By Scott Malensek 9/8/08
Whether it’s Democratic Presidential candidate, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, or Republican candidate, Dr. Ron Paul, or Osama Bin Laden…millions-perhaps billions of people around the globe believe that the United States military is occupying the 130 of the 193 nations on the planet. America has one of the largest militaries in the world, arguably the most powerful, and this one nation-we’re led to believe-has occupation forces in almost every country. From Angola to Zimbabwe, American legions are everywhere.
This claim is grossly misleading-so much so that that those who make it are either complete idiots, or propagandists pushing personal political agendas rather than truth and reality. Yes, it’s technically true that the United States has military forces in 130 nations, but to suggest that these forces are:
- Deployed without the permission and support of the local population is false-even in Iraq and Afghanistan where locals want the U.S. to leave, but don’t want the U.S. to leave until there is security (i.e, they want the U.S. forces to */_stay_/* until there is security). If most Iraqis wanted the US out, then 28,000,000 Iraqis would make the 150,000 Americans look like Custer’s Last Stand.
- American military units are almost always token forces numbering (no joke here), between 1 and 100 total personnel in a nation. Seriously, the misleading suggestion that America’s 4 soldiers are occupying Mongolia, or that the 24 Americans in Russia are imposing America’s political will upon the millions of people there…these are purely stupid ideas, and yet supporters of political leaders like Kucinich, Ron Paul, or Osama Bin Laden readily believe the idea that both American soldiers in Antigua are an occupying force that costs the nation an unbearable expense in blood, treasure, and respect. Are the 9 Americans stationed in Mali are somehow creating enemies by their presence there?
- Presenting this grossly incorrect idea can only be done via complete ignorance of reality, OR the claims are nothing more than information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation (i.e., the definition of “propaganda”).
Does that mean that Kucinich, Paul, or Bin Laden seek to harm a group, movement, or institution? YES. In the case of Kucinich, Paul and too many others since the subject in almost every sentence (or at least every paragraph) seems to always be “this administration” or “neocons” etc. The target of their propaganda is their political opposition, and thus it can be said that their deliberate misleading is likely designed to support their own political efforts. Even Osama Bin Laden has changed the subject of his criticism from “America” to “major corporations” and the “neocon” politicians who are allegedly under their control (though, like Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, Bin Laden apparently sees boogeymen “neocons” as the root of all imperialist evil in the world-including the 6 American servicemen doing the bidding of those major corporations as they occupy Mozambique).
“Too often we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised. Too often we have supported those who turn on us, like the Kosovars who aid Islamic terrorists, or the Afghan jihads themselves, and their friend Osama bin Laden. We armed and trained them, and now we’re paying the price.”
-Dr Ron Paul, 2008 campaign website, “War and Foreign Policy” section
That’s partially true (though the US didn’t arm or train UBL, and Kosovo was a NATO gig not a US one), but it’s also a complete distortion of the reality to pretend or suggest that by having US forces in 130 nations that this is even remotely the case in 130 different places. It just isn’t true all the time or even a majority of the time. In fact, American military support of despots is the exception-not the norm.
If it were the norm, then that ONE American serviceman stationed in Suriname must be Haliburton’s version of Superman. Perhaps he’s Darth Vader incarnate. One American serviceman (controlled by neocons who are controlled by major corporations) is oppressing the entire nation of Suriname, and creating enemies of the United States by his/her oppression of the nation.
Is that what they mean when they say an Army of 1?
If someone has taken the time to make the claim that there’s 130 nations being occupied, then they’ve either seen the whole list and know it’s not a realistic claim, or their a mindless lemming who parrots political propaganda without questioning even the most insane of claims.
LIST of American forces (controlled by major corporations, led by neocons) “occupying” 130 different nations.
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