George Bush Sr. in Hopes and Prospects
On Drugs:
At end of Cold War, re-declared War on Drugs
The end of the Cold War brought some changes, but more in pretexts and tactics in principle. The "war on drugs" was redeclared by Bush with a huge government-media propaganda campaign just in time to provide a pretext for the invasion of Panama to kidnap
a thug who was convicted in Florida for crimes mostly committed when he was in CIA payroll--incidentally killing unknown numbers of poor people in the bombarded slums, thousands according to Panamanian human rights investigators, but there was no
US inquiry: "We don't do body counts," as explained by General Tommy Franks, the conqueror of Iraq. The "war on drugs" also had an important domestic component. Much like the "war on crime," it served to frighten the population into obedience.
The alleged threat was later transmuted from Drugsto narcoterrorism, exploiting opportunities offered by 9/11. By the end of the millennium, total US military and police assistance in the hemisphere already exceeded economic and social aid.
Source: Hopes and Prospects, by Noam Chomsky, p. 56-57
Jun 1, 2010
On War & Peace:
April 1990: sent Congressional delegation to reassure Saddam
Washington's strong support for Saddam Hussein thought the period of his worst atrocities in the 1980s, when he was so admired in Washington that his most shocking crimes--the murderous slaughter of Kurds--were denied by the Reagan administration and
congressional protests were blocked. The excuse offered is that Iran was more dangerous, but apart from the cynicism, such apologetics cannot be taken seriously. Well after Iraq's war with Iran, the US continued to support Saddam, even to expedite his
development of weapons of mass destruction.In 1990, Pres. Bush I even sent a high-level congressional delegation, led by Sen. Bob Dole, to convey his personal greetings to his good friend and to assure him that he should disregard criticisms by "the
haughty and pampered press," who are out of control.
A few months later Saddam defied or misunderstood orders, and shifted from admired friend to the embodiment of evil. All such matters have been consigned to the usual repository of unwelcome fact.
Source: Hopes and Prospects, by Noam Chomsky, p.127-128
Jun 1, 2010
On War & Peace:
2007: Panama declared Day of Mourning about 1989 US invasion
In December 2007, Panama declared a Day of Mourning to commemorate the US invasion of 1989, which killed thousands of poor people, so Panamanian human rights groups concluded, when Bush I bombed the El Chorillo slums and other civilian targets.
The Day of Mourning of the unpeople scarcely merited a flicker of an eyelid here. It is also of no interest that Bush's invasion of Panama, another textbook example of aggression, appears to have been more deadly that Saddam's invasion of
Kuwait a few months later. Similarly unworthy of note is the fact that Washington's greatest fear was that Saddam would imitate its behavior in
Panama, installing a client government and then leaving, the main reason Washington blocked diplomacy with almost complete media cooperation.
Source: Hopes and Prospects, by Noam Chomsky, p.134
Jun 1, 2010
Page last updated: Jul 19, 2011