Special Report: “Secret” documents from the Reagan administration show how the U.S. embedded “political action,” i.e., the manipulation of foreign governments, in ostensibly well-meaning organizations, reports Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
“Secret” documents, recently declassified by the Reagan presidential library, reveal senior White House officials reengaging a former CIA “proprietary,” The Asia Foundation, in “political action,” an intelligence term of art for influencing the actions of foreign governments.
Partially obscured by President Reagan, Walter Raymond Jr. was the CIA propaganda and disinformation specialist who oversaw “political action” and “psychological operations” projects at the National Security Council in the 1980s. Raymond is seated next to National Security Adviser John Poindexter. (Photo credit: Reagan presidential library)
The documents from 1982 came at a turning-point moment when the Reagan administration was revamping how the U.S. government endeavored to manipulate the internal affairs of governments around the world in the wake of scandals in the 1960s and 1970s involving the Central Intelligence Agency’s global covert operations.
Instead of continuing to rely heavily on the CIA, President Reagan and his national security team began offloading many of those “political action” responsibilities to “non-governmental organizations” (NGOs) that operated in a more overt fashion and received funding from other U.S. government agencies.
But secrecy was still required for the involvement of these NGOs in the U.S. government’s strategies to bend the political will of targeted countries. If the “political action” of these NGOs were known, many countries would object to their presence; thus, the “secret” classification of the 1982 White House memos that I recently obtained via a “mandatory declassification review” from the archivists at the Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
In intelligence circles, “political action” refers to a wide range of activities to influence the policies and behaviors of foreign nations, from slanting their media coverage, to organizing and training opposition activists, even to setting the stage for “regime change.”
The newly declassified memos from the latter half of 1982 marked an ad hoc period of transition between the CIA scandals, which peaked in the 1970s, and the creation of more permanent institutions to carry out these semi-secretive functions, particularly the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which was created in 1983.
Much of this effort was overseen by a senior CIA official, Walter Raymond Jr., who was moved to Reagan’s National Security Council’s staff where he managed a number of interagency task forces focused on “public diplomacy,” “psychological operations,” and “political action.”
Raymond, who had held top jobs in the CIA’s covert operations shop specializing in propaganda and disinformation, worked from the shadows inside Reagan’s White House, too. Raymond was rarely photographed although his portfolio of responsibilities was expansive. He brought into his orbit emerging “stars,” including Lt. Col. Oliver North (a central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal), State Department propagandist (and now a leading neocon) Robert Kagan, and NED President Carl Gershman (who still heads NED with its $100 million budget).
Despite his camera avoidance, Raymond appears to have grasped his true importance. In his NSC files, I found a doodle of an organizational chart that had Raymond at the top holding what looks like the crossed handles used by puppeteers to control the puppets below them. The drawing fit the reality of Raymond as the behind-the-curtains operative who controlled various high-powered inter-agency task forces.
Earlier declassified documents revealed that Raymond also was the conduit between CIA Director William J. Casey and these so-called “pro-democracy” programs that used sophisticated propaganda strategies to influence not only the thinking of foreign populations but the American people, too.
This history is relevant again now amid the hysteria over alleged Russian “meddling” in last year’s U.S. presidential elections. If those allegations are true – and the U.S. government has still not presented any real proof – the Russian motive would have been, in part, payback for Washington’s long history of playing games with the internal politics of Russia and other countries all across the planet.
A Fight for Money
The newly released memos describe bureaucratic discussions about funding levels for The Asia Foundation (TAF), with the only sensitive topic, to justify the “secret” stamp, being the reference to the U.S. government’s intent to exploit TAF’s programs for “political action” operations inside Asian countries.
Then-Vice President George H.W. Bush with CIA Director William Casey at the White House on Feb. 11, 1981. (Photo credit: Reagan Library)
Indeed, the opportunity for “political action” under TAF’s cover appeared to be the reason why Reagan’s budget cutters relented and agreed to restore funding to the foundation.
William Schneider Jr. of the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Sept. 2, 1982 memo that the Budget Review Board (BRB) had axed TAF funding earlier in the year.
“When the BRB last considered this issue on March 29, 1982, it decided not to include funding in the budget for a U.S. Government grant to TAF. The Board’s decision was based on the judgement that given the limited resources available for international affairs programs, funding for the Foundation could not be justified. During that March 29 meeting, the State Department was given the opportunity to fund TAF within its existing budget, but would not agree to do so.”
However, as Schneider noted in the memo to Deputy National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, “I now understand that a proposal to continue U.S. funding for the Asia Foundation is included in the ‘political action’ initiatives being developed by the State Department and several other agencies.
“We will, of course, work with you to reconsider the relative priority of support for the Foundation as part of these initiatives keeping in mind, however, the need for identifying budget offsets.”
A prime mover behind this change of heart appeared to be Walter Raymond, who surely knew TAF’s earlier status as a CIA “proprietary.” In 1966, Ramparts magazine exposed that relationship and led the Johnson administration to terminate the CIA’s money.
According to an April 12, 1967 memo from the State Department’s historical archives, CIA Director Richard Helms, responding to a White House recommendation, “ordered that covert funding of The Asia Foundation (TAF) shall be terminated at the earliest practicable opportunity.”
In coordination with the CIA’s “disassociation,” TAF’s board released what the memo described as “a carefully limited statement of admission of past CIA support. In so doing the Trustees sought to delimit the effects of an anticipated exposure of Agency support by the American press and, if their statement or some future expose does not seriously impair TAF’s acceptability in Asia, to continue operating in Asia with overt private and official support.”
The CIA memo envisioned future funding from “overt U.S. Government grants” and requested guidance from the White House’s covert action oversight panel, the 303 Committee, for designation of someone “to whom TAF management should look for future guidance and direction with respect to United States Government interests.”
In 1982, with TAF’s funding again in jeopardy, the CIA’s Walter Raymond rallied to its defense from his NSC post. In an undated memo to McFarlane, Raymond recalled that “the Department of State underscored that TAF had made significant contributions to U.S. foreign policies through fostering democratic institutions and, as a private organization, had accomplished things which a government organization cannot do.” [Emphasis in original]
Raymond’s bureaucratic intervention worked. By late 1982, the Reagan administration had arranged for TAF’s fiscal 1984 funding to go through the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) budget, which was being used to finance a range of President Reagan’s “democracy initiatives.” Raymond spelled out the arrangements in a Dec. 15, 1982 memo to National Security Advisor William Clark.
“The issue has been somewhat beclouded in the working levels at State since we have opted to fund all FY 84 democracy initiatives via the USIA budgetary submission,” Raymond wrote. “At the same time, it is essential State maintain its operational and management role with TAF.”
Over the ensuing three and half decades, TAF has continued to be subsidized by U.S. and allied governments. According to its annual report for the year ending Sept. 30, 2016, TAF said it “is funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress, competitively bid awards from governmental and multilateral development agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and by private foundations and corporations,” a sum totaling $94.5 million.
TAF, which operates in 18 Asian countries, describes its purpose as “improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia.” TAF’s press office had no immediate comment regarding the newly released Reagan-era documents.
Far From Alone
But TAF was far from alone as a private organization that functioned with U.S. government money and collaborated with U.S. officials in achieving Washington’s foreign policy goals.
Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy.
For instance, other documents from the Reagan library revealed that Freedom House, a prominent human rights organization, sought advice and direction from Casey and Raymond while advertising the group’s need for financial help.
In an Aug. 9, 1982 letter to Raymond, Freedom House executive director Leonard R. Sussman wrote that “Leo Cherne [another senior Freedom House official] has asked me to send these copies of Freedom Appeals. He has probably told you we have had to cut back this project to meet financial realities. We would, of course, want to expand the project once again when, as and if the funds become available.”
According to the documents, Freedom House remained near the top of Casey’s and Raymond’s thinking when it came to the most effective ways to deliver the CIA’s hardline foreign policy message to the American people and to the international community.
On Nov. 4, 1982, Raymond wrote to NSC Advisor Clark about the “Democracy Initiative and Information Programs,” stating that “Bill Casey asked me to pass on the following thought concerning your meeting with [right-wing billionaire] Dick Scaife, Dave Abshire [then a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board], and Co.
“Casey had lunch with them today and discussed the need to get moving in the general area of supporting our friends around the world. By this definition he is including both ‘building democracy’ and helping invigorate international media programs. The DCI [Casey] is also concerned about strengthening public information organizations in the United States such as Freedom House.
“A critical piece of the puzzle is a serious effort to raise private funds to generate momentum. Casey’s talk with Scaife and Co. suggests they would be very willing to cooperate. Suggest that you note White House interest in private support for the Democracy initiative.”
In a Jan. 25, 1983 memo, Raymond wrote, “We will move out immediately in our parallel effort to generate private support” for “public diplomacy” operations. Then, on May 20, 1983, Raymond recounted in another memo that $400,000 had been raised from private donors brought to the White House Situation Room by USIA Director Charles Wick. According to that memo, the money was divided among several organizations, including Freedom House and Accuracy in Media, a right-wing media attack group.
In an Aug. 9, 1983 memo, Raymond outlined plans to arrange private backing for that effort. He said USIA Director Wick “via [Australian publishing magnate Rupert] Murdock [sic], may be able to draw down added funds” to support pro-Reagan initiatives. Raymond recommended “funding via Freedom House or some other structure that has credibility in the political center.”
[For more on the Murdoch connection, see Consortiumnews.com’s “Rupert Murdoch: Propaganda Recruit.”]
Questions of Legality
Raymond remained a CIA officer until April 1983 when he resigned so in his words “there would be no question whatsoever of any contamination of this” propaganda operation to woo the American people into supporting Reagan’s policies.
CIA seal in lobby of the spy agency’s headquarters. (U.S. government photo)
Raymond fretted, too, about the legality of Casey’s role in the effort to influence U.S. public opinion because of the legal prohibition against the CIA influencing U.S. policies and politics. Raymond confided in one memo that it was important “to get [Casey] out of the loop,” but Casey never backed off and Raymond continued to send progress reports to his old boss well into 1986.
It was “the kind of thing which [Casey] had a broad catholic interest in,” Raymond said during his Iran-Contra deposition in 1987. He then offered the excuse that Casey undertook this apparently illegal interference in domestic affairs “not so much in his CIA hat, but in his adviser to the president hat.”
In 1983, Casey and Raymond focused on creating a permanent funding mechanism to support private organizations that would engage in propaganda and political action that the CIA had historically organized and paid for covertly. The idea emerged for a congressionally funded entity that would be a conduit for this money.
But Casey recognized the need to hide the strings being pulled by the CIA. In one undated letter to then-White House counselor Edwin Meese III, Casey urged creation of a “National Endowment,” but added: “Obviously we here [at CIA] should not get out front in the development of such an organization, nor should we appear to be a sponsor or advocate.”
A document in Raymond’s files offered examples of what would be funded, including “Grenada — 50 K — To the only organized opposition to the Marxist government of Maurice Bishop (The Seaman and Waterfront Workers Union). A supplemental 50 K to support free TV activity outside Grenada” and “Nicaragua — $750 K to support an array of independent trade union activity, agricultural cooperatives.”
The National Endowment for Democracy took shape in late 1983 as Congress decided to also set aside pots of money — within NED — for the Republican and Democratic parties and for organized labor, creating enough bipartisan largesse that passage was assured.
But some in Congress thought it was important to wall the NED off from any association with the CIA, so a provision was included to bar the participation of any current or former CIA official, according to one congressional aide who helped write the legislation.
This aide told me that one night late in the 1983 session, as the bill was about to go to the House floor, the CIA’s congressional liaison came pounding at the door to the office of Rep. Dante Fascell, a senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a chief sponsor of the bill.
The frantic CIA official conveyed a single message from CIA Director Casey: the language barring the participation of CIA personnel must be struck from the bill, the aide recalled, noting that Fascell consented to the demand, not fully recognizing its significance.
The aide said Fascell also consented to the Reagan administration’s choice of Carl Gershman to head the National Endowment for Democracy, again not recognizing how this decision would affect the future of the new entity and American foreign policy.
Gershman, who had followed the classic neoconservative path from youthful socialism to fierce anticommunism, became NED’s first (and, to this day, only) president. Though NED is technically independent of U.S. foreign policy, Gershman in the early years coordinated decisions on grants with Raymond at the NSC.
For instance, on Jan. 2, 1985, Raymond wrote to two NSC Asian experts that “Carl Gershman has called concerning a possible grant to the Chinese Alliance for Democracy (CAD). I am concerned about the political dimension to this request. We should not find ourselves in a position where we have to respond to pressure, but this request poses a real problem to Carl.”
Besides clearing aside political obstacles for Gershman, Raymond also urged NED to give money to Freedom House in a June 21, 1985 letter obtained by Professor John Nichols of Pennsylvania State University.
What the documents at the Reagan library make clear is that Raymond and Casey stayed active shaping the decisions of the new funding mechanism throughout its early years. (Casey died in 1987; Raymond died in 2003.)
Lots of Money
Since its founding, NED has ladled out hundreds of millions of dollars to NGOs all over the world, focusing on training activists, building media outlets, and supporting civic organizations. In some geopolitical hotspots, NED may have scores of projects running at once, such as in Ukraine before the 2014 coup that overthrew elected President Viktor Yanukovych and touched off the New Cold War with Russia. Via such methods, NED helped achieve the “political action” envisioned by Casey and Raymond.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, following his address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28, 2015. (UN Photo)
From the start, NED also became a major benefactor for Freedom House, beginning with a $200,000 grant in 1984 to build “a network of democratic opinion-makers.” In NED’s first four years, from 1984 and 1988, it lavished $2.6 million on Freedom House, accounting for more than one-third of its total income, according to a study by the liberal Council on Hemispheric Affairs, which was entitled “Freedom House: Portrait of a Pass-Through.”
Over the ensuing decades, Freedom House has become almost an NED subsidiary, often joining NED in holding policy conferences and issuing position papers, both organizations pushing primarily a neoconservative agenda, challenging countries deemed insufficiently “free,” including Syria, Ukraine (before the 2014 coup) and Russia.
NED and Freedom House often work as a kind of tag-team with NED financing NGOs inside targeted countries and Freedom House berating those governments if they try to crack down on U.S.-funded NGOs.
For instance, on Nov. 16, 2012, NED and Freedom House joined together to denounce a law passed by the Russian parliament requiring Russian recipients of foreign political money to register with the government. Or, as NED and Freedom House framed the issue: the Russian Duma sought to “restrict human rights and the activities of civil society organizations and their ability to receive support from abroad. Changes to Russia’s NGO legislation will soon require civil society organizations receiving foreign funds to choose between registering as ‘foreign agents’ or facing significant financial penalties and potential criminal charges.”
Of course, the United States has a nearly identical Foreign Agent Registration Act that likewise requires entities that receive foreign funding and seek to influence U.S. government policy to register with the Justice Department or face possible fines or imprisonment.
But the Russian law would impede NED’s efforts to destabilize the Russian government through funding of political activists, journalists and civic organizations, so it was denounced as an infringement of human rights and helped justify Freedom House’s rating of Russia as “not free.”
The Russian government’s concerns were not entirely paranoid. On Sept. 26, 2013, Gershman, in effect, charted the course for the crisis in Ukraine and the greater neocon goal of regime change in Russia. In a Washington Post op-ed, Gershman called Ukraine “the biggest prize” and explained how pulling it into the Western camp could contribute to the ultimate defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Ukraine’s choice to join Europe will accelerate the demise of the ideology of Russian imperialism that Putin represents,” Gershman wrote. “Russians, too, face a choice, and Putin may find himself on the losing end not just in the near abroad but within Russia itself.”
The long history of the U.S. government interfering covertly or semi-covertly in the politics of countries all over the world is the ironic backdrop to the current frenzy over Russia-gate and Russia’s alleged dissemination of emails that undermined Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The allegations are denied by both Putin and WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange who published the Democratic emails – and the U.S. government has presented no solid evidence to support the accusations of “Russian meddling” – but if the charges are true, they could be seen as a case of turnabout as fair play.
Except in this case, U.S. officials, who have meddled ceaselessly with their “political action” operations in countries all over the world, don’t like even the chance that they could get a taste of their own medicine.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).
Reagan’s CIA antics. Milton Friedman’s “Chicago Boys”. The overthrow of democratically elected Allende in Chile and installing the dictator Pinochet in his place. These are all part of Reagan’s efforts to forcefully enact NEOLIBERALISM on South America.
Same is true about destabilizing Argentina and meddling with democratically elected governments in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Nicaragua.
The NEOLIBERAL globalists and their lackeys would just leave other nations alone, the world wouldn’t be so rife with anti-Americanism or terrorism.
NEOLIBERALISM is why the too-big-to-fail banks got EVEN BIGGER after the financial crisis of 2008. NEOLIBERALISM is the main reason why a Military-Industrial complex even exists.
See my observations at https://medium.com/@guillermo.calvo.mahe/the-chutzpah-of-geese-and-ganders-and-pots-calling-kettles-black-c3835da7828f
I can only repeat myself. Read Douglas Valentine’s latest oeuvre The CIA As Organized Crime. Or similar. Widely available. CIA has not taken that one out yet. Like Udo Ulfkotte’s Journalists For Hire which you can buy for $500 on the net. It recently cost $3000, copies were offered in Texas and Indiana. But that was a bit rich. It was supposedly printed in May. So what happened?
Did I forget Philip Agee? Or even JFK’s famous CIA verdict?
It should be of interest to Consortium readers that the debunking of the Russiagate fiction is entering a new phase of exposure, as explained in this Mike Whitney article published today:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/09/14/the-russian-hacking-story-continues-to-unravel/
Thanks Mike,…reliable source
The current power configuration in the U.S. is the culmination of months of meddling (not by Russia):
“In the last few months, several competing political, economic and military sectors – linked to distinct ideological and ethnic groups – have clearly emerged at the centers of power.
“We can identify some of the key competing and interlocking directorates of the power elite:
“1. Free marketers, with the ubiquitous presence of the ‘Israel First’ crowd.
“2. National capitalists, linked to rightwing ideologues.
“3. Generals, linked to the national security and the Pentagon apparatus, as well as defense industry.
“4. Business elites, linked to global capital. […]
“The eight months of internal struggle between the economic nationalists and the neoliberals has ended: The Zionist-globalist alliance with Trump’s Generals now dominate the Power Elite.
“Trump is desperate to adapt to the new configuration, allied to his own Congressional adversaries and the rabidly anti-Trump mass media. Having all but decimated Trump’s economic nationalists and their program, the Power Elite then mounted a series of media-magnified events centering around a local punch-out in Charlottesville, Virginia between ‘white supremacists’ and ‘anti-fascists’.
“After the confrontation led to death and injury, the media used Trump’s inept attempt to blame both ‘baseball bat’-wielding sides, as proof of the President’s links to neo-Nazis and the KKK. Neoliberal and Zionists, within the Trump administration and his business councils, all joined in the attack on the President, denouncing his failure to immediately and unilaterally blame rightwing extremists for the mayhem.
“Trump is turning to sectors of the business and Congressional elite in a desperate attempt to hold onto waning support via promises to enact massive tax cuts and deregulate the entire private sector.
“The decisive issue was no longer over one policy or another or even strategy. Trump had already lost on all accounts. The ‘final solution’ to the problem of the election of Donald Trump is moving foreword step-by-step – his impeachment and possible arrest by any and all means.
“What the rise and destruction of economic nationalism in the ‘person’ of Donald Trump tells us is that the American political system cannot tolerate any capitalist reforms that might threaten the imperial globalist power elite.
“Writers and activists used to think that only democratically elected socialist regimes would be the target of systematic coup d’état. Today the political boundaries are far more restrictive. To call for ‘economic nationalism’, completely within the capitalist system, and seek reciprocal trade agreements is to invite savage political attacks, trumped up conspiracies and internal military take-overs ending in ‘regime change’.
“The global-militarist elite purge of economic nationalists and anti-militarists was supported by the entire US left with a few notable exceptions. For the first time in history the left became an organizational weapon of the pro-war, pro-Wall Street, pro-Zionist Right in the campaign to oust President Trump. Local movements and leaders, notwithstanding, trade union functionaries, civil rights and immigration politicians, liberals and social democrats have joined in the fight for restoring the worst of all worlds: the Clinton-Bush-Obama/Clinton policy of permanent multiple wars, escalating confrontations with Russia, China, Iran and Venezuela and Trump’s deregulation of the US economy and massive tax-cuts for big business.
“We have gone a long-way backwards: from elections to purges and from peace agreements to police state investigations. Today’s economic nationalists are labeled ‘fascists’; and displaced workers are ‘the deplorables’!
“Americans have a lot to learn and unlearn. Our strategic advantage may reside in the fact that political life in the United States cannot get worse – we really have touched bottom and (barring a nuclear war) we can only look up.”
Who Rules America? The Power Elite in the Time of Trump
By James Petras
http://petras.lahaine.org/b2-img/PetrasWhoRulesAmerica.pdf
So what are we supposed to do Mr. Petras, just “look up”? But that is not a fair question. I think what you are saying is that we the people are just simply screwed, and there is not a god damned thing we can do about it. I agree. Our world is coming apart, and we are reduced to the role of horrified spectators, or worse – mindless zombies without a clue to what is happening.
All the pussy hats and baseball bat and zombie marches have fulfilled their purpose: They have done absolutely nothing to prevent the global-militarist elite from dragging us into the next series of wars.
I think the point is to really get a clue about what is happening, clearly recognize how the power configuration operates, and respond strategically with something a lot more audacious than hope: a true peace and social justice movement and a national political party genuinely committed to restoring the United States of America as a constitutional republic.
I happen to disagree with Petras’ view that political life in the United States cannot get worse. We haven’t touched bottom yet. And nuclear war remains a distinct possibility. But if all that inspires us to greater awareness, deeper love and commitment, and offering our best effort, then things may in fact be looking up.
Read “Compromised” by Terry Reed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw&t=1s
It’s tragic that we and the Brits overthrew Mosadegh so we could control their oil.
And even now, we lie to ourselves ignoring how that event turned out so terribly badly for the Iranians and for us and the region. Leading eventually to the years of suffering under the Torturing Shah, the revolution, the oppressive religious mullahs.
And probably most people in this country have no clue that Iran’s people suffered under all that because of Britains and U.S secret foreign adventures.
How dumb our foreign policy is.
And how secretive and wrong.
Next time in Nepal?
Another information providing gem
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/the-pentagon-s-2-2-billion-soviet-arms-pipeline-flooding-syria-09-12-2017
I agree with BH, but the need is to develop ideas and observations into some kind of description that allows for analysis of the problem and expansion of the description . I offer as a starter the following.
The constitution divides 340,000,000 Americans into 50 groups (50 states=class II division; Class II division determines who but does not dictate what will be the duty or limitation on power bestowed to 100 elected, salaried senators), 425 groups based on population (340,000,000/425=800,000 persons in each class III division; Class II divison determines the make up of the house of representatives (425 voting districts = Class III division) and a President and Vice President (divided by popular support of of oppositely opposed political parties, Class IV division, which delivers into the hands of a single person the full power of government ; Class IV transforms public ownership of government into private single person ownership. All 527 members of the elected government are paid a salary, non of the governed are paid a salary. But the biggest divide is between those elected and those who are the governed (Class I division.
It is this divide, redivide and divide again structure (DRADA Structure) manipulated both by those in control of the political parties, propaganda distributed via public media, and those appointed to the court. Division pits nearly everyone on both sides of the Class I divide against each other. Class I divide accounts for the failure of massive public outrage reactions to the kind of corruption indicated in the above link. The DRADA Structure accounts for the survival and efficiency of federalism. But it is federalism that represents the real, clear and present danger to the governed side of the Class I divide; should a Class IV transform deliver public ownership of government into the hands of organized crime; the entire strength, capacity, wealth, resources of America, renders the corporations control over all business and conditions of life)which is exactly what the American revolution was about.
In a 2010 interview with a Persian news website, Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) brushed aside an interviewer’s reminder that the United States helped engineer the 1953 coup that overthrew a democratic leader in Iran itself
http://www.roozonline.com/english/interview/interview/archive/2010/july/08/article/iran-will-see-the-light-of-democracy.html
Q: A lot of Iranians might say, well we had a democracy between 1951- 1953 and foreign powers, namely the US and Great Britain interfered and brought down a democratic government. What would you say to that?
Gershman: That was before my time. […]
Q: Do you think Israel influences US policy towards Iran?
Gershman: I don’t even know what you are talking about.
Q: Well, the line has been that if need be Israel will attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Gershman: That is the decision Israel has to make. The United States and Israel are two separate countries.
Q: This goes back to Senator McCain that at some point he was for attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Gershman: McCain may have that view. I don’t know. He did not address that in his talk here at NED. But if he has that view that is his own. Why can’t he have a view as a US senator about US foreign policy?
Q: Wouldn’t that be disastrous for all parties involved?
Gershman: Well, Americans can debate that. There are people with different views on that.
Astonishing but not surprising!
Gershman and NED have been the source of much instability in the world; NED is infested with zio cons from top to bottom and as such relects the goals and policies of the zionists. (I think albright is still active).
It is a very dangerous prospect given that the neo cons have infested much if not all of the trump admin-thanks to romney.
Thanks much, Abe, for your valuable contributions to the comment section!
http://www.ned.org/about/board-of-directors/
http://www.ned.org/region/central-and-eastern-europe/ukraine-2014/
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/08/thierry-meyssan/national-endowment-democracy/
It’s stuff like this that REALLY make me wish there was a God and that there was a hell for folks like this to burn in! Sadly, the only real “justice” is here, in this time, and the likes of Gershman managed to escape it.
“NGOs”, NON GOVERNMENTAL organisations, the title is just a sick joke.
They are government created, government funded and government controlled.
There is a revolving door between the State Department and CIA and these organisations.
They are CIA front groups which function solely as a tool of US policy.
They promote terrorism and subversion and target only prey countries of the US empire.
You will never find the NED promoting democracy in Saudi Arabia.
If they were really concerned about democracy, they would do well to try promoting it in the USA.
Some of the other worst examples are Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch.
The only question worth asking is: When will the US Empire give up it’s goal of world domination through war? The answer is never voluntarily. The collapse of the Empire is the sole condition for this obsession being abandoned. This collapse is inevitable, and it will be a major chapter in the story of the collapse of industrial civilization, in fact the last chapter before Ecological collapse, which will end in human extinction. There will be great suffering and chaos as this endgame of humanity unfolds, but it will happen much sooner than humans suspect. So although as Einstein said of nuclear war’s aftermath “the living will envy the dead” the conclusion of our meteoric rise and fall will occur very shortly now. And the rest will be silence………..
And what will be left of the beautiful balanced ecosystem that humans inherited? When we are finally gone, we will leave behind a poisoned atmosphere and oceans, and a land area rapidly becoming a radioactive desert on it’s way to becoming a lifeless wasteland on a dying planet doomed by intolerable heating to a Mars like future, circling the Sun, waiting for it’s final incineration by it’s ancient mother.
In the meantime, enjoy what is left, and share as much love as you can. That much truly remains for us……….
malthus, much?
holdren, maybe?
the love will keep all safe. no worries.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_and_Ice_(poem)
Movin’ in for the kill tonight,
You got every advantage when they put out the lights.
It’s not so pretty when it fades away
‘Cause it’s just an illusion in this passion play.
I’ve seen you burn ’em before.
Pat Benetar, Fire and Ice” (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsKCU5ll3D0
“Fire and Ice” was released on 6 July 981, the day after Prime Minister Menachem Begin was able to declare victory in the closest legislative election in the history of Israel.
Approximately three weeks before the Israeli election, an Israeli Air Force struck an Iraqi nuclear reactor under construction 17 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. Opposition leader Shimon Peres had criticized the operation as a political ploy.
Iraq had purchased an “Osiris”-class nuclear reactor from France in 1976. Iraq and France maintained that the reactor was intended for peaceful scientific research. Iraq was a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, placing its reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, and agreements between France and Iraq excluded military use.
Effective safeguard procedures and the presence of foreign technicians made it impossible for the Iraqis to take the necessary steps to divert nuclear material without being discovered.
Iraq had hoped to take advantage of Iran’s revolutionary chaos and attacked without formal warning in September 1980. The Iraqis made only limited progress into Iran and were quickly repelled the Iranian armed forces.
The Iranian Air Force first struck the Iraqi reactor on 30 September 1980 in the first attack on a nuclear facility in history. Iran’s stated intent was to forestall development of a nuclear weapon by Iraq.
Following the Iranian airstrike (which had legal justification since Iran had been invaded by Iraq), Israel conducted its copycat airstrike on Iraqi nuclear reactor on 7 June 1981.
Due to the demands of an ongoing war that it was losing, Iraq made no further efforts to repair damage to the reactor caused by the combined Iranian and Israeli airstrikes.
The attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor was by no means the only instance of Israeli military adventurism motivated by domestic political considerations.
During the period June to December 1980, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) recorded an increase in activities along the border zone. No attacks by Palestinian forces on Israel were recorded, while the IDF incursions across the armistice line into Lebanon increased markedly, with minefields being laid, gun posts established, and generally involving numerous violations of Lebanese air-space and territorial waters.
Israel’s incursions were formally protested by the Lebanese government to the UN Security Council and General Assembly in several communications as violations by Israel of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425.
The 1981 attack on the Iraqi nuclear facility, and related Israeli government statements following it, established the Begin Doctrine, which explicitly stated the strike was not an anomaly, but instead “a precedent for every future government in Israel.”
The 1981 air strike added another dimension to Israel’s policy of deliberate ambiguity regarding its own possession of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Fast forward to 2017 with Israel conducted regular airstrikes on Syria and threatening Iran.
It is high time for sanctions on Israel for its arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
Given the destabilizing influence of Israel’s now routine military belligerence, and decades of massively destructive effects of Israeli meddling in US foreign policy (aka the Israel Lobby), the lights had better turn on soon before the entire world is taken in by fire and ice.
Thanks for the great video and the troubling history lesson…..
To me as I listened just now, Benatar’s “Fire and Ice” sounded personal not political…..
Are you saying it was intended as a political statement by her band at that time or that (more likely?) when I quoted Frost’s “Fire and Ice” above, it brought back for you these events from 1981 that coincided with Benatar’s release of “Fire and Ice” which resonated with you at the time because of the dangerous saber rattling and violence courtesy of what you point out Shimon Perez characterized as a political ploy by Begin?
thanks!
I have observed how facets of popular culture reveals a remarkable synergy with political events.
The lyrics above describe both the past (1981) and our current situation with uncanny precision.
Time is precious.
We know their methods inside and out.
Let’s not be taken in again.
Thanks, Abe!
You reminded me, – with your observation about “the synergy of popular culture with political events” – of historian Hajimu Masuda’s observations regarding popular culture and Cold War events.
His meticulously researched book “Cold War Crucible” records the personal experiences and documented thinking of individuals caught up in Cold War events including for example the firing of workers in Japan if they were suspected with no evidence, apparently, of being sympathetic to left leaning ideas. The anti communist witch hunts in Japan. Cold War types of hysteria in other East Asian countries.
I loved Masuda’s book.
Turns out he was a graduate student at Cornel when George W Bush was president and observed the fear mongering after 9/11 that was used to drive this country to war against Iraq and it reminded him of the fear mongering and hysteria during the Cold War.
Masuda, born in Japan, a journalist when he was very young, now teaches history at the University of Singapore speaks and writes excellently in English and I first heard him discuss his book on CSPAN. His book is a very enjoyable read because of his ideas on the synergy you also describe.
“THE SOCIAL POLITICS OF IMAGINED REALITIES”
is how this article describes the ideas in his book
http://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2015/02/social-politics-imagined-realities-masuda-hajimu.htmlhttp://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2015/02/social-politics-imagined-realities-masuda-hajimu.html
“we might be witnessing the moment when the discourse of the War on Terror is just becoming the “reality” of the world, in a quite similar manner that Cold War discourse became an irrefutable ‘reality’ in the postwar era, particularly during the Korean War period. Do we really need such a’ reality’ in the 21st century?
“[…] we should be better equipped to see the imagined and constructed nature of our walls, reality, and history. Instead of formulating another imagined reality, we can keep raising questions about stereotypical narratives that tend to simplify complex stories and prevent us from thinking further. How real is our ‘reality’? How and for whom are the images of threats composed and circulated? What are the social needs—or self-sustaining dynamics—of such imagined realities? Who creates walls and for what purposes? It’s not vain for us to keep raising such questions because, as our experience of the making of the Cold War world tells us, each of us is not just a victim of such an imagined reality but, indeed, a creator.”
– Hajimu Masuda
“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.”
– attributed to Karl Rove, cited as an anonymous “aide” by Ron Suskind in Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush, he New York Times Magazine (2004-10-17)
mike, I’m in agreement. However, nature is not balanced, not if taking the word literally. Balanced means stasis. Nothing is static. The world/nature does, however, have built-in corrective forces. Whether humans were here or not the earth would face glacial and inter-glacial periods. The inter-glacial periods sprout life, which walks along with death- the weather systems that bring life also erode life- rain cycles eventually wash enough soil and minerals back to the sea which then creates the increased heating cycles (less vegetation), which then, eventually, triggers the big chill- another glacial period.
We humans think we can solve everything. Virtually, yes. Problem is is that this is not a virtual world. And depending on one’s view that may or may not be a bad thing.
One of the most spectacular cases of U.S. meddling is the all-out terrorist assault on Syria.
Even the best efforts of Bellingcat and its propagandist comrades in the mainstream media cannot forever conceal reality:
The so-called “Syrian uprising” never existed, and the US and its allies continue directly arming, aiding, and abetting Al Qaeda in Syria.
Al Qaeda continues to infest territory in northwest Syria, sustained with arms acquired with NATO complicity, and supplied via logistical routes leading directly into the territory of NATO-member state Turkey.
The U.S. now appears to be preoccupied with creating “safe havens” for Al Qaeda.
Geopolitical analyst Tony Cartalucci concludes:
“As Syrian forces reach the Euphrates River, breaking the siege of the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, Damascus and its allies, along with the state sponsors fueling the militancy that has consumed Syria for the past 6 years, are putting in place their final pieces as the endgame approaches.
“Syrian forces having already retaken the northern city of Aleppo and as they continue securing Syria’s southern border with Jordan and Iraq west of the Euphrates, leaves the mainstream militancy backed by Washington, its European and NATO allies, as well as its Persian Gulf partners all but defeated.
“Remaining is the northern city of Idlib. It has become the final destination for militants as they flee or are evacuated under government-brokered deals from other contested areas across Syria. The city and much of the surrounding countryside link directly to the Syrian-Turkish border where militants are still receiving supplies, weapons, and reinforcements from NATO territory.
“With the nature of Western-sponsored militants now fully exposed and with Russian and Iranian forces present on the battlefield and deeply invested in Damascus’ victory, it is all but inevitable that virtually everything west of the Euphrates will return to Damascus’ control.
“Political attempts to preserve Idlib as a militant stronghold will be difficult considering the overt terroristic nature of the groups holding the city, including those operating openly under the banner of Al Qaeda. […]
“US policymakers have – since the conflict began in 2011 – sought to divide Syria and carve out ‘safe havens’ that could be used to perpetuate instability and seek regime change in Damascus over the long-term once immediate regime change failed to materialize.
“For the US – the prospect of carving out territory west of the Euphrates now looks very unlikely. Even attempts to grab territory south of Damascus along the Syrian-Jordanian and Syrian-Iraqi border appear to have failed. However, east of the Euphrates with America’s Kurdish proxies, permanent and sizable ‘safe havens’ are much more likely. […]
“In the next several weeks and months, how far the Syrian military goes and how sustainable its gains are before reaching the limits of its tactical and strategic reach will determine for certain just how tenable US designs are to permanently balkanize the country.
“Attempts to drive wedges between Damascus and its Russian and Iranian allies are underway – particularly with Israeli strikes inside of Syria and attempts to portray Russia as beholden to Israel. The use of Israel as a provocateur to pressure Damascus and divert political, financial, and military capital away from critical battles will continue.
“Attempts are also underway to alienate Syria’s Kurdish minority as much as possible to poison any attempt by Damascus to offer a more attractive future than serving as American proxies toward balkanizing the nation.
“Finally, attempts to isolate Syria and its allies from the international community also continue – particularly with repeated accusations of chemical weapon use. Despite a lack of success in using this tactic, the United States – through the United Nations – has repeatedly accused Syria of using chemical weapons in an attempt to justify a broader conflict directly with Damascus.
“In addition to the pivotal battles and lightning campaigns unfolding across Syria’s territory, analysts should expect to see tense diplomatic maneuvering on all sides as the endgame approaches.”
Syria: As the Endgame Approaches
By Tony Cartalucci
https://journal-neo.org/2017/09/12/syria-as-the-endgame-approaches/
Before long the truth will out and people will realise they have been lied to about Syria, just as they were lied to about Iraq/ Libya/ Ukraine/ everywhere else going back to Vietnam. This will shred what little remains of western political establishments and MSM
There are dangers in this. One day western governments may tell the truth about something important like climate change and nobody will believe them. During WW2, when reports of atrocities began to leak out, nobody believed them, because so many propaganda lies had been told during the First World War. Bayonetted Belgian babies, raped nuns etc. Like the boy who cried wolf.
Too many people favor lies about good motives and fighting the bad guys. Too many people go out of their way to avoid having to think through some cognitive dissonance and deal with stark realities that don’t feel good. The “one day” won’t come soon enough because the process of exposure will be fraught with denials, absurd rationalizations, and counter-narrative lying.
A group of high-quality journalists could spend the next year in Syria doing an excellent job of documenting first-hand accounts and primary sources…and still many wouldn’t care to access the information, let alone “believe it”.
A great deal of evidence concerning the corrupt and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq has been accessible for years, yet “outrage” is the far from the minds of most. People swallow up the “brutal dictator gassing his own people” routine without a thought, just like they swallow the Arabs with knives routine about 9/11.
People don’t want no stinkin’ truth…they want to feel exceptional and untroubled. The small percentage who now realize the upshot of the war on Syria and her people will grow, but it won’t get through to the “mainstream” of “thought” neither in media generally nor even at University (which is supposed to be a bastion of learning, questioning, and research….free thought and intellectual curiosity & honesty have gone by the wayside).
I’m sorry to feel like.a defeated and hopeless soul, but the bastards have got me down, maybe for the count. I can hardly muster being pissed off anymore…quiet desperation and going gentle into that good night somehow seems the only viable way to spend a little more time with the kids. There’s not enough of us to bang down the mad buggers’ wall.
Gregory…we’ve all been there…take a rest, put on the coffee or take a shot of whisky and come back! I’ve recently been sparring with yellow jackets that have built a nest over the side door of our house. They stung just about everyone in the family…I got it right on the schnoze and my whole face swelled up. After 5 days of insecticides they’re still there but I won’t give up until the nest is gone!. I know that yellow jackets will always outnumber us humans…they operate in droves and can sting when you least expect it but I like to think human intelligence gives me some advantage, at least on my own turf!
Ouch. A profile in courage to be sure Bob…I get what you mean about not giving up despite the numbers…and my mindset is my own turf whatever happens on the outside.
Didn’t mean to suggest I’ll stop reading and occasionally putting in my two cents…CN is a treasure and one of the only places I can speak my mind and be understood. I’m just not optimistic about American citizens getting their dander up about the immorality of war and foreign policy in general….even if the lies about Syria are generally exposed.
I guess there is something to the expression “mid-life crisis” after all…getting to a point where there’s much more behind then ahead, feeling the weight of lost opportunity or lost flexibility to fundamentally change one’s life. To be completely candid, I was moments away from quitting my job today…and didn’t have the cajones. So, as the song goes..I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do. Hell, I can’t even change myself.
Your lesson in perseverance is noted and admired. And the Syrians certainly understand the meaning of the word. Thank you.
I once had a taste for a good Manhattan…but better not go there! Coffee, however, is a functional necessity…
Gregory… I worked for the same company for just short of 25 yrs.. The magic number for retirement was 75(years of service + age). I was 6mos. short of that number when the company went bankrupt( Pan Am). I had many good years but i knew the handwriting was on the wall. I ended up with half my pension and now receive a check for less than $300,mo.. Yet, My wife & I paid off the mortgage as soon as we could and today we are able to live comfortably on that income(she gets about the same amount). I currently supplement that pension by subbing in the local H.S. and my wife has a part time job at the local community center. All this to say, although i consider myself lucky, I know times have changed dramatically. Consider what benefits you might lose by quitting, but make plans for another career. I think you would make a very fine teacher.
“Yet, My wife & I paid off the mortgage as soon as we could and today we are able to live comfortably on that income”……very important….plus social security!
Who decides where this taxpayer money – funneled through secretive NGO’s – eventually winds up?
Who financially benefits from it here at home and overseas?
What are the intended consequences? (whose particular policy goals does it serve?)
What are the eventual unintended consequences that have arisen?
Why is it secretive instead of disclosed public policy?
Are there business interests that benefit?
Is there corruption involved?
How does this fit within the constitution of a democratic country?
Do parliamentary governments operate this way too?
Good questions for Joe Biden…one of the owners of “the finish line”.
Speaking of U.S. meddling, on December 13, 2013, Victoria Nuland told an international business conference sponsored by those famed democracy promoters at Chevron that “We’ve invested over five billion dollars to assist Ukraine” in achieving its purported “European” aspirations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y0y-JUsPTU
By January 28, 2014, Nuland declared “Fuck the EU!” and it was clear that five billion dollars was about more than her cookie budget for the Maidan.
In her role as Assistant Secretary, Nuland was the lead U.S. point person for the Ukrainian crisis. She was a key figure in establishing loan guarantees to Ukraine, including a $1 billion loan guarantee in 2014. Along with Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, she was seen as a leading supporter of weapons delivery to Ukraine.
International oil companies (IOCs) such as Chevron, Shell and the Italian company Eni signed production sharing agreements (PSAs) with the Ukraine State Government of then Ukrainian President President Viktor F. Yanukovich, and Regional Councils of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, to explore and develop the Oleska shale gas field.
Ukrainian shale gas is concentrated in two basins:
– Dnieper-Donets on eastern Ukraine (more than 75 tcf reserves of shale gas)
– Lvov-Lublin on western Ukraine ( more than 50 tcf reserves)
Shale gas was supposed to be Ukraine’s ticket to greater energy independence from Russia. Eni, Shell and Chevron had declared plans for massive programs of capital expenditure in Ukraine.
Chevron and Shell have since pulled out of their multi-billion dollar gas agreements with Ukraine. The companies indicated that they were unsatisfied with the tax regime in Ukraine, after the post-Yanukovych government raised energy taxes.
The ultimate aim of U.S. meddling in Ukraine:
“With Washington’s blessing, Ukraine is going on the offensive against a Baltic Sea pipeline it deems a death knell to state controlled Naftogaz. Naftogaz is one of the most important companies in the country, and the gateway between Russian gas fields and the European market. This is the ultimate fight. Only this time, it pits Ukraine and the U.S. on one side with the Europeans and Russians — oddly enough — on the other.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/06/20/ukraine-goes-on-anti-russia-pipeline-offensive-as-europe-goes-nuts
The timing couldn’t have been better for Willian Casey to “die”, The more these people get away with, the more they push their agenda. They pledge to not do it anymore every time they get caught. Since WWII we haven’t won a war. However, by losing, the military/industry/congress just keeps asking for more money to do better. Gotta keep the War Machine well fed so it can continue to buy politicians who support war.
A massive military buildup = an empire in decline. When George W and Cheney got “selected” into office, China went around the world buying what they need for the future. We chose to spend trillions on this m/i/c/ complex so they could get rich today trying to control the future. We mistakenly think Iraq was about stealing their oil. What it really did was getting Iraq oil of the world market, prices went from $20.barrel up to $140/barrel allowing the oil companies (George and Dick’s friends) to make trillions of dollars in profit. We got 2% of Iraq oil, China bought 80%. Who was looking to the future and who were just greedy bastards?
Pablo, yes, an empire in decline. Note that ALL empires collapse. The leadership, ideology, none could escape the inevitable collapse. A very interesting read on this is The Fate of Empires and Search For Survival by Sir John Glubb (bootleg copies exist out on the internet). Glubb provided excellent background, but he failed to identify growth as the common element.
The NED and Freedom House are known in Latin America as CIA fronts. This is why, along with USAID, they have been kicked out of Ecuador and Bolivia.
Ïn 1983, Casey and Raymond focused on creating a permanent funding mechanism to support private organizations that would engage in propaganda and political action that the CIA had historically organized and paid for covertly. The idea emerged for a congressionally funded entity that would be a conduit for this money”.
Yes, the above is not only true, it happened earlier. See the Safari Club and how the US set up, with the Saudis, a secret intelligence unit operating outside of government scrutiny and funded by off the war drug sales and arm sales. This was in 1976 or 77 when the Church Committee was exposing the dirty tricks of the CIA
Yes Danny. The tip of the iceberg
thanks, as always, to parry.. but dumping any of this on reagan is as foolish as blaming bush for the war on terror or the present resident at the D.C. asshole-in-chief subsidizing housing for whatever goes wrong under his playing of the role of CEO…
what has been re-branded by market forces as the “deep state” is what marxists call a ruling class and others a power elite but by whatever name it refers to the minority wealthy and their professional class servants in politics and media who actually run the show that is titled “our great democracy”..
and further blaming it all on those lazy-stupid-venal-whatever americans who fail to listen to what we whisper to them once a year if ever and foolishly respond to and believe only what is screamed into their heads 24 hours a day seven days a week 52 weeks a year by that class and its hired help – entirely from our class! – is a form of bigotry that could help actually lead to fascism or other scenarios of the superior which only happen because they are so brilliant and the rest are soooo stupid..of course.
Where does Parry “dump” it on Reagan? Parry is presenting the key formations that took place during, and with the implicit approval, of the Reagan administration. It’s essential to know how one got “here” in order to identify how things form.
As long as you have a base premise of growth, perpetual growth, you’re going to run up against constraints that get dealt with via power. We’re either going to club ourselves over the heads or we’re going to sit back and drone ourselves over our heads. NOTHING WILL CHANGE except the methods for asserting how things are distributed. Anyone claiming any system to be the “ideal” means for doing this, if that system is predicated on growth, is full of crap! PREMISE FAIL: you cannot have perpetual growth on a finite planet. ANYTHING CAN APPEAR SUCCESSFUL GIVEN A SHORT ENOUGH TIME FRAME! I am still looking for any reasonable discussion about what could possibly be the “solution,” and so far all the brightest folks I’ve run across (and for sure there are plenty here, as there have been many other places where I’ve participated) are at a complete loss to describe (very few can even recognize out paradox of growth).
Seer… absolutely agree on your perception of the “perpetual growth” fallacy!
In fact, the first nefarious operation of the Reagan administration was the infamous Santa Fe Committee, a CIA effort in tandem with the Vatican to destroy Liberation Theology in Latin American. That is, Latin American Liberation Theology’s “Preferential Option for the Poor” had to be destroyed because it was a threat to Our Glorious “Preferential Option for the Rich.” Interestingly, too, that major Liberation Theology tenet came from the bottom up, not from the top down. The poor kept pointing out to the priests, “Look, Jesus says it, right here, in the Bible: take care of the poor first.” But of course, with capitalism, the poor get the crumbs that eventually fall off the table of the rich.
And one criticism I have concerning Mr. Parry’s excellent article, he doesn’t mention that all the “Democracy Promotion” he carefully chronicles is actually a shifting MASK for “Capitalism Promotion.” The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) would be better named National Endowment for Deterring Democracy (NEDD). Just to name a few–Iran in 1953, Guatemala 1954, Chile 1973, Ukraine in 2014–of the democratically elected governments we’ve undermined, overthrown, causing massive suffering: it is obviously Capitalism that we care to promote, first and foremost, most emphatically NOT democracy.
Exactly right, Jim! Thanks.
Jim, you just jogged something in my brain… I knew there was something missing in this piece, and that’s the International Republican Institute (http://www.iri.org/). From their web site:
IRI encourages democracy in places where it is absent, helps democracy become more effective where it is in danger, and shares best practices where democracy is flourishing
Another pea in the pod, don’t ya think?
Partially agree that Regan Presidency while not the worse Individual to hold that office then until now. It was his administration that finally let loose upon world the dogs of war as the legitimate right of USA.
To that I believe he was first President that we citizens should of impeached and severely punished; and not him alone with Mr. Ray.ond and Bush being secondary of that action, from Ian to Nicaragua activity alone.
Bad as was this articles mention of covert CIA actions and NGO actvitys to undermine foreign nations political scene this period also introduced Industries with foreign concerns into the decisions of who where and when to interfere.
The most egregious actions that have now led US into a domestic police state and a cultish worship of warrior in uniform hero’s was the complete reorganizing of military command structure and it’s “Limited Intensity Conflict”,LIC, resolutions.
The deliberate use of covert military operatives inserted into areas in order to train locals in order to cause chaos in that area.
Gradually this led to con ept of “full spectrum dominance” where by NGO’s to control of media outlets and scientific/Higher education establishments and eventually to the entity known as Homeland Security.
As side note: Recent hurricane relief efforts are touted as FEMA but FEMA is a part and but a department of Homeland Security. Under HS even religious institutions of Faith Based recipients are responsible to HS; To such an extent that certain religious organizations were to go to Cuba when Fidel Castro died as charity orgs, and cause uncertain th in Cubans lives towards their new leadership.
Today the indoctrinated US public have granted Regan “Godhood Status”, to their own demise.
“Today the indoctrinated US public have granted Regan “Godhood Status”, to their own demise.”
i would agree that in republican circles that status still holds. i think it unfair and really amazing considering that he did barely anything he promised to his own constituency. but so too, do i think his treatment unfair by people such as yourself. in that, while true that the neocons were let in during his tenure, i don’t find that to be a reflection of his administration as much as a reality of what the shadow state does. i think the article above demonstrates that the shadow state will do what it has to do to accomplish it’s goals. i somehow doubt that reagan agreed or was even aware of much of what happened under his presidency. or clinton or bushes or obama. i could be wrong but that’s where i’m at 30 something years later…..
A good clue to determine how “on board” any of the Presidents were, with the shadow state, is look what happened to them while in office: Reagan was made to eat a bullet, “retiring” him while in office, while his co-pilot (Mr. shadow state himself) took over the details of governance. Clinton was impeached, eventually to go along with shadow state demands. Son-of-Mr shadow state had a trusted shadow state co-pilot (Darth Chainey) to manage affairs. Obama was a cowardly tool of shadow state. Trump now realizing the deep doo-doo he stepped in; remains to be seen if he becomes a profile in courage or cowardice or cluelessness.
my point exactly.
who do we blame for the heroin epidemic of the 60s and 70s? kennedy? lbj? or nixon?
or non of the above.
is pope paul or john paul2 to blame for the raft of pedophile scandals of the catholic church?
ascribing any of these scandals to the leaders in any of these cases is only useful in the timeframe they served. i would consider calling them “their” scandals as sketchy journalism.
I remember Reagan at the time was mainly presented as a senile old fool and a harmless figure of fun.
If you look at his actual record in Central America alone he would qualify as a major war criminal, without looking at all the other s*** he got up to elsewhere. Probably at least as bad as Kissinger, Cheney or Rumsfeld.
In Nicaragua, there was an uprising against the US puppet dictator Somoza.
Reagan armed and bankrolled terrorist mercenaries and continued to do so even when banned by Congress/ Iran – Contra etc. These terrorist mercenaries targeted ordinary Nicaraguans, schools, hospitals, infrastructure, everything. They killed, raped and tortured thousands.
He did the same thing in places like El Salvador and Guatemala, where hundreds of thousands of Central American Indians were massacred by US sponsored dictatorships and death squads organised by people like Negroponte.
If there was any justice in the world, Reagan would have dangled from a rope as a reviled mass murderer.
He is worse by far than individuals like Bundy or Dahmer who are also reviled. Those people only have the blood of a relative handful to account for, and they did at least do their own dirty work. They were probably damaged in some way as well. True mass murderers like Reagan have no such excuse. He deserves to be reviled, not honoured, for his record.
Reagan never served as president. His brain injury after falling off his horse in the 1970’s got worse and then alzheimers consumed him. George Bush was the president for eight years of Reaganism.
Plus 4 years on his own, plus 8 more years with junior being managed by trusted servant Cheney= 20 years as President.
To get a view of the bigger picture, refer to Executive Intelligence Review(EIR) search box and type in: “Fight Fascism the way Franklin Roosevelt did”. You’ll see that what happened under the “frontman” Reagan, was happening under Maggie the thatcher in UK, (“AlYamamah/BAE arms for oil” from searchbox), and on the European Continent in the same time frame (concerning Continental affairs, refer to “Return of the Monarchs” from search box). Folks; the World Fascist Empire Project that was shot down in flames in WWII, by strenuous Allied efforts (ESPECIALLY including USSR efforts) did not put an end to the matter: the “battlefield NAZIs”, the Instrument, was destroyed. The “Boardroom NAZIs” lived on to fight another day, ratlining their most valuable assets outta the Continent and into South and North America, for further use. Especially notice reference to intelligence files labeled “Synarchism: NAZI-Communist”. Then sit back and let the mind marinate in this info, and make all the cross-connections of all the dots.
I’ve said this before, but the Ronald Reagan Administration was the worst one in my lifetime. It is difficult for me to imagine Trump will be able to match him when a final tally is made of the destructiveness of the two of them.
You mean the Bush presidency. Reagan never made one decision; it was all Bush and Casey
The hapless citizens are left to try and extricate themselves from the vast, sticky web of lies and disinformation and cultural myths in which they are trapped from birth. Those who have extricated themselves to a great degree like Robert Parry, Noam Chomsky, George Orwell, and many others are invaluable resources for those beginning to wriggle themselves free from our culture’s suffocating grasp. One function of the small reeducation groups I propose (and take part in) is to study together the texts of these liberators. Derrick Jensen is one of my favorite awakeners.
Mike~
Thanks for citing this person and his work.
A great quote from Derrick Jensen: “A dear doctor friend of mine always says that the first step toward proper treatment is diagnosis. If we refuse to diagnose the problems our actions will never resolve them.”
Diagnosing the problem is the first order and why many of us turn toward this site.
Peace~
Yeah, Derrick Jensen is one worth listening to/reading. He lays it all out, that the “trick” is to pass the premise by us such that we don’t question it, after which, if you don’t have a properly grounded premise, just about anything cane be made to make sense.
Our entire world is based on the totally implausible premise, yet no one ever questions it: perpetual growth on a finite planet.
Nature is full of deception. Humans are OF nature. No human should ever be allowed to have more than One Human Power (the only real way to check abuses and minimize the damage that can be wrought by “smart apes)”.
It sure seems to me that,
as far as all the rest of the world is concerned,
there’s by now only one solution to all this:
#BDSUSA
Geoffrey That’s a great idea, but these corrupted politicians and business people we have in America will just offshore what they already haven’t. What’s there to boycott when you don’t manufacturer anything in the first place? Although I support your idea Geoffrey. Joe
Joe, I posted that comment just a half hour or so ago and just now learned how, in the meantime, just minutes ago, the US Senate voted to continue endless war. Can’t Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross reunite for just once to recast their classic duet “Endless Love” in a much, much darker light?
Joe, You know by the way how New York is so great, they named it twice. What I find exquisite is how, of late, the US has woken up and realized Russia is so great — or just plain big — the Americans now name it thrice.
Viz,, “Russia, Russia, Russia!”. (Do we have Rachel Maddow to thank for that?)
Geoffrey if you want to read where all of this American hubris & NGO business is getting the U.S. read this….
https://journal-neo.org/2017/09/13/gold-oil-dollars-russia-and-china/
Funny thing about American exceptionalism, is that almost every other fellow American I associate with, doesn’t seem to know exactly how exceptional they really are. I mean the average person in America paying taxes to support continual war, doesn’t quite know how exceptional they are let alone how indispensable they are on top of that, too boot.
So no, the conceded hubris is exclusively owned by the top celebrated 1% of this great capitalistic nation, and with that a whole country’s population is judged. You know what would take care of this, is a true citizen representational government, but where in the heck do you find one?
Later Geoffrey. Joe
Joe – Very informative article by William Engdahl in neo. Thanks for the post.
A recent book argues that the CIA is behind the flood of refugees into Europe, the purpose of which is to undermine the EU. Thus, although I can’t say if the individual claims that Mr Parry puts forward are true, his underlying thesis is credible, namely, that US government agencies and privately-funded American NGOs have sought, and are seeking, to destabilise and undermine the governments of other sovereign states. The point of all this, including the attacks on the EU, is to maintain US global hegemony in all domains, to which the EU is seen as a threat. Where Putin comes into all this is that at the time of the Ukrainian coup, he seems to have been in cahoots with the US hegemonists, who saw him as a battering ram to break up the EU. Putin made a mess of the whole thing and has thus gone from being an “asset” to being a “liability” that has to be eliminated. Russiagate was spawned by the election of a president that Putin’s American supporters presented, and continue to present, as Putin’s stooge.
However, none of that disproves the allegation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. That meddling is proved by Trump Junior’s admissions and corroborated by the proven Russian interference in the French election, including financing of the Front National. In addition, Assange has merely claimed that his source wasn’t the “Russian government”. Trump Junior speaks of Russian private citizens who claimed to represent their government but may well not have. The Russian caught in MacronLeaks works for a private computer company. Thus, whether it was the Russian government or private Russian interests changes nothing just as the use of the NGOs Mr Parry refers to doesn’t disprove US government interference in the EU or other countries’ affairs.
Hunh?
The entity “Michael Kenny” has a HUGE boner for Vlad Putin and is a paid commenter. See the comments at “The Intercept” for more of Micheal K’s Putin-porn, worth analyzing for how Langley trains its shills. He has a colleague “Craig Summers”.
Yes, this is well known. The CIA has weaponized refugees to assure a major realignment of regimes.
Troll; to be ignored.
Yes, just turn off your mind as that always provides enlightenment.
You have no evidence of your accusation, and will not find any.
In fact “Kenny” has been a consistent troll here, offering no evidence or argument.
Here he continues the Russia-gate propaganda to cover up zionist control of the DNC with campaign bribes.
Next week you’ll be telling us all about the aliens and the pixies.
Exactly!
‘Hunh’ just means ‘Duh!’.
Have you quit beating your wife?
Michael, as much as it pains me to ask you, what was the title of that recent book you read claiming the CIA was behind the European Middle East refugee flood? Also what would be Putin’s motivation for associating Russia to U.S. hegemonists to help break up the EU? What is the difference between Trump Jr meeting with a few Russians to dig up dirt on Hillary, as opposed to Hillary paying MI6 agent Christopher Steele to attain inside Russian officials to dish out the ugliness of whatever Trump did during his visit to Moscow? I’d be surprised to learn that the National Endowment for Democracy was in cahoots with Putin, because Carl Gershman himself said, that Russia would be the biggest prize of all.
“That meddling is proved by Trump Junior’s admissions and corroborated by the proven Russian interference in the French election, including financing of the Front National.”… there was no such “proven Russian interference in the French election”… Marine LePen simply was advanced a loan by a Russian bank which she was unable to get through a French(or any other bank). How does this differ from Macron or any other politician receiving bank loans? Do you seriously think bank loans don’t have strings attached?
Robert Parry continues to connect the dots on Russia-Gate. It appears the neocons have found a way to “privatize” foreign policy; that is, avoid congressional oversight and still have access to taxpayer funding through shell operations i.e. NGOs.
i was 16 when reagan was elected. i had vitriolic hate against him as did all my peers and everyone i respected. but i was 16. as time grew after he had left office, i started to question why i actually hated him as much as i did. and why everyone else did too. afterall, the hate started before he was even elected….sound familiar. i have tried to untangle things his administration actually did with things that had nothing to do with his tenure but were blamed on him. it’s been difficult. at the time, we had whipped ourselves into a frenzy about how he would start world war 3. that didn’t happen.
now i read this article. i have read much from and about the church committee hearings. and many books about the cia. this is a great article on how those in the intelligence community had to figure out how to circumvent not only the laws in place that curtailed their activities but the public perception of same. i couldn’t help notice how often parry attempts to tie these actions to reagan himself. i find it rather disingenuous to attribute all this to reagan. i find it a distraction. and one that cements the negative portrayal that still exists in the minds of many of my generation. i don’t find regan to be some superhero as many on the right do. just sayin. fair is fair.
most here at cn have read enough about the actions of the cia and ngo’s actions abroad to know that the president is not the captain of the ship in these instances. most likely the other way around.
it’s great that these documents have come to light. i’m not sure how many will come to light in the future as the governments fingerprints will be less noticeable as time moves forward from the 80’s. my guess is that the day to day operations of the shadow state will more and more be obfuscated by the fact that these covert actions will be executed by the ngo’s and therefore not subject to public oversight.
on a side note, funding for cia operations is an interesting subject. most people don’t know that cia officers are not subject to federal withholdings for thier pensions. they are the only government agency, that i’m aware of, that is allowed to invest pension funds in any vehicle that suits them……
Reagan escalated the cold war, and I know they say it was to rid the world of communism, once and for all. Was an FBI informant that stabbed his fellow actors in the back, by accusing them of communist affiliations. Engaged in a ridiculous war in Grenada. He certainly ignored the AIDS crisis and did not fund money for any research in that area, and his silence meant death for many. Trickle down economics was a bust, creating a real gap which continues to this day between the haves and have nots. Raised taxes something like 8 times. Tripled the national deficit. He was anti-union. He was involved in the Iran-contra affair. Why is it you changed your mind about this man?
did he escalate the cold war? well, i don’t know that HE did but i sure know that a bunch of republicans think he WON it and i don’t put much credence in either assertion. did he increase spending for the military? sure. what president hasn’t?
was he an fbi agent that stabbed actors in the back. well, i had never heard of this….but apparently neither had anyone else until after he became president…..and was not president when the events occurred. from the chicago tribune in 85′ “The documents also show that Reagan, then guild president, disagreed with tactics of the House Un-American Activities Committee in trying to rid the movie industry of Communists.” but whatever…..
he idea that trickle down economics was a bust and CREATED a real gap is spurious. that’s probably the biggest thing that urked me. i found the baby boomers to be a greedy bunch of $%^&’s and their need for screwing other people out of money seemed the cause of the gap. not the economic policy itself. read paul craig roberts take among others since he was one of the guys who instituted the program. he did not cut spending, i agree that this was a horrible thing and raised the deficit. but, come on, that’s only an argument from the people that supported him.
was reagan involved in the iran contra affair? or was it the very people in the article above?
the ridiculou8s war in grenada was just that. but was not his doing. it was a british thing and very tame in comparison to the scaremongering of the day….remember al haig? also tame in comparison to just about every president in recent memory.
he certainly was anti union…..i don’t find that to be either a good or bad thing. just a thing…..
i’ve never done any research on the aids thing short of the usual stuff regarding race based bio weapon…..
seems like everyone was playing catch up on that…..
i see what you are trying to say. my point is more like this……if you are writing an article about the syria situation, for instance. and you don’t work for the msm with their own establishment bias, do you bring up the fact that obama was the president at the end of selected quotes? indirectly tying the actions of others to him, or do you write an article about the true actors in seeing the militarization of syria?
robert parry knows the difference. my guess is that so do you.
“Baby boomers” is an age group, not an ideology. There is good and bad in all groups. Denouncing them is needlessly sowing division.
i disagree.
just stating what i see is fact. there are other great things i can attribute to the boomers but those have not bearing on the subject at hand. the go go stockmarket of the 80’s and 90’s belongs to them. they were, in fact the age group that is closely associated with dumping their disposable income into it. did you ever hear the term “yuppies”? how is describing a sub group of the population and dedicating actions they in fact participated in as ” sowing division”?
btw. has little relation to the article. and that’s my fault.
First of all, he wasn’t an FBI agent but supplied them with names of fellow actors he thought had communist leanings. In other words he participated in the McCarthy era bullsh*t that hurt a lot of people. The AIDS epidemic was moving swiftly through the early 80’s and instead of funding research he did nothing, and no doubt because it mostly affected gays and drug users.
Since I’m a teacher, I say god bless unions because they protect people from the big boys who lower wages, lay off workers, and outsource jobs, and all that kind of stuff. As far as trickle down economics, well that could be a long discussion, but it really did create a disparity which continues to this day between the average working man and the rich. I did say that he escalated the cold war in order to wipe out communism, and he did. When Clinton came in he made sure a drunken Yeltsin came into power and the oligarchs, both Russian and American, robbed Russia’s people blind. You can’t use the information provided in this article to let presidents off the hook. Agreed that the CIA and NGOs do a lot of dirty work for the US, but I doubt the president elect is totally unaware of their activities, and I have no doubt agree with their agenda.They very often get into office because they are willing to go along. I’m not just picking on Reagan, I came to dislike Clinton, Bill that is, because he pushed the Democratic party to the right. I voted for Obama the first time, but not the second, and in the last election I didn’t vote at all. Hillary the blamer, backed wall street, the bankers, and war. I detest her, and as a result her backers are accusing the Russians of hacking into the DNC and you’re now faced with constant propaganda which would love to oust Trump. Do you think she objects? She knows who her friends are, because she supports their agenda.
That Reagan (or his administration) defeated the Soviet Union is outright hogwash.
I often wonder why the authoritarians are so worried about communism. Could it be that it’s a system that they’re worried that THEY wouldn’t be able to wield THEIR power under (they wouldn’t be good enough?)? But the real question is how any BAD system can take over. They cannot! BAD SYSTEMS FAIL, PERIOD! Crappy systems don’t work in nature. Man cannot defy nature.
It’s about an excuse to wield power. The Reagan administration was a breeding ground for a lot of future ugly crap, not just the abuses against humanity during his tenure. Yes, Reagan deserves s special place in hell (as does almost all other US presidents). Parry IDs the perps, and there are pictures of Regan with those perps. The association is clear enough that a blind person could see!
I didn’t say he defeated the Soviet Union!
I agree that Reagan cannot be excused with the silly notion that everyone he appointed just went around him; he is plainly responsible entirely for their misconduct.
Also agree that the idea that a president can be ignored by the executive branch and never inform the public is absurd. Any threat against him can be instantly revealed to the nation. Any enforcement agency not disloyal can be used to decapitate any disloyal agency. There is no excuse whatsoever for failure to take action to control a rogue agency, and failure to inform the people of the United States. All presidents are 100% responsible for their watch until death.
Circumventing foreign policy through a shadow government is ages old.
None of us should be paying taxes (federal, state or city) on our income earned from work. It is illegal but we keep paying. We should be paying taxes only on money earned from interest, dividends, capital gains, etc..
Your email link does not work for some time now.
Sally Snyder’s link above worked fine for me.
The U.S. definitely rules by the ‘do as I say, and not as I do’ theme. I know people who applaud this, and feel that instigating in other countries affairs, is just part of the game. I also know those who never believe anything like what this article states, and write it off as ‘conspiracy theory’. Regrettably if you add these two groups up, they don’t care, or they don’t believe, that payback by other countries ‘meddling’ into American politics is only fair game for the way America conducts itself in like matters. We Americans have an excuse for everything.
The whole time I read this fine investigative report, I could not help but regret how this kind of reporting will never see the light of day being broadcasted from our MSM. It’s news such as this that the American citizen is most denied, and with the voters lack of this knowledge Americans are truly blinded to what their government reallly does. Keeping Americans fat and stupid seems to be working out well for those who operate behind the curtain, and to the charade of good governance go we the American people.
“Keeping Americans fat and stupid seems to be working out well for those who operate behind the curtain, and to the charade of good governance go we the American people.
Well Joe, as a matter of fact that’s how it is. A bunch of old, white (and very wealthy) guys circle jer**** each other to dominate everything and everyone in their path. ‘Cause they, of course, know best. You’re enough of a visitor here to know how the game is run.
As for the average citizen, yeah, give me my biggie gulp, super size happy fries, big screen with 150-channels-of-cable teevee, barcalounger, and this weekend’s football game… now that’s the life. Don’t gotta work again until Monday morning. I got mine. How about you? I’m beginning to think that people *just* *don’t* *want* *to* know. Takes too much time.
Pat the average American has been so dumbed down that while they hear of Russian meddling in the U.S. Elections, they have no idea of how the U.S, government has been overtaken by the Israeli government. I mean Russia can’t have it, because Israel already got it. Oh, and don’t look towards the MSM for this information, because you will never hear of it. Now pass me the chips, and turn on the game, hoorah.
It is not so much actual control by Israel proper, let’s tell it like it is, the control is by American based Israeli/Jewery..
AIPAC is just the visible front, You have from orthodox sects to factions of Reformed Jews, and allied with them are some 80 million Est. Zionist Christian Americans who will destroy any one or means that even remotely is critical towards Israel
Their ability to call upon those millions who are within every industry and government offices for instantaneous e-mails,slow mails and pressure groups that threaten dire consequences if Senators, college Deans and evenpublic theater presentations they dislike,now that is real power over US policy makeing.
I always stress it’s not the Jewish people, just like it isn’t the average American, who is to blame for all the world’s chaos. The Zionist just like their American cousin the Neocons misrepresent the people who’s country’s banner these thugs operate under, and with this all sorts of accusations are conjured up.
Hide Behind: Excellent summation of how America is controlled – completely. Americans have been brainwashed so completely for a very long time now that an an average immigrant person – with some interest in these matters – from the World beyond the West understands hundred times better what is going on here than an average White or Black American. And an average Jew, with their background in the West for hundreds of years being merchants, and in Finance, Media, and all that, is the smartest of all. He sees and understands everything. Over life time, I had many very interesting Jewish friends at Work from all over Eastern Europe, and USSR, and in social life from here as well.
The German people were held accountable, and have to pay reparations to Israel for decades for the actions of Hitler, and Nazis. Not all Germans were Nazis. So, it is time that average American Jewish people must be called upon to raise their voices to stop this carnage being unleashed on the World to control it through all these Wars, and regime changes. Most of the Neocons and others in control of U.S. Foreign and Domestic Policy – Kagans, Kristol, Wurmser, Gershman, Frum, Elliot Cohen, Abrams . . . – are from their background. AIPAC has complete financial control over the election of The President and the Congress – and thus over the U.S. policy.
With all the resources, and energy spent to fight these wars, the Average American has been the biggest loser. The only people who benefit are the top 1% or so. I just came back from a visit to great lakes States. Those states once very prosperous, humming with all the Manufacturing Industry, are in complete decline. And it is true elsewhere as well. How sad to look at it!
I recently commented, forcefully, on a hasbara shill’s outrageous assertion that Saudi Arabia has far more influence in the US than Israel, a proposition so ludicrous that it is almost funny. After being present for a number of days, it has now disappeared entirely, without even the usual ‘This comment was deleted’ notice. Really existing Freedom of Opinion.
It’s hard to place blame on any one group or organization when the whole U.S. government is up for sale.
“A bunch of old, white …. guys circle jer**** each other …”
consortiumnews.com comment section?
Repeal of DACA? Big deal.
5 conservative Supreme Court justices (including Neil Gorsuch) put on hold a lower court order for Texas to redraw congressional and state house district lines to cure voting rights problems? Pfffftt.
It’s only brown and black people, right?
The important thing is that Republicans and Democrats are exactly the same and voting is supposed to make you feel warm and fuzzy.
Go Stein!
The important thing is that Republicans and Democrats are puppets perpetuating the myth that there is any semblance of democracy in the United States, while the puppetmasters do the real business of the US: never-ending wars and the exploitation of the world’s resources.
I was wrong.
It’s actually “old white…guys” & women.
With the rallying cry of “Give up! Give up!”
A Stein vote is a wasted vanity vote that will ONLY help make things worse.
You guys really need to give it up and focus on reforming the Democratic primary before anyone here would listen. That involves stopping the whine about the Russians and owning up to the fraudulent practices that have alienated most everyone here and other former Democrats who have been discarded like broken furniture. I suspect that is about 30% of what your party once was, but if you’re counting on divisions within the Republicans you are likely to be in for a rude awaking in 2018.
Recall, the term “conspiracy theory” was coined by the CIA to blunt criticisms of the “official” Warren Commission story about the JFK assassination, which story, by now, has been revealed to be as full of holes as Swiss Cheese.
Your recollection of the original intent of the ‘conspiracy theory’ label, is very appropriate to bring up Jim.
I was thirteen years old when JFK got assassinated. That Friday evening after Kennedy’s had been killed, my dad and I went to the local Italian Club in our neighborhood. I will never forget how all those Italian buddies of my dad were convinced it was LBJ behind the assassination. I was young and stunned that these men (they were all men) thought this way. So, I asked one of my dad’s friends how he came to the conclusion that Kennedy’s murderers were LBJ and the Secret Service? This old experienced veteran of life, simply replied saying, ‘LBJ did it, because he benefits the most’.
So for me the JFK assassination conspiracy theory started at that instant.
Thanks for the reply Jim. Joe
Interesting! Thanks for sharing this vivid experience! What an eye-opener!
Interesting too how if you pull the thread of one of the conspiratorial groups involved, threads of the other groups all move in tandem, meaning that they are all connected through mutual interests and both active and passive participants.
Larry in case you haven’t already read it, I recommend reading, James W Douglas book ‘JFK and the Unspeakable; Why he Died, and Why it Matters’. There is where you will find a well written documentation of the threads you may wish to see unravel. Thanks for your reply. Joe
i read that book joe.
excellent reading. i put “the man who knew too much” on my book list. i got that title and the synopsis from “unspeakable”.
the biggest proof of the lie of the official narrative came to me by watching a video of actual footage from dealey plaza moments after the shots rang out and the motorcade gone. it was found by one of the jfk researchers who’s name escapes me at the moment…..
the footage shows about 30 people running towards the grassy knoll. that’s 30 texans, in 1963.
will anybody really posit that 30 texans in 63′ don’t know where the sound of gun shots come from?
“A police officer came quickly around the fence and confronted the “suit man” with a revolver. The “suit man” held out his empty hands. He then took what was apparently identification out of his coat pocket and showed it to the police officer. The officer put his gun away. The “suit man” mingled with the crowd of people that was coming around the fence.[ 257] He then “walked over to the Rambler wagon and got in on the passenger side. The Rambler station wagon drove out of the parking lot along the north side of the [Texas School Book Depository]. Hoffman last saw this vehicle as it made a right turn onto Houston Street.”[ 258] Ed Hoffman’s attention switched to the presidential limousine, as it was then being driven below him onto Stemmons Freeway. He looked down on President Kennedy’s body sprawled across the back seat, with a gaping wound in his right rear skull. It looked like bloody Jello.[ 259]”
From James W Douglas ‘JFK and the Umspeakable’
Yes Jim but Swiss cheese tastes nice. Serious: read Joachim Joesten’s books and you are in the picture. His first came out in 1964!
This article is one of the most informative articles I have ever seen.. It will takes weeks to understand how to project from the revelations made here how modern governments conceal their activities. NGOs, the globally interlocked, highly fraudulent, always cloaked, intelligence communities, and the White House politics proxied by the State Department tell the story, the problem is to find out and publish in plain view, before the fake news can imprint a false notation into a naive population.
More and more I am discovering that one’s classification as to how free they actually are, should be measured by reference to depth, amount, time of their access (DATA) to the relevant information. Basically I am talking about how transparent the government is to the public it governs.
Again, the article isn’t about what “modern governments” do, it is about what the U.S. government does, in particular, especially in the context of the cornball Rooski-gate so-called “scandal.” What is scandalous is the fabrication of this fake hunk of history by the Deep State to cover for their gal, Hillary, losing the election to someone who’s only potential “saving grace” was detente with Russia, that possibility now rapidly fading in his rearview mirror–OUR rearview mirror.
What I admire MOST is the 100% uniformity of Groupthink of the entire Western fakestream media in regurgitating the whole wretched farrago of lies, false assertions, innuendo and disinformation. What I find most revealing is that, on the rare occasions that a guest has not been vetted properly and goes ‘off reservation’, and utters a few facts, is that the reaction of the presstitutes is often more of fear rather than outrage. As if they felt threatened themselves, by association, in someone else’s Thought Crime.
Here is an article that details how both the USSR/Russia and the United States have meddled in a significant number of elections since the end of World War II:
http://viableopposition.blogspot.ca/2017/01/global-election-meddling-superpower.html
These actions have resulted in significant global geopolitical unrest.
Where does the article talk about USSR-Russia interference in elections since WWII?
You just have to BELIEVE, Jim.
A quote from the link provided by Sally.
“Rather than focussing on the more violent political interventions like those in Iran in 1953, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Chile in 1973, he looks at less obvious versions of non-violent partisan electoral intervention.”
Iran ’53, and Chile ’73, along with all the other ‘interventions’ by the US were sneaky, covert, subversive, insidious, and hypocritical. It took very talented and well trained operatives to manipulate those nations to tear themselves apart, while preserving the US’ reputation as champion of democracy.
On the other hand, Soviet interventions were serious interventions. Open, difficult to miss, if one did not know the USSR was intervening, they must have deaf, blind, and catatonic.
The two may seem evil, but at least one of them is a straight shooter, the other would pick your pocket and convince you it was a communist who took your wallet.
What everyone seems to miss here is that the US government accusing other governments of doing things it is guilty of itself is not a case of irony, as Robert puts it, nor is it hypocrisy, as most of us outside of the Washingto bubble se it, but rather a classic case of projection. Projection is a classic attribute of a right-wing authoritarian mindset. Google authoritarian projection and read any of the pages that Google pulls up for a thorough explanation of this personality attribute. The reason we need to be cognizant of this attribute is that if we really want to find the corruption coming out of Washington we need to know where to look. I have found that by searching for behavior that the neos (both liberal and conservative) in Washington complain about in others that I can discover the bad behavior in the neos every time. Saves me a lot of effort searching for their dirty laundry. Robert has done his usual admirable job of detailing how Washington has corrupted elections all over the world, but given the current whining about Russia corrupting our elections we should EXPECT to find this sort of behavior from Washington rather than being surprised by it. As has been thoroughly demonstrated on this site we have hacked Russia’s elections (particularly in 1992), but Russia has not hacked ours. THEREFORE we should expect Washington to accuse Russia of what they themselves are guilty of. Another example is voter fraud. Republicans are always accusing Democrats of this, but to my knowledge the only proven examples of voter fraud have involved Republicans. Expect this to change as Democrats become more and more authoritarian.
John,
Great comment!
You hit that nail square on the head. Every time I heard Samantha Powers speaking at the UNSC accusing other nations, it seemed to me she was describing Washington exactly every time. Now they got that new mouthpiece Haley, describing Washington at the UNSC.
http://davidswanson.org/warlist/?link_id=3&can_id=ed31bf4cbc8f991980718b21b49ca26d&source=email-how-outlawing-war-changed-the-world-in-1928-2&email_referrer=email_232560&email_subject=how-outlawing-war-changed-the-world-in-1928