Call Off The Pentagon Dogs

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July 25, 2010 — Dean Henderson

I’ve traveled to 50 countries in the past 20 years, many of them on numerous occasions. Never has an American President been so loved abroad as Barrack Obama.

A big part of this sentiment is tied to the good riddance of Bush the Lesser, who was considered a laughingstock, a Nazi or both in most quarters. What really rubbed people wrong was that we re-elected him. How stupid could we be? Fair question.

All of this international goodwill is about to go up in smoke if the President doesn’t call off the US military dogs. An aircraft carrier looms off the Korean peninsula. Great idea! Let’s provoke the crazy North Koreans? And for what? US bases should be pulled from South Korea and Japan. Folks can take care of themselves.

In the Straits of Hormuz, the US Navy is threatening Iran. Brilliant! And for what? British Petulance (BP)? The queen of Holland? Rothschilds Inc? No problem, we’ll just shut down a few more schools to cover that.

It’s a pretty basic concept. People don’t like it when a foreign military occupies their country. Neither would you. This is why both Iraqi and Afghani governments will indeed fail as soon as the US military withdraws. And they should fail. Both Malaki and Karzai are puppets of the global oligarchy. Karzai used to work for Unocal, now part of Chevron. Malaki is a millionaire slumlord of equally impressive moral suasion.

You will never win a war that puts you on the wrong side of history. It’s not about military tactics. It’s about political strategy. Political truism: If you prop up thugs the people will hate you. And they do.

In his diplomacy with the Big Powers, Obama has done a nice job re-establishing relations with the Russians, who should be natural US allies despite all manner of historical subterfuge. He has also been wise to stand up to the Chinese, something no American president since Truman has done.

But in his dealings with the Third World Obama has been less stellar. His own CIA helped orchestrate the 2009 Honduran coup, where democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by billionaire United Fruit-affiliated right-wing despots. Wrong side of history.

Obama has rubbed shoulders with a Columbian regime whose human rights record is among the worst on the planet. Meanwhile he has treated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismally. Yesterday Chavez cut ties with Columbia after they accused him of harboring FARC and ELN rebels. Wrong side of history.

In Africa, Obama has stood aside while allowing Chinese economic diplomacy to prevail. In SE Asia, Obama should have condemned the Thai governments’ recent crackdown on “Red Shirt” protesters, which resulted in over 100 deaths in Bangkok. In South Asia, we promise more aid to Pakistan, despite its support of the Taliban and other anti-American crazies. Wrong side of history.

As the US debt approaches $14 trillion, it is time to call off the Pentagon dogs, shut down a whole bunch of overseas bases and deal with the rest of the planet as equals. Empires perish. Bullies get their clocks cleaned. If Obama wants to remain popular abroad, he should slash the 2011 Pentagon budget. If he announces big cuts soon, the Democrats might even retain majorities in the mid-terms. Americans aren’t as stupid as the Israeli/Saudi-owned Fox News would have you believe.

http://deanhenderson.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/call-off-the-pentagon-dogs/#more-714

About the author:
Dean Henderson was born in Faulkton, South Dakota. He earned an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, where he edited The Missoula Paper and was a columnist for the Montana Kaimin. His articles have appeared in Multinational Monitor, In These Times, Paranoia and several other magazines.

A life long political activist and traveler to fifty countries, Henderson co-founded of the University of Montana Green Party and the Ozark Heritage Region Peace and Justice Network. He is former Vice-President of the Central Ozarks Farmer’s Union and former President of the Howell County Democrats.

In 2004 he won the Democratic nomination for Congress in Missouri’s 8th District.

Dean’s Books Available in print and e-book formats:

Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf…
https://www.createspace.com/3476183
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DeanHenderson

The Grateful Unrich: Revolution in 50 Countries
www.createspace.com/3477016
www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DeanHenderson

Dean Henderson is the author of Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf: Four Horsemen, Eight Families & Their Global Intelligence, Narcotics & Terror Network and The Grateful Unrich: Revolution in 50 Countries.

His Left Hook blog is at http://deanhenderson.wordpress.com/category/left-hook-columns/
Dean Henderson is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Dean Henderson: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=listByAuthor&authorFirst=Dean&authorName=Henderson