The United States and the Russian Devil: 1917-2017

Written on March 10th, 2017 in politics Comments Off

… the Anti-Empire Report #149 – Published on Dissident Voice, by William Blum, March 7, 2017.

… Ah yes, the infamous KGB. Can anything good be said about a person associated with such an organization? We wouldn’t like it if a US president had a background with anything like that. Oh, wait, a president of the United States was not merely a CIA “colonel”, but was the Director of the CIA! I, of course, speak of George Herbert Walker Bush. And as far as butchery and thuggery … How many Americans remember the December 1989 bombing and invasion of the people of Panama carried out by the same Mr. Bush? Many thousands killed or wounded; thousands more left homeless … //

… The communist form began, of course, with the October 1917 Russian Revolution. By the summer of 1918 some 13,000 American troops could be found in the newly-born state, the future Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Two years and thousands of casualties later, the American troops left, having failed in their mission to “strangle at its birth” the Bolshevik state, as Winston Churchill so charmingly put it.4

US foreign policy has not been much more noble-minded since then. I think, dear students, it’s time for me to once again present my concise historical summary:

Since the end of World War 2, the United States has:

  • Attempted to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically-elected.
  • Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.
  • Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.
  • Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries.
  • Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.5
  • Though not as easy to quantify, has also led the world in torture; not only the torture performed directly by Americans upon foreigners, but providing torture equipment, torture manuals, lists of people to be tortured, and in-person guidance by American instructors.6

Where does the United States get the nerve to moralize about Russia? Same place they get the nerve to label Putin a “killer” … a “butcher” … a “thug”. It would be difficult to name a world-renowned killer, butcher, or thug – not to mention dictator, mass murderer, or torturer – of the past 75 years who was not a close ally of Washington.

So why then does the American power elite hate Putin so? It can be dated back to the period of Boris Yeltsin.

During the Western financial looting of the dying Soviet Union the US could be found meddling in favor of Yeltsin in the election held in 1996. Under Yeltsin’s reign, poverty exploded and life expectancy for men actually decreased by five years, all in the name of “shock therapy.” The US/Western-backed destabilization of the Soviet Union allowed global capitalism to spread its misery unfettered by any inconvenient socialism. Russia came under the control of oligarchs concerned only for their own enrichment and that of their billionaire partners in the West. The transition of power to Vladimir Putin in the 21st century led to a number of reforms that curbed the disastrous looting of the nation by the oligarchic bandits. Putin and his allies vowed to build an independent, capitalist Russia that was capable of determining its own affairs free from US and Western domination. Such an orientation placed Putin in direct confrontation with US imperialism’s plans for unipolar global hegemony … //

… For the record: I don’t support the US fighting ISIS in Syria. I don’t trust the Pentagon’s motivation, or their choice of bombing targets. They’re probably still into regime change. I’d leave the job to Russia and its allies.

(full long text, notes).

(William Blum is the author of: Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2, Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower, West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir, Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire. He can be reached at: bblum6@aol.com. Read other articles by William, or visit William’s website).

Links:

Not exactly a bastion of truth, CIA hits back at Assange after WikiLeaks #Vault7 release, on RT, March 9, 2017;

Civilians in Iraq “Die by Mistake” as a Result of US Air Raids, Humanitarian Catastrophe in Mosul, on Global Research.ca, by Firas Samuri, March 9, 2017;

Deforestation and Industrial Pulpwood Plantations in Indonesia, Devastating Social and Environmental Impacts, on Global Research.ca, by Forest People’s Prgramme, March 9, 2017: Proposed Wood Source for APP’s Controversial OKI Mill Sparks Community Conflict and Protest;

Why Europe Fails to Learn, on ZNet (first on Le Monde Diplomatique), by Serge Halimi, March 9, 2017;

Inside the Mysterious GOP Crusade to Defund Planned Parenthood – For One Year, on Rewire, by Christine Grimaldi, March 7, 2017: Cutting off Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursements really means cutting off Medicaid recipients from Planned Parenthood, and for those patients, one year can mean a death sentence;

ABANDONNED HOUSES, uploaded by wideeyevideo:
Piano House – abandoned house on the eastern shore of Maryland/(US), 6.13 min, Dec 5, 2016;
NineBlock House – abandoned house on the eastern shore, 8.05 min, Feb 13, 2017;

… and this:

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