As our nation celebrates its two hundred and thirty-sixth year of existence today, I would like to raise the question that no one seems to want to address; that being why does seemingly most of the world hate America? No, it isn’t that they hate our freedom, as President George W. Bush opined about the Taliban and al-Qaeda not long after the atrocious attack of September 11, 2001. This is evident by the wave of legal immigrants coming to our country every year. It is our imperialistic attitude, numerous military interventions and foreign policies as set forth by our federal government that has many nations and its citizens resenting us. It is our point of view that the only concern that matters most is what is in the best interest of America, the rest of the world be damned. I know many Americans will not agree with me regarding the content of this opinion piece, that many might even call me un-American (I served my country as a Petty Officer Second Class aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) as a weatherman during the late 1970s which allowed me to graduate from The Ohio State University via the G.I. Bill) and a few ignorant souls might even issue death threats, however facts are facts. Contrary to America’s long held belief, the whole world does not revolve around us, much to our chagrin.
Be it the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 or the horrendous attack of September 11th, America still has yet to learn that our foreign policy always has consequences, many times dire. I do not support what Osama bin Laden did on September 11th and I am not saying that we deserved it; however, I know just enough to understand that for every action there is a reaction. Bin Laden stated during an interview that the reason he attacked America was because we left our military stationed in Saudi Arabia, the most holy of land in the Islamic religion, after the first Gulf War ended, which it just so happens is a very common practice. We still have 50,000 troops stationed along the 38th parallel in Korea, sixty years after that war ended, for Pete’s sake. We have numerous military bases located throughout Europe fifty years after World War II ended, for crying out loud.
We are following down the same destructive path suffered by the former Soviet Union in that we are bankrupting ourselves with our countless military endeavors, all the while our country is falling apart at the seams of everyday life. With an annual defense budget of nearly $900 billion, we spend nearly as much on our military as the rest of the world combined. When combined with intelligence, we spend nearly $1.5 trillion on defense and intelligence related expenditures every year. Moreover, this does not include America’s new ultra top-secret intelligence budget. Since September 11th, our government has built up such a top-secret network of intelligence agencies that no one knows how much it cost, how many it employs or how many agencies it runs. The defense budget itself has nearly doubled since 2000, yet presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is calling for an increase in defense spending of more than fifty percent, which would add another five trillion dollars over the next ten years to our burgeoning national debt. It is long past time to bring all our troops home from foreign shores.
In my writings over the past decade, I often quote President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who in his January 17, 1961 farewell address to the nation, warned the country to beware of the mighty military-industrial complex. President Eisenhower stated that “…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Coming from a five-star general, many who credit for winning World War II, America should have listened. As a business model, the military-industrial complex remains in business and profitable only via the costly aspects of war.
America also has a very long history of backing brutal, murderous dictators and despots throughout the world. The following is a partial list of ruthless tyrants that the United States has supported, financed, placed or kept in power during the past century:
President/King/Emperor/Despot Country Years In Power
Abdul Ibn Hussein I Jordan 1952-1999
Alberto Fujimori Peru 1990-2000
Alfredo Felix Cristiani Bukard El Salvador 1989-1994
Anastasio Somoza Debayle Nicaragua 1967-1972, 1974-1979
Anastasio Somoza Garcia Nicaragua 1937-1947, 1950-1956
Antonio Salazar De Oliveira Portugal 1928-1968
Anwar El-Sadat Egypt 1970-1981
Askar Akayev Kyrgyzstan 1990-2005
Bao Dai Vietnam 1926-1945
Carlos Prio Socarras Cuba 1948-1952
Chiang Kai-Shek China 1928-1949
Chiang Kai-Shek Taiwan 1949-1975
Chiang Ching-Kuo Taiwan 1975-1988
Colonel Arturo Armando Molina Barraza El Salvador 1972-1977
Colonel Carlos Arana Osorio Guatemala 1970-1974
Colonel Carlos Enrique Castillo Armas Guatemala 1954-1957
Colonel Enrique Peralta Azurdia Guatemala 1963-1966
Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos Greece 1967-1973
Colonel Marcos Perez Jimenez Venezuela 1950-1958
