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"We do not teach people to overthrow our US government, and the Bush Administration must not participate in the overthrow of other democratically-elected governments. The United States must stand firm in its support of democracy and not allow a nascent democracy like Haiti to fall victim to the Bush Administration's apparent policy of regime change."
Rep. Barbara Lee's comments are no less important for the current administration to take to heart.
Although the disintegrating relationship with Ecuador, Micheletti's U.S. backed coup in Honduras, the military buildup in Colombia & the increasingly intense U.S hostility toward Venezuela can be seen as simply the latest stage in American military & covert aggression in Central & South America, it would be a reckless mistake for American citizens to understand these cookie cutter coups & their related events as anything other than the Pentagon & war profiteers putting in place the pretexts for America's next invasion cum all out war.
As seductive & entertaining as the nation's bizarre shouting match with Republican fence posts over such vital issues as healthcare might be, members of the far right from both parties are up to their ears in actions that could easily & more than likely will lead to another blood bath.
* Note:In case it is unclear what a FOL is, an anonymous Pentagon source told a Miami Herald reporter that FOLs are "expandable warm facilities maintained with a limited U.S. military support presence and possibly prepositioned equipment," such as the Incirlik Airbase in Turkey and the Soto Cano Airbase in Honduras. Some call the FOLs clandestine bases with no documented officially recognized status. A glimpse of what might be in store for Colombia is Afghanistan, where roughly half of the soldiers fighting for the U.S. Government are mercenaries under contract.
Other types of foreign military bases are "Main operating bases," which have permanent personnel, strong infrastructure, and often family housing, such as the Kadena Airbase in Japan and the Ramstein Airbase in Germany. Another type is "cooperative security locations," which are sites with few or no permanent U.S. personnel, maintained by contractors, or mercenaries & made available by the host nation for occasional use by the U.S. military.
Bear in mind that according to the Defense Department's (DOD) annual "Base Structure Report" for fiscal year 2008, the Pentagon currently owns or rents 761 overseas bases in roughly 130 countries which includes 322,000 hectares of land with an inventory of weapons worth trillions of U.S. dollars. Others suggest there are at least 900 U.S. military facilities in 46 countries and territories, accommodating 190,000 U.S. troops and 115,000 civilian employees, all taken from "official" government figures. None of the above includes what the DOD calls "other sites," nor does it include the numerous unclassified, or "black," sites & temporary sites operated by the U.S. Government. In Central & South America, the DOD admits to 46 active bases in Colombia with 8 "other" sites. In Ecuador the U.S. has 27 active bases & 0 "other." In Peru, the Navy maintains an active Naval Medical Research Center in Lima. It might be interesting to tour that place.
We are now the most lethal military empire in history. As before, now & always it is a one way road to unimaginable horror & violence.
Sources & a bit more information:
Lost
History by Robert Perry
Secrecy & Privilege. By Robert Perry
Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing by Tim Shorrock,
"The Power to Construct International Security: On the Significance of Private Military Companies," by Anna Lleander, Millennium - Journal of International Studies
Senate Armed Services Committee
"Obama Latin America speech in Miami," Lynn Sweet
Joint Task Force Bravo, Southcom
