Sunday 14 January 2018

Obama called Libya a Sh*t Show, Trump called Haiti a Sh*thole, but the US ensured Both are True

U.S. foreign policy decisions in both Haiti and Libya have been far cruder than the comments made by Presidents Trump and Obama
By Rachel Blevins | The Free Thought Project | January 12, 2018

haiti
The mainstream media is horrified by the idea that President Trump would refer to Haiti as a “Shithole” country—but they seem to have forgotten that President Obama referred to Libya as a “Shit show,” and that the United States has had a hand in ensuring that both countries continue to be plagued with problems.
The media launched a firestorm after a report from the Washington Post claimed that during a meeting with lawmakers in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” 
The comment was reportedly in reference to a discussion on “protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal.” Trump became “frustrated” with the lawmakers in the meeting, and proposed that the U.S. should prioritize immigrants from Norway, over countries such as Haiti, according to the report.
While mainstream media outlets were quick to criticize Trump’s comments on Haiti, they were not nearly as offended when reports claimed that Obama referred to the state of affairs in Libya after Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown as a “shit show” in March 2016
“We actually executed this plan as well as I could have expected: We got a UN mandate, we built a coalition, it cost us $1 billon—which, when it comes to military operations, is very cheap. We averted large-scale civilian casualties, we prevented what almost surely would have been a prolonged and bloody civil conflict,” Obama said. “And despite all that, Libya is a mess.”
At the time, Obama referred to the 2011 Arab Spring revolt as “a successful military intervention to aid rebels,” and claimed that it was only because of “the inaction of America’s European allies” that Libya turned into a “shit show.
However, it should be noted that just one month later, Obama admittedthat invading Libya and overthrowing Gaddafi was the “worst mistake of his presidency.”
In the case of Haiti, while several people have come out in support, claiming that it is not the “shithole” Trump apparently claimed it is, the U.S. has had a history of involvement in the country that is even cruder than the term used by the current president.
After a catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010, the Clinton Foundation went right to work raising more than $30 million for relief projects. But local residents claimed, “the projects never fully materialized while others point to luxury hotels that were allegedly constructed with relief funds in order to benefit the country’s ruling establishment.”
A report from 2015 noted that each year, the United States gives the United Nations more than $8 billion, and $3 billion of it is used to fund the group’s “peacekeeping budget.” However, the UN’s famous “Peacekeepers” have only created more devastation in Haiti, and even after they were exposed running a massive child sex ring, not one person was jailed. As The Free Thought Project reported in April 2017:
“After Haiti’s downfall from a tropical paradise resort destination, hundreds of children were left homeless and many of them without parents. This easy prey then attracted the world’s most vile predators. More than 300 children have come forward in the last decade with these claims and only a tiny fraction of those accused have ever faced any form of accountability.
One of the reasons these sickos aren’t charged is because when it comes to keeping its peacekeepers in check, the UN passes the buck. So, as reports of sexual abuse and child exploitation pour into the UN (2,000 over just the last 12 years), the countries sending troops either remain ignorant or deliberately refuse to hold these people accountable.”
The United States also has troops stationed in 53 out of 54 African nations, and after four U.S. soldiers were killed in Niger in October, it left some asking the question, “Since when is the U.S. at War with Africa?”
Former Texas Congressman Ron Paul noted that this appears to be one more war the U.S. is fighting without approval from Congress—and it is a war that includes the presence of thousands of U.S. troops that occupy key points throughout Africa.
“Now, when the Pentagon and the administration have had some pressure on them, you know, instead of having 100 people there, they’re admitting we have 6,000 people in Africa, and they even put a number on it. They say ‘we have some military in 53 of the 54 countries in Africa.’ That’s pretty expansive,” Paul said.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

No comments: