History is written by the victors. Let's edit that famous saying: History [is no longer] written by [just] the victors. The internet, social media, blogging, YouTube, and other tools have now made it easier for competing ideas and opinions about history to emerge. And to assure ourselves of credibility and of facts of this revolutionary revisionist history, research materials and sources are just a few clicks away.
The above video tells the story of the CIA's involvement in the installing of the Shah, a US-friendly dictator, and completely ignoring the sovereignty of the people of Iran at the time. And so the video posits: the "threat" of a nuclear weapon, Ahmadinejad's weird speeches in the UN, and the extremist theocratic regime in Iran right now, are all just blowback: the unintended consequences of US interventionist foreign policy and now being used as pretext for a US attack and occupation of Iran. And, again, the internet has given us tools to research and find out for ourselves if there is any credibility in the above video.
And no, I am not anti-American nor am I pro-extremism or theocratic regimes. My father always warns me to be careful of what I write about. It's really very sensitive to talk about foreign policy. It's not hard to be misinterpreted as someone who supports extremists with nuclear weapons or as a sympathizer with many of the loony ideas of Ahmadinejad. And sadly, it is easiest to be accused, when writing about these things, of antisemitism.
I remember in Ninoy's last speech in LA before his assassination, he even jokes about the Shah saying "doon sa Iran may tunay na Shah, natapos, e itong atin na-Shahan lamang" (he used the word "Shah-han" as a pun to imply that Marcos merely got lucky unlike the Shah's monarchicy) [watch video here].
Marcos and "The Beautiful One" chilling with Reagan
Speaking of Ninoy, it's so weird how, after the EDSA revolution, they made his wife Cory speak in front of the US congress to talk about how we peacefully toppled tyranny, when in fact Marcos was one of the closest dictator friends of the US government. That's how it's always been: they go to war with dictators who don't agree with them and give "foreign aid" to those who agree with them. Similarly, Ron Paul has a good take on this issue as he talks about how the US government propped up the dictatorship of Mubarak:
Ron Paul talks about US involvement in Mubarak's regime
This November, regardless if Obama or Romney wins, these kinds of foreign policies will continue. Once again, as in a previous blog post of mine, I give the cliche beauty contest answer of merely hoping for a free and peaceful world but each day it becomes harder and harder to remain hopeful.
if you liked this post then you might also like:
1.
On the Top Gear Middle East Episode
2.
Libya Civil War
3.
The Hunger Games -- the Fiction and the Reality
Posts
Leave a Comment