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In 1961 a young John Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President of the United States. He was smart, charismatic and a patriot of our great nation. He had much foresight and launched the journey to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. When understanding that traditional military operations were not enough for a new age in the world he formed the Navy SEALS. He also realized that America was getting bogged down in a war in a small country in Southeast Asia; a war that was taxing the resources that America needed to grow.
Viet Nam had a ruler that had been the Prime Minister of a unified Viet Nam before it divided into north and south. This leader, Diem, was the first elected president of South Viet Nam. He was also viewed in several ways as a corrupt politician, a tool of America and for some an example of Viet Nam past traditions. He was a staunch Catholic and persecuted many Buddhist, the primary religion of the country. South Viet Nam was in disarray, so America decided to step in and in 1963 the CIA under the approval of the American President arranged a coup. The Viet Nam military ousted the president, a new president was immediately named and Diem fled. A day later he was captured and quickly executed.
President Kennedy was reported as being horrified. He was initially against removing him from office but relented and gave approval for Diem’s removal but he in no way approved the president to be killed. He also questioned the ability of the Viet Nam Generals to be able to hold the country together.
This was not a lone example. After the American Civil War America looked south and supported the overthrow of the French controlled government of Maximillian in Mexico. Like in Viet Nam the president was overthrown and then executed. This enacted the Monroe Doctrine and turned the doctrine from being words on a paper to becoming reality.
In the early 1900s America used Naval guns and Marine tactics in Honduras to prop up and/or remove different regimes. This was referred to as the “banana wars” as the United Fruit Company needed easy access to the banana markets. I once knew a man who boarded a United Fruit Company boat in the middle of the night at a New Orleans pier and sailed to Bolivia to teach machine gun tactics in the Chaca war of the 1930s.
The intrusions in the governments of foreign countries were repeated in Cuba in the early 1900s, in Nicaragua in the early 1900s and again following World War I, in Haiti in the 1920s and at the same time in the Dominican Republic. America even aided in the Russian revolution.
There are many more examples of America’s overt and covert involvements in the changes of foreign governments. Over time America has looked inward at the values it holds dear and military involvement and government changes have all but disappeared. Respect for borders has replaced a need to influence a country whose population does not want to be changed. Instead of leading by the point of a bayonet, America finds it better to lead by example and let the population of another country decide who will govern themselves and how they will be governed. The best place for a government to change is from within and not from without. It is equally important that we recognize our friends and leaders and allow them the opportunity to govern in a way that best supports the population of their country. The time of the American Demagogue is over.
We should have learned an important lesson over the years. Do no interfere in the selection of the leader{s} of another country and above all do not let another country interfere in the selection of America’s leadership.
Last week Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senator from New York, commented that Israel should replace their Prime Minister Netanyahu. How irresponsible for a senior member of the Senate of the United States of America to tell a staunch ally in the middle of a war that it should replace its head of state. We have no business expressing a comment such as that in public. When something this dire is expressed by a leader of our country, many in the world feel this is the feeling of our nation. To make this even more disturbing is the comment of the President of the United States complimenting Schumer on his speech and stated last week that the prime minister pf Israel was hurting Israel more than helping it. Then the previous speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, backed the actions of Senator Schumer as she called for the end of the war due to the humanitarian crisis. America’s leadership has no right to dictate who will rule a country, especially if that country is in a war for its life.
A concern is that Israel is keeping aid from reaching the civilians of Gaza in the town of Raffa. Truth is, Israel is clearing 44 trucks of aid an hour. Problem is, the trucks won’t go into Gaza due to security concerns. This is playing right into Hamas’s hands. If the trucks won’t deliver the food and medicine the civilians will suffer even more. This will cause the world to scream even more to stop the invasion. This will cause the United States to scream more to replace the government in Israel. Hamas will then survive and we will see the same scenario again within five years. Israel states that enough is enough. This will become the end of Hamas.
Today the biggest threat in the Mid-East is Iran and Iran has been vocal that Israel must be destroyed. Three years ago America attempted to appease Iran and released billions of dollars in frozen funds while lifting some sanctions. This was a peace blunder and directly affects the peace and future of Israel. As grim as this action was, Israel never called for the replacement of the American government nor did it publicly ridicule the President of the United States. Perhaps we should take a leaf from their playbook.
God Bless America, Pray for the Ukraine and God Save Israel.
