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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>They do seem to like a little balsamic vinegar in
the mix.</FONT></DIV>
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style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mkbrussel@comcast.net href="mailto:mkbrussel@comcast.net">Brussel
Morton K.</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=galliher@illinois.edu
href="mailto:galliher@illinois.edu">C. G. Estabrook</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=peace-discuss@anti-war.net
href="mailto:peace-discuss@anti-war.net">Peace Discuss</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, October 08, 2010 11:54
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Peace-discuss] Comment re.
"South of the Border"</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>The point is, it's not <I>only</I> oil. That's just one
ingredient.
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Oct 7, 2010, at 10:45 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<DIV text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff">I think it's a mistake to see this as
an opposition. For more that a century the goal of American foreign
policy - representing the desires of dominant domestic social groups -
has been the control of the world economy. "Manifest Destiny" didn't
stop at the edge of the Pacific. That's what caused the unpleasantness
with Japan 70+ years ago. <BR><BR>As the only undamaged major country to
emerge from WWII, the US could put its imperial desires into practice.
Control of energy was both a goal and a tactic.<BR><BR>George Kennan was the
head of the State Department policy planning staff in the late 1940s. In a
secret document in February 1948 (PPS23), he outlined the basic thinking of
US planners;<BR><BR>"We have about 50 percent of the world's wealth, but
only 6.3 percent of its population.... In this situation, we cannot fail to
be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is
to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this
position of disparity.... We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford
today the luxury of altruism and world-benefaction.... We should cease to
talk about vague and..., unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising
of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we
are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then
hampered by idealistic slogans, the better."<BR><BR>That was obviously the
situation in regard to the invasion of Iraq:<BR><BR>"The real reason for the
invasion, surely, is that Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the
world, very cheap to exploit, and lies right at the heart of the world's
major hydrocarbon resources, what the State Department 60 years ago
described as "a stupendous source of strategic power." The issue is not
access, but rather control (and for the energy corporations, profit).
Control over these resources gives the US "critical leverage" over
industrial rivals, to borrow Zbigniew Brezinski's phrase, echoing George
Kennan when he was a leading planner and recognized that such control would
give the US "veto power" over others. Dick Cheney observed that control over
energy resources provides "tools of intimidation or blackmail" -- when in
the hands of others, that is. We are too pure and noble for those
considerations to apply to us, so true believers declare -- or more
accurately, just presuppose, taking the point to be too obvious to
articulate." <BR><BR><BR>On 10/7/10 10:17 PM, John W. wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE
cite=mid:AANLkTimteToevDQJhxcWJWUbQwC-xKnvj9h7zjbVLRLw@mail.gmail.com
type="cite">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"
moz-do-not-send="true">mkbrussel@comcast.net</A>></SPAN> wrote:</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR>
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class=gmail_quote>
<DIV style="WORD-WRAP: break-word">From Bill Blum:
<DIV><A href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer86.html" target=_blank
moz-do-not-send="true">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
moz-do-not-send="true">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>Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30
countries.
<LI>Waged war/military action, either directly or in conjunction with
a proxy army, in some 30 countries.
<LI>Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.
<LI>Dropped bombs on the people of some 30 countries.
<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
moz-do-not-send="true">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>Peace-discuss
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