Anyway, back to the real war, and the clear-cut lines between good and bad, how we forget and forgive and how even when we know we were fooled, spoon fed lies on who did what and when, we shrug and fall for the same lies again and again (see WMD Iraq).
Harold Pinter in his acceptance speech for his Nobel prize didn’t make himself a friend of the US, and Americans I urge you to read it.
After explaining the history and dismemberment of the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, a democratically elected response to the 4 decades of US backed dictatorship, he said.
“The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can never be forgiven.
Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy. But you wouldn’t know it.
It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.”
These nonevents eventually are looked back on as aberrations, with sideways glances and a rationalization that it was the past, that this is different, we have no choice.
As I write this I know there will be a counter about Putin, fuck Putin, roast him in hot oil, but please make the pot big enough to fit in all the culprits.
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2005/pinter/25621-harold-pinter-nobel-lecture-2005/
Has it occurred to you that many of us know our sins all too well. And that we see Ukraine as a way to regain some measure of honor?
I would be shocked if you personally didn't know about the past, but it doesn't seem to be that wide spread amongst your compatriots to be honest.
As for the honour, how is that regained if you are doing the same thing all over again?
Colour me a cynic on this, the dollar is up the Euro down and likely to stay down as it's Europe that is bearing the brunt of the pain as far as fuel shortages and migrations are concerned.
The US has at least 20 federal lawmakers or their spouses holding stock in Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin, which manufacture the weapons, according to an Insider analysis of federal financial records.
Apparently Marjorie Taylor Greene, bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Lockheed Martin shares on February 22, that's two days before Russia invaded, all shares in the defence manufacturing are (not) surprisingly up, and the two mentioned above spent over $15million and 14$million respectively on federal lobbying in 2021 alone.
On top of this the billions in debt owed primarily to the US, the IMF and the world bank, much of the US money was sent through the other two institutions and as we (UK) found any help comes with a raft of neo-liberal restructuring measures, with demands for reforms in pensions, the energy sector, agriculture, state employment, privatisation and political governance, they have already forced through the substantial privatisation and marketisation of Ukrainian energy assets.
If these three strike the debt off without the imposition of what are broadly US policies then please call on me to retract and apologise.