Colonel Osmin Aguirre Y Salinas El Salvador 1944-1945
Colonel Oswaldo Lopez Arellano Honduras 1963-1975
Daniel Arap Moi Kenya 1978-2002
Deng Xiaoping China 1978-1992
Dr. Getulio Vargas Brazil 1930-1945, 1951-1954
Fahd Ibn Abdu-Aziz Al Saud Saudi Arabia 1982-2005
Ferdinand Marcos Philippines 1965-1986
Emomali Rahmonov Tajikistan 1992-Present
Field Marshall Muhammad Ayub Khan Pakistan 1958-1969
Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn Thailand 1957-1958, 1963-1973
Felix Houphouet-Boigny Ivory Coast 1960-1993
Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier Haiti 1957-1971
Fulgencio Batista Cuba 1933-1944, 1952-1959
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan Pakistan 1969-1971
General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte Chile 1973-1990
General Alfredo Stroessner Paraguay 1954-1989
General Chun Doo Hwan South Korea 1980-1988
General Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia Guatemala 1978-1982
General Francisco Franco Spain 1939-1975
General Hugo Banzer Suarez Bolivia 1971-1978
General Humberto De Alencar Branco Brazil 1964-1967
General Ibrahim Babangida Nigeria 1985-1993
General Jorge Rafael Videla Argentina 1976-1981
General Jorge Ubico Castaneda Guatemala 1931-1944
General Efrain Rios Montt Guatemala 1982-1983
General Jose Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes Guatemala 1958-1963
General Lon Nol Cambodia 1970-1975
General Mohamed Suharto Indonesia 1966-1998
General Mohammed Yahya Khan Pakistan 1969-1971
General Mohammad Zia Ul-Haq Pakistan 1971-1988
General Manuel Antonio Morena Noriega Panama 1982-1989
General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez El Salvador 1931-1944
General Nguyen Khanh South Vietnam 1964-1965
General Nguyen Van Thieu South Vietnam 1967-1975
General Omar Herrera-Torrijos Panama 1969-1981
General Park Chung Hee South Korea 1962-1979
General Rene Barrientos Ortuno Bolivia 1964-1969
General Samuel Doe Liberia 1986-1990
General Sani Abacha Nigeria 1993-1998
General Sitiveni Rabuka Fiji 1987-1999
Gerardo Machado Morales Cuba 1925-1933
Gnassingbe Etienne Eyadema Togo 1967-2005
Haile Selassie Ethiopia 1928-1974
Hassan II Morocco 1961-1999
Hastings Kamuzu Banda Malawi 1966-1994
Hosni Mubarak Egypt 1918-2011
Ian Smith Rhodesia 1965-1979
Idi Amin Uganda 1971-1979
Islam A. Karimov Uzbekistan 1990-Present
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier Haiti 1971-1986
King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Saudi Arabia 1982-2005
Laurent-Desire Kabila Republic Of Congo 1997-2001
Lee Kuan Yew Singapore 1959-1990
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Guatemala 1898-1920
Marco Vinicio Cerezo Aarevalo Guatemala 1986-1991
Marshal Luang Pibul Songgram Thailand 1948-1957
Mobutu Sese Seko Zaire 1965-1997
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi Iran 1941-1979
Mohamed Siad Barre Somalia 1969-1991
Muhammed Zia-Ul-Haq Pakistan 1978-1988
Ngo Dinh Diem South Vietnam 1955-1963
Nguyen Cao Ky South Vietnam 1965-1967
Nursultan Nazarbayev Kazakhstan 1990-Present
Pervez Musharraf Pakistan 1999-2008
Pieter Willem Botha South Africa 1978-1989
Pol Pot Cambodia 1975-1979
Roberto Suazo Cordova Honduras 1982-1986
Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Dominican Republic 1930-1961
Raoul Cedras Haiti 1991-1994
Saddam Hussein Iraq 1979-2003
Samuel Kanyon Doe Liberia 1980-1990
Saparmurad Atayevich Niyazov Turkmenistan 1990-2006
Sheik Jabir Al-Ahmad Al Sabah Kuwait 1977-2006
Sultan Muda Hassanal Bolkiah Brunei 1967-Present
Syngman Rhee South Korea 1948-1960
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Equatorial Guinea 1979-Present
Tiburcio Carias Andino Honduras 1932-1948
Turgut Ozal Turkey 1983-1993
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Tusisia 1987-2011
William J.S. Tubman Liberia 1944-1971
Titans of American industry even supported Adolf Hitler after he rose to power in Nazi Germany in 1933. Ford built Hitler’s trucks. General Motors built his tanks. Standard Oil supplied fuel and oil, and the speculation is that they did so up until 1944, two years after America declared war with Germany on December 11, 1941. Prescott Bush, President George W. Bush’s grandfather and a future congressman from Connecticut was a partner with the firm Brown Brothers Harriman and was a director with the Union Banking Corporation, both banking institutions that were involved in the financial matters of German industrialist Fritz Thyssen. In July of 1942, Union Banking Corporation was suspected of holding gold on behalf of several Nazi leaders. Although a government investigation found Union Banking innocent of these charges, the United States did seize control over the assets of the bank under the accusation of trading with the enemy and held their assets for the duration of the war.
With a list this long of 20th century dictators who most likely remained in power due to the influence and backing of our federal government and military, is there any wonder why America is so despised throughout the world?
Steven H. Spring
