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BUSH'S MELTDOWN AND THE US DEFEAT IN IRAQ He's on the floor, but can the Democrats Save Him? They're sure trying. Scorching reports on the "new jobs" myth and the end of America's housing bubble. Savage dissection of Council on Foreign Relation's Plan to "Contain" AIDS and Throw Money at the Drug Companies. Why the Military-Industrial Complex Wants U.S. Out of Iraq. What the US Press Missed about the War. Get the facts you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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December 16, 2005 Saul Landau December 15, 2005 Oren Ben-Dor Stan Cox Joshua Frank Ben Terrall Patrick Cockburn Monica Benderman Walter A. Davis Vijay Prashad Website of
the Day
Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig
Roberts Lawrence R. Velvel Wayne Garcia John Sugg Gary Leupp Ray McGovern Alan Maass April Hurley, MD Kevin Alexander
Gray
December 13, 2005 Stephen T.
Banko, III Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen Karl Grossman Niranjan Ramakrishnan Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Michael G.
Smith Stew Albert Bob Dylan Phil Gasper Website of
the Day
December 12, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Lawrence R.
Velvel Jessica Stewart George Bisharat Nate Mezmer Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Alison Weir Seth Sandronsky Patrick Cockburn Website of
the Day
Alexander Cockburn Landau / Hassen Ralph Nader Linn Washington, Jr Bill Christison Mike Ferner Elizabeth Schulte Neve Gordon / Yigal Bronner Linda S. Heard Ingmar Lee Ray McGovern John Chuckman John Ryan Dick J. Reavis Christopher
Brauchli Behzad Yaghmaian Aseem Shrivastava John Ross Ben Tripp St. Clair / Pollack / Vest
/ Despair Poets' Basement Website of the Week
December 9, 2005 Linn Washington,
Jr. Dave Zirin
/ Mike Stark Patrick Cockburn Alexander Cockburn Lila Rajiva Gary Leupp Jason Leopold Bruce K. Gagnon Andrew Cockburn Website of the Day
December 8, 2005 Kathy Kelly James Petras William S.
Lind Laura Carlsen Justin Akers Thomas Graham, Jr Norman Solomon Tariq Ali /
Robin Blackburn Website of
the Day
December 7, 2005 John Ryan Gary Leupp Fran Quigley Jeremy Brecher
/ Brendan Smith Joshua Frank William W.
Morgan Dave Lindorff Patrick Cockburn Harold Pinter Website of
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December 6, 2005 Ron Jacobs Patrick Cockburn Yifat Susskind Mike Whitney Pat Williams Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
December 5, 2005 John Walsh Brian Cloughley Mokhiber /
Weissman Robert Jensen Norman Solomon Peter Rost, MD Lila Rajiva Website of the Day
Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Rev. William Alberts Saul Landau Ralph Nader Paul Craig
Roberts Mike Whitney Allan Lichtman Dave Lindorff Brian Concannon,
Jr. Fred Gardner Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Carol Wolman St. Clair /
Vest / Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
December 2, 2005 Stan Goff Mike Ferner Christopher Brauchli Niranjan Ramakrishnan Manuel Talens Peter Phillips J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. Website of
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December 1, 2005 John Walsh,
MD Ron Jacobs Jenna Orkin Joshua Frank Tiffany Ten
Eyck Missy Comley Beattie Eli Stephens Elaine Cassel Website of
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November 30, 2005 Allen / D'Amato Mike Whitney Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Stephen Soldz
November 29, 2005 Phil Gasper Behzad Yaghmaian Joshua Frank Walter A. Davis Gary Leupp Len Colodny Jeffrey St.
Clair Bill Quigley Website of
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November 28, 2005 Chris Reed David Isenberg Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Justin E.H. Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney David Swanson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
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November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley John Ross Gary Leupp Fred Gardner Christopher Brauchli Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Timothy J.
Freeman Lila Rajiva Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Joaquin Bustelo Lewis Alper Will Youmans Phyllis Pollack St. Clair /
Vest Barbara LaMorticella Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
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November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
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November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
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November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
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November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
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November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
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November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
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December 16, 2005 The Good Neighbor Policy and Other Political AmusementsBolivian Democracy and the US: a History LessonBy SAUL LANDAU Shapiro combined buzz words with clichés. "The nature and scope of our cooperation with the next Bolivian government will depend on our shared interests: strengthening democracy, fostering economic development and combating illegal narcotics, along with that government's commitment to its international obligations." These trite but coded phrases tell the next Bolivian government: do Washington's bidding, or get your butt kicked. Shapiro may think that phrases like "shared interests" and "democracy" Shapiro turn him into a literary magician: "Presto, the coin (history) has vanished." Such routine pronouncements on US-Latin America policy presume that a policy exists, something beyond Washington demanding Latin American obedience to its dictates, so that US companies can continue their looting. Throughout, the last century, the United States has provided different labels for its domination. By the early 20th Century, the Monroe Doctrine took the form of "Gunboat Diplomacy." The Navy would routinely intervene to protect US investments and ensure "stable"--read obedient -- governments. In the early 20th Century, Theodore Roosevelt invented "Dollar Diplomacy," Gunboat's twin sister. "Diplomacy" became a euphemism for encouraging corporate investment in Lat America and then defining those loans or investments in bananas and minerals to define U.S. interests in the region. To make sure dollars flowed to corporate accounts, the Navy intervened when local political turmoil (independence and revolutionary movements) arose. US forces collected customs revenues and sent them to US banks. So, when students read a State Department document that states that US forces occupied Panama from 1903 to 1914 "to guard American interests," they will understand the context. In 1904, US forces protected "American interestsduring revolutionary fighting" in the Dominican Republic as they did in Cuba 1906-9, Honduras in 1907, 1910, 1911 and 1912, Nicaragua in 1910 and Cuba again in 1912. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson relabeled intervention as "The Good Neighbor Policy." Between 1913 and 1920, while strongly advocating non-intervention as an inviolable principle of international law, Wilson ordered US troops to occupy Haiti and Nicaragua and intervene in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico. In the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt laid out the red carpet for called Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza because he was "our son of a bitch." Good neighborliness gave way to Cold War anti-Communism, which Eisenhower used as a pretext to have the CIA dislodge freely elected President Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala (1954) -- at the insistence of the United Fruit Company, whose non-productive lands Arbenz had disobediently nationalized. The 1959 Cuban Revolution pushed US officials to offer a policy that recognized the development gap between the United States and its southern neighbors. In 1961, John Kennedy announced an "Alliance for Progress" to develop Latin American infrastructure, build democracy and thus win the hearts and minds from the lure of Castroism. Ironically, at a 1959 OAS meeting in Argentina, Castro himself had suggested that if the US cared about Latin America it would invest in its infrastructure. Secretary of State Christian Herter thought he could turn this notion against Castro, but Eisenhower lacked the energy to follow up. Kennedy possessed lots of verbal panache, however. But the US military remained unconvinced. So countered his own progressive proposal with its opposite: a counter insurgency program. The Latin American police and military got far more money than went into the Alliance. By the mid 1970s, US backed repressive forces had obliterated the Alliance. Dictators and death squads ruled in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia (on and off), Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru (on and off), Ecuador (on and off), Colombia (on and off) and in most of Central America. Did Shapiro forget these events? Did he believe his benign-sounding phrases, and think they would fool Latin Americans familiar with their history? Indeed, Latin Americans know well that revolutions or disobedience bring about invasion or the CIA's covert action squad. By the late 1970s and into the 1980s, to make more effective anti Soviet propaganda, US officials added democracy and human rights to belligerent Cold War rhetoric. Although the United States had recently helped oust democratically elected governments in Brazil (1964) and Chile (1973), they pretended that a new era had arrived. Reagan spent hundreds of millions on El Salvador's murderous military while simultaneously supporting continuous elections, which Washington equated with democracy -- as if voting could neutralize the death squads. Washington's words don't match deeds. Shapiro's "fostering economic development," must remind Bolivians about the 1999 Bechtel purchase of the Cochabamba water supply. Shockingly, Bechtel raised the price of water until Bolivians forced their government to re-claim its own water and lower the price. Shapiro also insists on continuing the drug war. Does he expect drugs to surrender? The drug war has meant the ecological destruction of entire regions, and the militarizing of large areas of Colombia -- and the US insistence that neighboring countries follow the same destructive path. Finally, to demand that Bolivia commit to its international obligations after Bush launched an aggressive war against Iraq in contravention of all international law, sounds like a mafia don insisting that his lesser rivals denounce crime. Shapiro's platitudes illustrate Washington's bind--or blind. Washington doesn't get it, or doesn't care. In November, Bush humiliated himself at the Hemispheric Mar del Plata, Argentina meeting by insisting on the failed free trade formula that destroyed the Argentine economy. Instead of analyzing its failure, the White House pointed accusatory fingers at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who denounced free trade and called for a cooperative development plan. Stuck with its own free election language (Chavez has won three free and fair elections since 1998), State Department officials leaked to the crony press rumors that Chavez would fix Venezuela's December congressional elections, that Chavez had censored the local press and refused to respect human rights. After the Miami Herald new York Times and other major media published these accusations as news stories--relying heavily on anti-Chavez "independent analysts" as their sources -- official Washington confirmed them, in a louder voice. (Justin Delacour, Counterpunch, June 1, 2005) In fact, Chavez's opponents own much of Venezuela's mass media. Because the United States screamed about Chavez' unfairness, OAS and Carter Center monitors inspected the December elections and declared them free and fair. On human right, Chavez has expanded education and medical care for Venezuela's poor, reforms that have won near universal praise. To label Chavez as a dictator both defies facts and flies in the face of his popular appeal. Yet, Thomas A. Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, still defines Chavez as "a threat to regional stability," because he makes coherent anti-free trade arguments, offers a socialist vision and his close association with Fidel Castro. They see Chavez as one more disobedient figure, even daring to buy weapons from Spain defying the Monroe Doctrine?--and encouraging socialist movements, like the one headed by Evo Morales, in Bolivia. In the old days, gunboats and marines or the CIA would intervene. The rest of the puppet presidents would say nothing. Today, however, Chavez enjoys support, not only from Venezuela's majority, but from the Presidents of Argentina and Brazil. Washington backs Chavez's rich and unruly opponents, using the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to finance anti-Chavez NGOs like Sumate, whose leaders worked with Washington to back the futile military coup in 2002 and to boycott the December elections, which made them look like silly sore losers. The OAS monitors called the election clean. This further lowers Bush's already diving reputation. Chavez makes fun of US leaders, while delivering reduced cost heating oil to the US poor, which Bush has not done. As Bush rewinds his own tape on Iraq, and repeats tired free trade phrases to Latin Americans, Chavez gains ground. Pro-US Presidents, like Peru's Alejandro Toledo show declining poll numbers. The former US backed president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada, had to flee from office because of his disastrous free-trade policies. Evo Morales, on the other hand, enjoys high popularity ratings. Morales called Bush's Free Trade Area of the Americas "an agreement to legalize the colonization of the Americas." He also condemned Washington's drug war as a pretext to grab Bolivia's vast gas reserves. A Morales victory will fill the growing ranks of left-of-center Latin American leaders who see their priorities as addressing social needs: education, health care, and land reform. In the face of dire Latin American poverty, worsened by US policies, Shapiro and Shannon simply repeat imperial banalities. It's as if history grips their minds in an idiotic vise and condemns the United States to continue playing an outworn imperial role on a new world stage. Saul Landau is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies.
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.               |
