in May 1961, and while proper deniability was maintained in Washington, this is one of the best-documented CIA assassination plots (according to the 1975 Church Committee). The US attempted to maintain the corrupt essence of the Trujillo regime without Trujillo, but the 1962 elections brought a physician named Juan Bosch to power.

VKMHVM2 · 11-17-2007, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunflower

Rafael Trujillo took power in the Dominican Republic in a 1930 coup d'etat and received enthusiastic backing from Washington for most of the next 30 years. His methods for suppressing dissent were sickeningly familiar-torture and mass murder. The US raised no objections, and Trujillo returned the favor by becoming a totally reliable supporter of US policies in the UN.

As often happens with such tyrants, however, he got too greedy. His personal business holdings grew until he controlled some three-fifths of the Dominican economy, which threatened the "favorable investment climate" that client states are set up for in the first place.

Also, when it started to look like Castro's revolutionary army would take over Cuba, the US began to worry that Trujillo's excesses might inspire a similar revolution. For whatever reasons, the CIA began plotting Trujillo's assassination in 1958.

Trujillo's life came to an abrupt end in May 1961, and while proper deniability was maintained in Washington, this is one of the best-documented CIA assassination plots (according to the 1975 Church Committee). The US attempted to maintain the corrupt essence of the Trujillo regime without Trujillo, but the 1962 elections brought a physician named Juan Bosch to power.

A little known story about Castro. He tried out for the New York Giants major league baseball team in the 1940's and came very close to making the team. Imagine how different history would have been if he hadn't been cut by the Giants?

sunflower · 11-19-2007, 12:53 PM

Excerpt from "Confessions of an Economic Hitman"

I had researched Guatemala and I understood [Omar] Torrjos's [President of Panama] meaning. United Fruit Company had been that country's political equivalent of Panama's canal. Founded in the late 1800s, United Fruit soon grew into one of the most powerful forces in Central America. During the early 1950s, reform candidate Jacobo Arbenz was elected president of Guatemala in an election hailed all over the hemisphere as a model of the democratic process. At the time, less than 3 percent of Guatemalans owned 70 percent of the land. Arbenz promised to help the poor dig their way out of starvation, and after his election he implemented a comprehensive land reform program.

"The poor and middle classes throughout Latin America applauded Arbenz," Torrijos said. "Personally, he was one of my heroes. But we also held our breath. We knew that United Fruit opposed these measures, since they were one of the largest and most oppressive landholders in Guatemala. They also owned big plantations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Santo Domingo, and here in Panama. They couldn't afford to let Arbenz give the rest of us ideas:

I knew the rest: United Fruit had launched a major public relations campaign in the United States, aimed at convincing the American public and congress that Arbenz was part of a Russian plot and that Guatemala was a Soviet satellite. In 1954, the CIA orchestrated a coup. American pilots bombed Guatemala City and the democratically elected Arbenz was overthrown, replaced by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, a ruthless right-wing dictator.

The new government owed everything to United Fruit. By way of thanks, the government reversed the land reform process, abolished taxes on the interest and dividends paid to foreign investors, eliminated the secret ballot, and jailed thousands of its critics. Anyone who dared to speak out against Castillo was persecuted. Historians trace the violence and terrorism that plagued Guatemala for most of the rest of the century to the not-so-secret alliance between United Fruit, the CIA, and the Guatemalan army under its colonel dictator.

"Arbenz was assassinated' Torrijos continued. "Political and character assassination. " He paused and frowned. "How could your people swallow that CIA rubbish? I won't go so easily. The military here are my people. Political assassination won't do." He smiled.

"The CIA itself will have to kill me!"

We sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in his own thoughts. Torrijos was the first to speak.

"Do you know who owns United Fruit?" he asked.

"Zapata Oil, George Bush's company - our UN ambassador."

"A man with ambitions." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "And now I'm up against his cronies at Bechtel."

This startled me. Bechtel was the world's most powerful engineering firm and a frequent collaborator on projects with MAIN. In the case of Panama's master plan, I had assumed that they were one of our major competitors.

"What do you mean?"

"We've been considering building a new canal, a sea-level one, without locks. It can handle bigger ships. The Japanese may be interested in financing it."
"They're the Canal's biggest clients."

"Exactly. Of course, if they provide the money, they will do the construction. "
It struck me. "Bechtel will be out in the cold."

"The biggest construction job in recent history." He paused. "Bechtel's president is George Shultz, Nixon's secretary of the treasury. You can imagine the clout he's got - and a notorious temper. Bechtel's loaded with Nixon, Ford, and Bush cronies. I've been told that the Bechtel family pulls the strings of the Republican Party."

BillCosby · 11-22-2007, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisbb

just pointing out that American imperialism started with the Monroe Doctrine, not the creation of Israel

I would say that american imperialism start there (south) as of the Monroe Doctrine but imperialism/colonialism/genocide started day one w/ our beloved Washington.............. george washington also known as ""Town Destroyer"

Quote:

In 1783, Washington's anti-Indian sentiments were apparent in his comparisons of Indians with wolves: "Both being beast of prey, tho' they differ in shape", he said. George Washington's policies of extermination were realized in his troops behaviors following a defeat. Troops would skin the bodies of Iroquois "from the hips downward to make boot tops or leggings". Indians who survived the attacks later re-named the nation's first president as "Town Destroyer". Approximately 28 of 30 Seneca towns had been destroyed within a five year period. (Ibid)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode