Blum is correct. Thanks for the perspective, Mort.<div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 9:13 PM, Brussel Morton K. <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mkbrussel@comcast.net">mkbrussel@comcast.net</a>></span> wrote:</div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">From Bill Blum:<div><a href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer86.html" target="_blank">http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer86.html</a></div>
<div><h2>The secret to understanding US foreign policy</h2><p>In one of his regular "Reflections" essays, Fidel Castro recently
discussed United States hostility towards Venezuela. "What they really
want is Venezuela's oil," wrote the Cuban leader. <sup><a href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer86.html#note-9" target="_blank">9</a></sup>
This is a commonly-held viewpoint within the international left. The
point is put forth, for example, in Oliver Stone's recent film "South of
the Border". I must, however, take exception.</p><p>In the post-World War Two period, in Latin America alone, the US has
had a similar hostile policy toward progressive governments and
movements in Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Grenada,
Dominican Republic, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Bolivia. What
these governments and movements all had in common was that they were/are
leftist; nothing to do with oil. For more than half a century
Washington has been trying to block the rise of any government in Latin
America that threatens to offer a viable alternative to the capitalist
model. Venezuela of course fits perfectly into that scenario; oil or no
oil. </p><p>This ideology was the essence of the Cold War all over the world.</p><p>The secret to understanding US foreign policy is that there is no
secret. Principally, one must come to the realization that the United
States strives to dominate the world. Once one understands that, much
of the apparent confusion, contradiction, and ambiguity surrounding
Washington's policies fades away. To express this striving for
dominance numerically, one can consider that since the end of World War
Two the United States has: </p>
<ul>
<li> Endeavored to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically-elected.</li>
<li>Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.</li>
<li>Waged war/military action, either directly or in conjunction with a proxy army, in some 30 countries.</li>
<li>Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.</li>
<li>Dropped bombs on the people of some 30 countries.</li>
<li>Suppressed dozens of populist/nationalist movements in every corner of the world. <sup><a href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer86.html#note-10" target="_blank">10</a></sup></li>
</ul><p>The United States institutional war machine has long been, and remains, on automatic pilot.</p></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br></div>