US Coups - Out with the elected, in with the dictators

The US has quite the record with coups.

• The CIA/US overthrew a democratically elected government for the first time during the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, after Iran moved to take control of its petroleum reserves.
• In 1954 the CIA/US overthrew the democratically elected President of Guatemala in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état in an operation called PBSUCCESS. "(T)he primary threat that did motivate the US coup was the program of democratic social reforms that Arbenz was carrying out (and the implicit threat to the interests of US corporations such as United Fruit)." The CIA/US tried to fabricate ties to Moscow in WASHTUB and plotted assassinations in PBFORTUNE.
• Kidnapped and unintentionally killed General René Schneider for he would not support a coup. Actively searched for a way to stage a coup. Intentionally created the conditions for the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. The US supported the coup in aid of business interests, and in turn, supported Augusto Pinochet.
  (Noam Chomsky 1min05)
• Allegations of US involvement in 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état.
• (Gaza 2007) US & Israeli involvement in a pre-empted coup by Fatah on Hamas, which lead to the democratically elected party (Hamas) staging a coup of its own. (2nd link, 3rd link Noam Chomsky 4mins30)

1:20 onwards:


A brief list I know - tell me your favourite US coups on elected representatives!

Coup d'etats are the national pastime of the Third World. It's not our fault we just make sure the right side wins.

Ahem. The US launched a coup against a democratically elected party that was in the process of joining with Fatah in a unity government. So they did a great job with that.

And as you question the source I will provide another from a more credible source:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2008/03/200852513324982998.html

The problem is that your coups are often disastorous for the nation itself. It may be good for business so it's all right I suppose.

Who are you to decide that? What makes you a superior human? If they elect a socialist government, it should be allowed to rule. I get that it's a joke, but it's disgusting.

Because destroyed nations have thriving economies? No, most nations we coup are perfectly fine afterwards. For instance, Chile did great. Much better than if they had gone Socialist.

Through economic reasoning and seeing the product of most Communist countries, nations torn in poverty and opression.

I said no such thing.

In many cases that Socialist government wasn't even a majority. For instance, Chile. It got about 40% of the votes. More than 60% of the population was anti-Communist but because their parties were fractured...

Not to mention, if a government is oppressing people simply because it was elected is of no justification. Especially when they just break the rules of their own countries. Apparently being elected means dictator for life.

It wasn't a joke.

If you are defending the above over the democratically elected candidate you're a disgusting human being.

3,000 people? Whatever. To prevent the kind of shit Communism was dragging across the world... It is minimal.

Should be noted Kara, that a great deal of Latin America leaders we overthrew actually ran on Populist platforms rather than Socialist platforms. Often promoting pro-business ideas with the overall goal of being a competitive force in the region and able to enter beneficial deals with more developed nations.

Weren't socialist? Maybe I don't get it, but are you suggesting that the C.I.A. just runs around overthrowing governments without rhyme or reason?

He wasn't a communist, he was a socialist. In that case, why don't you just stage a coup in Denmark, we've got socialists in our government now. You have to understand that not every socialist on the earth worship the USSR as the ultimate society. It's not like we're all the same.
Oh and you remember what the USA did in Afghanistan in 1978-80? They sponsored the guys we are fighting now, that's just a job well done right?!

What has civil war casualties got to do with anything? Chile wasn't in a civil war. It had a democratically elected President (put the shoe on the other foot a second. Imagine if China was nationalist and instigated a coup against the US in the name of business interests and that dictator killed and tortured thousands of people, overthrowing the socialist president who was democratically elected. That's cool? They probably saved you lives in the end?).

The Chinese communists came to power not through a democratic election.

On the Khmer Rouge:

Business interests are paramount. I don't know what he is referring to but it was the main reason for the Chile coup.

Competing business goals were often the reason.
Take Guatemala for example: They elected a Populist leader and he proceeded to nationalize unused farmland that belonged to some international fruit company. He then sold the land to local farmers on the agreement that they would gradually pay their debt back once they got on their feet.
Unfortunately this didn't sit well with said fruit company, who then proceeded to launch a smear campaign against the Guatemalan government which ended in a coup that put a brutal military dictator in power.

The free market and multinational corporations at their best.

Noam Chomsky agrees that the Gaza civil war was as a result of a US & Israeli coup being pre-empted by Hamas
4:40 onwards:


Worked out really well didn't it.

Are you arguing the the Soviets are somehow better?

Kara don't fucking start on Chile, do you know the amount of people the dictator we installed killed brutally? Chile was making great progress under socialism.

*Populism
They were still pretty keen on local business. Particularly in the agricultural sector.

Who? Me? Because I'm not. I'm just demonstrating the hypocrisy and crimes of the US.

Your going to cite a Linguist against me?