as seen on tv
Senator
I realize that in the “big scheme of things” the amount of foreign aid the US gives away is only a sliver of our total tax burden. Several billion dollars a year probably wouldn’t appreciably improve VA waiting times or help more kids graduate from high school. Still, it’s galling to open the newspaper and find out that yet ANOTHER recipient of foreign aid has had a military coup.
This month the lucky winner is Thailand. People have been marching – by the Millions - against the Thai government for years now, so this weeks military coup can’t be described as a good thing or a bad thing . . . unless it possibly triggers congress to review what our aims are in Thailand by supporting successive regimes of corrupt oppressors of human rights. This is Thailand's second coup in 6 years.
I bet you have no problem naming Egypt as huge recipient of US foreign aid. This is essentially a 20 year installment plan payoff for not attacking Israel . . . the money is guaranteed by the Camp David accords. Jimmy Carter got worldwide plaudits. The leaders of Israel and Egypt got nobel awards. We got the bill. Now our tax dollars going to fund the Military government which plans to execute 650 muslim brotherhood members. Can we get a breakdown in our tax obligation per political execution please? Inquiring minds want to know if this is cost effective. This is Eqypts second coup in 3 years.
The white house says the military takeover in Libya is NOT a coup. But they’re saying the same thing about Thailand too. Here's what I say - any time the TV stations go dark for hours, then come back on playing “patriotic music” while the broadcast visual is the nation’s flag, and tanks take up strategic positions at intersections, it’s a coup.
Central African Republic (March 2013) – Here’s one that should cheer those rooting for muslim takeovers. The current leader in CAR is a Musliim terrorist who was named to join the reconciliations government in February 2013, and share power with Christians. A month later he’d ousted the rest of the government. This outcome might provide context about why some other governments are leery of inviting muslim extremists to share power, eh?
I’m putting Pakistan on this list, even thought last “official coup” was more than 10 years ago when General Pervez Musharaff came to power. Although there is (nominally) a democratically elected government in Pakistan today, the military has unprecedented power (with US military and foreign aid) and various military elements have sent terrorists into India and Kashmir; supported Al Qaeda strongholds; hidden Bin Laden for a decade, and assassinated local officials who were too secular and independent. A full accounting US aid to Pakistan is difficult to come by, but it certainly runs into the “hundreds of millions” annually, and was not affected in the least when we discovered that Bin Laden had been living in luxury in a Pakistan Army retirement neighborhood.
In addition to the countries named above, the following nations have also had coups since the year 2000: Ecuador; Fiji; Guinea; Honduras; Kyrgyzstan; Madagascar; Mauritania; Niger; Principe; Solomon Islands; and Tunisia.
Full disclosure – the above list does not include: “popular uprisings:; “arab springs”; the fall or resignation of corrupt governments; or regents who abdicate. Just coup-d’tats.
This month the lucky winner is Thailand. People have been marching – by the Millions - against the Thai government for years now, so this weeks military coup can’t be described as a good thing or a bad thing . . . unless it possibly triggers congress to review what our aims are in Thailand by supporting successive regimes of corrupt oppressors of human rights. This is Thailand's second coup in 6 years.
I bet you have no problem naming Egypt as huge recipient of US foreign aid. This is essentially a 20 year installment plan payoff for not attacking Israel . . . the money is guaranteed by the Camp David accords. Jimmy Carter got worldwide plaudits. The leaders of Israel and Egypt got nobel awards. We got the bill. Now our tax dollars going to fund the Military government which plans to execute 650 muslim brotherhood members. Can we get a breakdown in our tax obligation per political execution please? Inquiring minds want to know if this is cost effective. This is Eqypts second coup in 3 years.
The white house says the military takeover in Libya is NOT a coup. But they’re saying the same thing about Thailand too. Here's what I say - any time the TV stations go dark for hours, then come back on playing “patriotic music” while the broadcast visual is the nation’s flag, and tanks take up strategic positions at intersections, it’s a coup.
Central African Republic (March 2013) – Here’s one that should cheer those rooting for muslim takeovers. The current leader in CAR is a Musliim terrorist who was named to join the reconciliations government in February 2013, and share power with Christians. A month later he’d ousted the rest of the government. This outcome might provide context about why some other governments are leery of inviting muslim extremists to share power, eh?
I’m putting Pakistan on this list, even thought last “official coup” was more than 10 years ago when General Pervez Musharaff came to power. Although there is (nominally) a democratically elected government in Pakistan today, the military has unprecedented power (with US military and foreign aid) and various military elements have sent terrorists into India and Kashmir; supported Al Qaeda strongholds; hidden Bin Laden for a decade, and assassinated local officials who were too secular and independent. A full accounting US aid to Pakistan is difficult to come by, but it certainly runs into the “hundreds of millions” annually, and was not affected in the least when we discovered that Bin Laden had been living in luxury in a Pakistan Army retirement neighborhood.
In addition to the countries named above, the following nations have also had coups since the year 2000: Ecuador; Fiji; Guinea; Honduras; Kyrgyzstan; Madagascar; Mauritania; Niger; Principe; Solomon Islands; and Tunisia.
Full disclosure – the above list does not include: “popular uprisings:; “arab springs”; the fall or resignation of corrupt governments; or regents who abdicate. Just coup-d’tats.
