Re: Arab World Stunned by Baghdad's Fall

From: Brendan Coffey (bmc@section9.net)
Date: Mon Apr 14 2003 - 19:17:14 MDT

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    > Brendan wrote:
    > <<Spike thinks we should include expenditures on toppling popularly-elected
    > governments and installing dictatorial puppet regimes (Iran, anyone?).
    > I can't see that this counts as "aid."=A0 But, if my experience with
    > individual humans (myself included) is at all applicable to international
    > relations (heh), simply giving people money is rarely helpful, as they
    > don't know what to do with it.
    >
    > -Brendan <bmc@section9.net> >>
    >
    > If you think that the 'elected' ayatollahs in Iran were the result of a=20
    > genuine popular election, then I would say that you must be viewing some sor=
    > t=20
    > of Harry Potter cosmos where this occurs.
    >
    You would say so anyway, since I'm socially liberal and disagree with
    both the intent and execution of the U.S.' foreign policy. So I hardly
    find this insulting or, really, even significant.

    > The ayatollahs and their police,=20
    > the Savaama, control the ballot box and who gets elected,
    >
    Yes, they are. The Savama are the same organization as the SAVAK,
    who the CIA trained in the 50's and 60's. The CIA toppled Mossadegh in
    1953 and put the first Shah in power, in spite (and because) of the fact
    that Mossadegh's popular support in Iran was almost ironclad. When he
    tried to nationalize oil production, we just wouldn't put up with it.
    Homeboy had to go.

    The US doesn't tolerate democracy or stability in strategically critical
    areas of the world. We prefer to install violent, dictatorial madmen
    who (we believe) we can control, thus keeping our hands nominally free
    of the blood of the populace.

    But, as we approach the "Singularity" (still not clear on what that is,
    exactly, or what form people on the list expect it to take), the density
    of information is getting such that people with a clear head can't be
    fooled into thinking that this isn't what's going on anymore.

    Welcome to the conclusion of empire...

    -Brendan <bmc@section9.net>

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