Sunday, February 9, 2014

It’s Not the Economy Stupid, It’s Your Stupid Foreign Policy: How to Get Rid of Our Oligarchs

Isn’t what’s going on in the Ukraine, this attempt at regime change, which is unfortunately on the verge of turning into a full blown proxy-civil war (2) threatening to bring about the Balkanization of the region, the same game that has been played out in countless other countries for the better part of the last century?



I. 1953 Regime Change in Iran


It was the 1953 CIA instigated coup of the democratically elected government of Iran that really began the regime changing endeavors of the Western superpowers.

The first attempt of a Middle Eastern country to free themselves of Western control of their resources occurred with Iran in 1951 when the democratically elected president, Dr. Mohammed Mosaddeq, nationalizated Iran's oil industry. Unfortunately, however, Western powers would not stand idly by while Iranians took control of their own resources, which is why in 1953 the CIA, following instructions from Britain, organized a coup against Dr. Mosaddeq and overthrew the government.

This was a well-documented event and general knowledge among all those who have lived in the Middle East and Asia for decades, but was not well known in the West until the year 2000 when the United States government released documents on the operation, and apologized to Iran and its people for the devastation that it unleashed.

The following short two-part documentary is a good introduction to this topic, and without a doubt, should be mandatory viewing in school curriculums in the United States and the UK.

Operation Ajax: Iran and the CIA Coup in 1953 Pt. 1/2


Operation Ajax: Iran and the CIA Coup in 1953 Pt. 2/2


It was the fall of Mohammad Mosaddeq more than any other event in the last century that has empowered and given credence to the covert undertakings of the CIA and the military–industrial complex as well as the neoconservative oil barons and their banking associates on Wall Street - from now on referred to as the oligarchs.


II. War Crimes in Iraq


What we have to understand is that it’s not the fact that these oligarchs have been successful in overthrowing countless nations that has brought us to the brink of World War III (2). It’s the fact that the majority of Western citizens continue to be mesmerized and hypnotized, satisfied with the activities of the oligarchs as long as some wealth trickles down to them, or that they are oblivious and apathetic to the death and destruction that is being unleashed in their names, that is the problem. This indifference to the suffering of ‘others’ has been the main reason that state sponsored terrorism has been codified and normalized as an acceptable form of foreign policy - as long as it is our nations that are doing the terrorizing of course.

In the following excerpt, Dahr Jamail, an award winning American author and journalist who is best known as one of the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from the Iraq War, describes what transpired in Fallujah in 2004 during two U.S. assaults on the city. These war crimes are part of our history and will never be forgotten, or forgiven.

Dahr Jamail on what happened in Fallujah: U.S. War Crimes



III. Mainstream Media and the Need for Insurrection


The main facilitator, normalizing such war crimes has been the mainstream media (2). As Noam Chomsky pointed out regarding U.S. operations on the African continent in a recent piece entitled, “No Wonder the World Is Terrified of America -- We're the Biggest Threat: Keeping the world safe from America”:
“The death of Nelson Mandela provides another occasion for reflection on the remarkable impact of what has been called ‘historical engineering’: reshaping the facts of history to serve the needs of power.

“When Mandela at last obtained his freedom, he declared that ‘During all my years in prison, Cuba was an inspiration and Fidel Castro a tower of strength. . [Cuban victories] destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the white oppressor [and] inspired the fighting masses of South Africa . a turning point for the liberation of our continent - and of my people - from the scourge of apartheid. . What other country can point to a record of greater selflessness than Cuba has displayed in its relations to Africa?’…

“The U.S.-approved version is quite different. From the first days after South Africa agreed to withdraw from illegally occupied Namibia in 1988, paving the way for the end of apartheid, the outcome was hailed by The Wall Street Journal as a ‘splendid achievement’ of American diplomacy, ‘one of the most significant foreign policy achievements of the Reagan administration.’…

“To the end, the Reaganites remained virtually alone in their strong support for the apartheid regime and its murderous depredations in neighboring countries. Though these shameful episodes may be wiped out of internal U.S. history, others are likely to understand Mandela’s words.

“In these and all too many other cases, supreme power does provide protection against reality - to a point.”
These oligarchs have been able to use our resources: mineral, oil, water, air, and human life, to wage war so that they can obtain more power, and we have let them get away with it. If only we truly understood what Howard Zinn meant when he explained that all wars are class wars, so there is never a need for war, only insurrection. Maybe then we could rid ourselves of these oligarchs (Please note, the audio glitch in the following video improves within a few minutes).

Howard Zinn: Myths of the Good Wars (Three 'Holy' Wars)



IV. Gladio B and The Grand Chessboard


So, yes, what’s going on in the Ukraine is the same old game as before but in a different field, however, this time, a lot more is on the line since the unrest may be impossible to contain. As we found out during the 2008 Russia–Georgia War (2), the ‘other’ side will not be disposed of so easily.

At present, Western powers are involved in multiple covert and overt proxy wars spanning the globe, and for us to have a full appreciation of what’s taking place we must become aware and involved in the diplomatic affairs of our nations and the activities of our politicians. We need transparency. It’s the only way that we can hold our oligarchs accountable for their crimes.

An Introduction to Gladio B - James Corbett on Breaking The Set
Extensive coverage of Gladio B at: “Interview 616 – Sibel Edmonds Answers Questions on Gladio B”. Further information on Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Grand Chessboard at: “The Real Grand Chessboard and the Profiteers of War” .


V. The Need to Become Politically Aware


Everything is politics, from what we eat to what we drink, from what society deems acceptable behavior to what it considers a criminal offence, from who we interact with to how we interact with them. Politics decides if we are free or if we live as slaves in bondage.

Politics determines what our children are taught in school, how we treat the ecosystem, what theories scientists investigate, how art is perceived (video), what version of history we recall, and how the future will remember us.

In essence, politics governs our thoughts, our understanding of reality, and how we and our society evolve. It is, therefore, essential that we participate in the political process, may it be through demonstrations, whistleblowing, elections, activism, disobedience or a myriad of other forms of direct action, or may it be through simple analysis so that we have a full understanding of what is being done in our name.

The question we should be asking ourselves is, should we continue to intervene in the political affairs of other nations or should we mind our own business and tend to our own problems?

The following lecture by Scott Ritter provides us with some direction and insight. The lecture, which in my opinion should also be mandatory viewing for every American and part of every high school curriculum, explains what took place in the buildup to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the opening of Pandora's Box.

Scott Ritter - Iraq Confidential

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