Tag Archives: George W. Bush

As Trump ponders a coup in Venezuela, report says 165 military coups since ’70 involved DoD trainees

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Calls for a US backed military coup in Venezuela have emanated from the Trump White House. Meanwhile, NPR has given coup advocates a platform to advocate for a coup, positioning it as “humanitarian intervention”. It’s worth discussing the history of coups the US has been associated with. Last week, new documents revealed that the UK government had repeatedly asked the US to foment a coup in Iran in 1952. This is from the NSArchive project at GWU: 1953 Iran Coup: New U.S. Documents Confirm British Approached U.S. in Late 1952 About Ousting Mosaddeq State Department Temporarily Declined, in Part Because U.S. Was … Continue reading →

Progressive Lion: John Conyers Jr. (MI-13)

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John Conyers Jr. is Dean of the House of Representatives, he was first elected to Congress in 1965.He is currently in his 26th term, and is one of only seven people to have served over 50 years in Congress. Conyers was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rosa Parks served on his staff for over twenty years and he visited Selma to meet with Freedom Riders multiple times in the 1960s. In many ways, his longevity makes him a living link to our past. Four days after MLK was assassinated, Conyers introduced a bill in Congress to make his birthday a … Continue reading →

Progressive Lion: Barbara Lee is one step closer to ending our perpetual war in Afghanistan

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On September 14, 2001 Barbara Lee strode up to the podium and made this speech to explain her vote against the AUMF in Afghanistan. x Rep Barbara Lee was the lone dissenting vote. The AUMF passed 420-1 in the house. We have now been at war in Afghanistan for almost 16 years. Her courageous vote that day echoed Jeanette Rankin’s lone vote against declaring war on Japan and entering World War II. As Lee explained in her speech: “We are not dealing with a conventional war,” she said. “We cannot respond in a conventional manner. I do not want to see this … Continue reading →

ISIS has captured Tora-Bora as Trump ignores US commanders in Iraq/Afghanistan.

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  We have been at war in Afghanistan for almost 16 years now, and for much of that time, it’s been two steps forward and three steps back. This week, we went three steps back as ISIS captured the mountain fortress of Tora Bora. The ISIS forces in Afghanistan include the remnants of Al-Qaeda. Tora Bora is where Bin-Laden went immediately after 9/11. It’s a large complex with miles of tunnels, roads and caves dug into granite mountains. If you think this is only two steps back, recall that Tora Bora was originally built with funding from the CIA. The CIA helped build this … Continue reading →