Americans, especially American politicians love to bask in our alleged role in the post-WWII era as the global force for good spreading Democracy and progress around the world. We bring stability and justice wherever we go. We spend a lot to maintain our presence in virtually every nook and cranny, all to promote our universal values.
The real history and present are quite different.
Here are some data points gathered from:
American-Backed Coups, Mapped
(https://youtu.be/_wIOqHSsV9c?si=xFAcmLo-r34enrLu) (29 minutes)
Harris only discusses coups that fulfill the following qualifications:
- Successful coup
- Direct US government officials’ involvement
- Evidence to back this up
The video is well done and includes a list of references, so you know where the information is coming from.
The Coups
1893 – Overthrow the Queen of Hawaii – install Sanford B. Dole as governor (yes, Dole pineapples)
1898 – Spanish-American War – install government in Cuba, takeover Puerto Rico, annex Guam and the Philippines
1909 – Nicaragua – replace President Zelaya
1911 – Honduras – US banana industry forces out President Davila while US government steps in to declare a cease-fire
1953 – Iran – CIA overthrows democratically-elected Mosaddegh government and installs the Shah
1954 – Guatemala – CIA overthrows the government of President Arbenz
1960 –The Democratic Republic of Congo – overthrows President Lamumbau
1961 – Nicaragua – assassinate Trujillo, occupy the country, then install a friendly government
1963 – Vietnam – CIA deposes President Ngo Dinh Diem
1964 – Brazil – CIA aids in fall of President Goulart
1973 – Chile – overthrow Allende government
1982 – Libya and Chad – Gaddafi and civil war
1983 – Granada – US Marines invade to overthrow “communist” government
1989 – Panama – 27,000 US troops oust President Noriega, install a more friendly government
1989 – Afghanistan – US supports Mujahideen against Soviet Union’s forces – blow-back: the Mujahideen include those who later attacked the US in 2001, Osama bin Laden amongst them.
2003 – Iraq – the search for weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein.
2011 – Libya – oust Gaddafi
The CIA
“There are three basic problems with the CIA: its objectives, methods, and unaccountability. Its operational objectives are whatever the CIA or the President of the United States defines to be in the U.S. interest at a given time, irrespective of international law or U.S. law. Its methods are secretive and duplicitous. Its unaccountability means that the CIA and president run foreign policy without any public scrutiny. Congress is a doormat, a sideshow.”1
US Global Military Structure
I have written several times about our military presence around the world. See for instance:
Our Empire, National Priorities, and the Iraq War revisited
Future posts will discuss our history as a colonizer and imperialist.
Footnotes
- Jeffery Sachs, “Opinion | How the CIA Destabilizes the World | Common Dreams,” Common Dreams, February 12, 2024, https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/cia-destablizes-the-world. – Jeffrey D. Sachs is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University – author of A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2020)
