Rogue State America
Under Obama, America more than ever is a global menace.
Oxford Dictionaries call rogue states "nation(s) or state(s) regarded as breaking international law and posing a threat to the security of other nations." They're authoritarian or despotic and ruthless. They stop at nothing to achieve aims. They spurn human and civil rights. They possess weapons of mass destruction. They sponsor state terrorism.
William Blum's done some of the best research. His books include "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower." He documented how from 1945 through 2005, America tried or succeeded in toppling over 40 governments. It crushed dozens of popular movements. It slaughtered millions of people doing so. It condemned countless others to immiseration, agony and despair. According to Blum, US policies are "worse than you imagine." "If you flip over the rock of American foreign policy (throughout) the past century, this is what crawls out:"
"invasions, bombings, (subversion), overthrowing governments, suppressing (popular) movements for social change, assassinating political leaders, perverting elections, manipulating labor unions, manufacturing 'news,' death squads, torture, (chemical), biological (and nuclear) warfare, (radiological contamination), drug trafficking, mercenaries," police state repression, and war on humanity writ large. "It’s not a pretty picture," said Blum. "It is enough to give imperialism a bad name."
Bullies make more enemies than friends. America's the unchallenged world champion. It intimidates, threatens, and otherwise pressures other nations to comply with its will. Obey or else... is policy. It's waging longstanding war on humanity. It risks mass annihilation. It doesn't matter. Unchallenged global dominance alone counts. Rogue states operate that way. America's by far the worst. It targets independent governments. It wants pro-Western puppet regimes replacing them. It wants control of the world's resources. It wants ordinary people exploited as serfs. It mocks democratic values. It spurns rule of law principles. It enforces its will through the barrel of a gun.
It does so in other nefarious ways. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was en route to China. He was forced to fly an alternative route. Obama denied him permission to overfly Puerto Rican airspace. The island state's a longtime US colony. Puerto Ricans are denied independence. Since 1898, America controlled their lives. In 1981, Puerto Rican Independentistas convicted of "seditious conspiracy" said the following:
"Our position remains clear: Puerto Rico is a nation intervened, militarily conquered and colonized by the United States." We are prisoners of war captured by the enemy. Our actions have always been and continue to be in the nature of fighting a war of independence, a war of national liberation." "The US interventionist government has absolutely no right, no say so whatsoever in regards to Puerto Rico, ourselves, or any Puerto Rican prisoner of war." "The US interventionist government has only one choice....and that is to GET OUT!" "It is our right to regain and secure our national sovereignty. Nothing will stand in the way of achieving our goal."
Their struggle continues. Even foreign leaders are affected. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua denounced what he called "an act of aggression." "We have received information from American officials that we have been denied travel over its airspace," he said.
“We denounce this as yet another aggression on the part of North American imperialism against the government of the Bolivarian Republic." "No one can deny airspace to a plane carrying a president on an international state visit."
"(N)o valid argument" permits preventing legitimate travel through American airspace. Rogue states make their own rules. Maduro scheduled weekend talks in Beijing.
On April 14, Venezuelans elected him president. He won fair and square. Jimmy Carter calls Venezuela's electoral process the world's best. Obama hasn't recognized Maduro's legitimacy. It doesn't surprise. He treats real democratic leaders with derision. He targets them for removal. Destabilizing Venezuela is longstanding US policy.
Hugo Chávez experienced the worst of it. Throughout his tenure, he was America's main hemispheric bête noire. He represented the threat of a good example. He's gone. Chavismo lives. Washington's war on Venezuela continues.
It's the oil, stupid. Venezuela has the world's largest reserves. It's also for unchallenged global dominance. No holds barred tactics persist to achieve it. America's Caracas embassy is a hotbed of anti-Chavismo subversion. CIA operatives infest it. Neither country has ambassadorial-level relations. Denying Maduro Puerto Rican air space rights won't help things.
It followed earlier hostile US acts. In July, Maduro called Obama's UN envoy nominee Samantha Power's comments "despicable." During Senate Foreign Relations Committee testimony, she discussed what she called a "crackdown on civil society being carried out in countries like Cuba, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela."
"Power says she'll fight repression in Venezuela?" asked Maduro. "What repression?" "There is repression in the United States, where they kill African-Americans with impunity, and where they hunt the youngster Edward Snowden just for telling the truth." "And the US government says they want to have good relations? What tremendous relations do they want?"
Maduro demanded an apology. It didn't follow.
Obama answered his way. Rogue state bullying is longstanding US policy. Obama exceeds the worst of his predecessors. He governs by diktat. He heads America's Murder, Inc. agenda. He prioritizes targeted assassinations worldwide. He authorized killing US citizens abroad. He pronounces guilt by accusation. He deployed special forces death squads globally. They operate covertly in 120 or more countries.
