kenb@teklabs.UUCP (07/21/83)
I note that there has been much discussion on the net about the Christian foundations of the American state. Does anyone care to comment on current U.S. policy of genocide against practicing Christians and Christian leaders in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador ? Has anyone else on the net noticed that H. Kissinger has been appointed to a Presidential commission on long-term U.S. plans in Central America ? Given Kissinger's role in the violation of Cambodian neutrality in 1971 and in the systematic attacks on civil liberties by the Nixon White House, does this appointment bode well for peace and democracy in the Americas ? Also, is anyone interested in questions surrounding the constitutionality of the present undeclared U.S. war in Central America ?
kenb@teklabs.UUCP (07/22/83)
Recent developments in the Israeli role in military
innvolvement in Central America include the shipment of captured
PLO weapons to the counter-revolutionary CIA army in the
southern Honduras. This action has apparently smoothed
Begin-Reagan hard-feelings somewhat. The motivations
behind these shipments are obscure, especially since the
Reagan-Nicaraguan war is now overt. Anyone with an
explanation of what U.S. and Israeli military attaches
hope to achieve by this, please enlighten the net.
Israel has been a major arms supplier of
Guatemala and El Salvador, and played a similar
role before the Nicaraguan revolution by being one of the
last suppliers of armamnets to the Somozas during
their last days.
It should be pointed out that even the U.S. congress
has refused to supply arms to Guatemala.
This type of arms trade is highly questionable,
and may be antagonizing peasant and church coalitions
on the receiving end of the use of such arms.
- Ken Brown
teklabs!kenb hutch@dadla-b.UUCP (07/22/83)
Sorry to pick nits, but the US is not at war in Central America. We were never really "at war" in Vietnam, either, or things might have turned out somewhat differently. I see a strong resemblance between our government's actions in the wars in Central America, and those of Hitler during the Spanish Civil War. Weapons, "advisors", and economic aid is being given to the side which pretends to be "friends" and the majority of the people in the combat zone suffer. Of course, Hitler knew what he was doing, rather than just mucking around for the sake of mucking. Hutch
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (07/26/83)
From: kenb@teklabs.UUCP Does anyone care to comment on current U.S. policy of genocide against practicing Christians and Christian leaders in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador ? I don't know much about current U.S. policy, but I take strong exception to the abuse and demeaning of the word "genocide". The term is thrown about wildly whenever people want to describe a group that is somehow being oppressed. There are VERY FEW instances of genocide which can legitimately be called that. The destruction of European Jewry under the Nazis can be called genocide. So too, if one believes the Armenian version of history, can the Turkish massacre of Armenians, and probably events in Cambodia. Whatever the U.S. is doing in Central America, I hardly think it is actively murdering all the people who belong to a group simply because they belong to the group. Is the U.S. killing *all* Christians in Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador? Now maybe people think this belongs in net.nlang, but the misuse of language to conjure up inappropriate images is a political issue. Israel is a prime target, often being accused of "genocide" and causing a "holocaust" for actions in Lebanon which nowhere near approached those terms. Dave Sherman Toronto
ucbesvax.turner@ucbcad.UUCP (07/28/83)
#R:teklabs:-222400:ucbesvax:7500022:000:984
ucbesvax!turner Jul 21 21:40:00 1983
Offhand, I would say the answer is "no". I tried to prompt
discussion along these lines. Maybe I just intimidated people.
Henry the K is a good choice. It is quite clear just why he
was chosen: as he said himself, if the administration can't keep the
secret war a secret, it should be in the open. Kissinger should know
about keeping war a secret. He was the architect of the secret bombing
of Cambodia ("the Nixon doctrine in its purest form"), which proceeded
at a rate of about a Hiroshima per week for several months. Ah, those
were the days!
Kissinger runs a good show, side or otherwise. Now that the
executive limitations on war-waging have a judicial shadow cast over
them (which also seems to have gone unremarked in these pages), the
U.S. can use his unique brand of internecine slime.
Walk softly, Henry, but carry big honkin' cluster bombs. That'll
get 'em to the negotiating table by 1990. Peace with Honor, yeah.
Michael Turner
ucbvax!ucbesvax.turnerlarry@grkermit.UUCP (Larry Kolodney) (07/28/83)
The only appropriate way to refer to the esteemed new chairman of Reagan's central america commission is by the sobriquet applied to him by Robert Grossman: HENRY CHICKENKISSER -- Larry Kolodney #8 (Moving up) (USENET) decvax!genrad!grkermit!larry allegra!linus!genrad!grkermit!larry (ARPA) rms.g.lkk@mit-ai