Carol
Abaya
U.S. actions leave wake
of damage in their path
Guest Column
Carol
Abaya
U.S. actions leave wake
of damage in their path
Civilization sits on the brink of World War III. Unless President George W. Bush backs down from his arrogance and ego, the entire Middle East will go up in flames and millions will die from biological agents. Farmlands, which provide the essentials for life, will be rendered untillable. Humanity, the world as we know it today, may take decades to revive. Sounds harsh? Maybe. But this is my dire prediction.
If Iraq is attacked, it is 100 percent certain Saddam Hussein will send missiles and biological agents not only into Israel but also neighboring countries. He will torch the oil fields and pollution will be greater than when the fields of Kuwait burned in 1991.
This sure scenario plays out against a "maybe" scenario that Hussein would use weapons of mass destruction. As long as inspectors remain in Iraq, Hussein will not use his missiles or biological agents. This is for sure. Certainly the inspectors are a much less expensive method to control disaster, with no loss of life of either the invaders (us) or innocent civilians.
How do I know the above, you ask. I relate some personal experiences where I predicted political strife — and events proved me 100 percent correct. I will also relate personal experiences showing the arrogance of the U.S. government officials and totally faulty intelligence.
India 1962: As a graduate student working on my master’s thesis on India, I had access to the State Department library as well as Time magazine correspondents’ files. I predicted the Chinese invasion of India, which occurred in September 1962. Yet, Indian officials (from Prime Minister Nehru and the governor of Assam, both of whom I met on a one-to-one basis) said they never suspected an invasion.
Indonesia 1965: I predicted a political blowup and was the only American newspaper reporter there before, during and immediately after the aborted communist coup in September. The United States subsequently ousted President Sukarno, which led to a worsening of the economy and political situation there. Instability and chaos continues.
Philippines 1972: I was a foreign correspondent there from 1969 until after President Ferdinand Marcos took over as a dictator in September 1972. I knew President Marcos personally, having first met him and Imelda in 1963. I dined at their home when he was Senate president. My husband was a director on Marcos’ presidential economic staff.
The CIA convinced Washington that a communist coup was imminent. Thus, the United States helped Marcos set himself up as a dictator. This coup information was totally factually inaccurate. At that time, there were maybe 5,000 communists in a country of 35 million. They had no arms, no money and absolutely no influence, political or otherwise. As a result of our actions, the Philippine economy and political situation remains unstable.
Liberia 1980: A good friend of mine was first assistant secretary of state, later secretary of health, education and welfare, and finally attorney general. The U.S. government toppled the duly elected president and put into power an uneducated military person. Political and economic chaos has reigned there since then, with feudal lords fighting for power and multiple abuses of human rights. Our intervention, U.S. government officials said, was because the Liberian government was not moving fast enough in the economic reform arena. What arrogance!
Israel: I have been in the area five times over a 40-year period. After the Six Day War in 1967, I was the only foreign journalist to visit all of the Palestinian refugee camps and spoke with leaders and people there. The current situation can be directly attributed to the United States giving Yasir Arafat credibility and power.
Other examples where our arrogant actions have created mass suffering for millions:
Cuba: Fidel Castro was a known communist from the early 1950s, yet we put him in power.
Iran: The United States forced out the Shah, who had been improving the economic conditions of the country. Khamenei was a known extremist fundamentalist yet, we put him in power.
Kosovo: Is it justice to uproot 2 million people because a few thousand were killed? Not that I condone killings. I don’t. But where is reason? The economy is still in chaos and hatred between ethnic groups is now inflamed to a point of no return.
Afghanistan: Do you really believe Osama bin Laden remained there when he knew the United States would bomb? He left the country long before the bombing began. Chaos still reigns, with war lords fighting over territory and power.
So, wherever America has intervened in other countries, we have left a wake of political and economic chaos, starvation and even more deprivation of human rights. I can only hope and pray that saner heads will prevail in the current situation.
Carol Abaya is a resident of Marlboro and a former foreign correspondent who has spent years abroad and interviewed heads of state around the world. She was in various countries during political upheavals and the resultant chaos. She has a master’s degree in international relations from New York University.