He runs the world's largest gulag. It operates at home and abroad. Thousands of political prisoners languish inside. Guantanamo's the tip of the iceberg. Supermax prisons are its domestic equivalent. Brutalizing longterm isolation turns ordinary inmates into zombies. Obama claims a divine right to detain anyone indefinitely. He does so uncharged and untried. He does it for any reason or none at all. Rogue leaders operate that way. Obama's by far the worst. Laws are made to be obeyed. Obama spurns them. He does so with impunity. He targets anyone challenging US imperial power.
In July, he got France, Spain and Portugal to deny Evo Morales air space rights. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said doing so "put at risk the life of the president." Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia said Morales was "kidnapped by imperialism." He blamed EU complicity with Washington. Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra added:
"This is a hostile act by the United States State Department which has used various European governments."
Morales was returning home from Moscow. He attended a Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). Washington suspected he had Edward Snowden aboard. Morales said he's "ready to give political asylum to people who expose spying activities. If we receive a request, we are willing to consider it." He hasn't changed his mind.
On September 20, Press TV headlined "Bolivia plans legal action against Obama over 'crimes against humanity.' " He's doing so after denying Maduro air space rights. At a Santa Cruz press conference, he said:
"I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity." "The US cannot be allowed to continue with its policy of intimidation and blockading presidential flights."
In solidarity with Venezuela, he's suing in the International Criminal Court (ICC). He called an emergency Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) meeting. Discussion will focus on what Venezuela calls "an act of intimidation by North American imperialism." Morales called on CELAC members to recall their Washington ambassadors. He urged Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas member states to boycott the upcoming UN meeting.
Maduro raised another issue. Washington set conditions on granting Venezuelan General Wilmer Barrientos visa permission to attend next week's General Assembly session.
"They want to put conditions, if we decide to go to New York. They don't want to give a visa to my minister," said Maduro. He told Foreign Minister Elias Jaua to "activate all mechanisms" regarding the visa dispute. "US, you are not the UN's owner. The UN will have to move out of New York," Maduro added. He warned he's prepared to take "the most drastic measures necessary" to ensure Venezuelan sovereignty. "Do we want to go as tourists? We're going to the United Nations. You're obligated to give visas to all the delegation," he stressed.
Note: Late word suggests Washington rescinded its Puerto Rican air space denial. According to State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, Venezuela improperly requested permission. Saying so doesn't wash. She claimed Caracas gave one day's notice. Three are required, she said.
"Additionally, the plane in question was not a state aircraft, which is required for a diplomatic clearance," she added. "Although the request was not properly submitted, US authorities worked with Venezuelan officials at the Venezuelan Embassy to resolve the issue." "US authorities made an extraordinary effort to work with relevant authorities to grant overflight approval in a matter of hours."
These type 11th hour comments ring hollow. Denying a head of state air passage rights lacks legitimacy. It does so under virtually all circumstances.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has her own bone to pick. Documents Snowden revealed show NSA spies on her lawlessly. It monitors her phone calls, emails, and cell phone messages relating to key advisors. In response, she denounced what she called "impermissible and unacceptable." She cancelled a planned state visit.
State owned Petrobras (PBR) is also targeted. At stake is giving big US oil giants a competitive advantage. According to the Financial Times, PBR intends spending $9.5 billion in the next five years for improved security. President Maria das Graças Silva Foster announced it, saying:
"This is a policy that is so important it has been personally approved by the board of directors." "The management of our goods, people, information and the wealth we create is of crucial importance."
At stake is much more than security. Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo said Brazil intends requiring all data exchanges based in Brazil to include locally produced equipment. Doing so will adversely impact major US suppliers. Online companies Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others are affected. New mandates require internal servers for all data involving Brazilians. Its privacy laws will have to be obeyed.
In mid-September, Brazil and Argentina approved a broader military cooperation agreement. It calls for improved cyber defense capabilities. It does so after Snowden's revelations.
Under Obama, America more than ever is a global menace. Imperial madness threatens world peace. Out-of-control US policy is arrogant, misguided, and destructive. It combines state terror with war on humanity. It does so despite no enemies. It invents them out of whole cloth. It pursues unchallenged global dominance. It bears repeating. It risks WW III. It risks mass annihilation. It risks what no responsible leader should dare. Rogue states operate that way. America's by far the worst.
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He has devoted his time and efforts to progressive causes and organizations, all involved in working for a more humane and just world for all people everywhere, but especially for the most needy, disadvantaged and oppressed. His efforts since summer 2005 have included writing on a broad range of vital topics ranging from war and peace; social, economic and political equity for all; and justice for all the oppressed peoples of the world like the long-suffering people of Haiti and the Palestinians. He also co-hosts The Global Research News Hour, gives occasional public talks, and appears frequently on radio and at times television. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. Also visit his blog and listen to The Lendman News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday - Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national issues. All programs are archived for easy listening. His new book "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War" can be ordered HERE. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
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