trucksterbud

By Danielle Ryan... Danielle Ryan is an Irish freelance journalist. Having lived and worked in the US, Germany and Russia, she is currently based in Budapest, Hungary. Her work has been featured by Salon, The Nation, Rethinking Russia, Russia Direct, teleSUR, The BRICS Post and others. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleRyanJ, check out her Facebook page, or visit her website: danielle-ryan.com

Published time: 15 Jun, 2018 15:43

Donald Trump’s praise this week of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been presented by much of the Washington political class and US corporate media as an anomaly in history and a stark deviation from political norms.

It is not normal or right, they tell us, for US presidents to meet with and applaud dictators of brutal regimes. This kind of phony virtue-signaling was all over the airwaves and the Twittersphere on Tuesday. It was like a competition with the winner being the person who could publicly register their disgust and dismay in the most dramatic fashion possible.

One former Republican lawmaker tweeted that “never before” in history had a US president “spoken this way of a dictator accused of crimes against his own people” — an outright lie, as pointed out by journalist Glenn Greenwald, who detailed a number of occasions when American presidents and top ranking officials had indeed heaped praise on dictators — from Barack Obama’s praise of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia as a man who had “the courage of his convictions” and who was “dedicated” to his people, to Ronald Reagan’s praise of former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt as "a man of great integrity" — to Hillary Clinton’s description of Hosni Mubarak as a "friend of my family."

In the real world, even the most mildly politically-aware person knows that meeting with and praising dictators is par for the course in US foreign policy. The United States has a long history of befriending, praising and propping up brutal dictators all over the world — and flattering Kim with a few meaningless comments designed to foster goodwill is absolutely mild in comparison with the tangible support the US lends to other dictatorships.

Curiously though, many of those shouting loudly in protest at Trump’s praise of Kim are unbothered when American presidents — Trump included — lavish praise on those friendly dictators that Washington relies on to help serve its geopolitical interests. While they breathlessly condemn Trump for cozying up to Kim for a few hours in Singapore, they are nonchalant about US support for brutal regimes like Saudi Arabia.

Last year, peace activist and former Green Party candidate for Illinois governor Rich Whitney, compiled research in an effort to dispel the myth that the US opposes dictatorships and champions democracy around the world. What he found would not come as a surprise to any rational observer of global affairs, but would surely shock heavily propagandized Americans who have been led to believe that their country promotes freedom and democracy since they were waddling around in diapers.

Analyzing publicly available data, Whitney found that the US provides military assistance to 36 out of 49 nations that democracy watchdog Freedom House classifies as dictatorships. In other words, the US provides military support to a whopping 73 percent the world’s dictatorships while simultaneously claiming to be the most virtuous and well-intentioned nation on earth.

There is one determining factor when it comes to the decision to lend US support to a foreign government or regime — and it is a simple one: If that government or regime is sufficiently subservient to Washington and serves US global interests in any meaningful way, it will be protected and propped up at almost any cost. Its crimes will be swept under the rug and human rights concerns, along with freedom and democracy, will go straight out the window. Every now and then, some US official may pay lip service to its supposed moral values by expressing “deep concern” over some heinous incident or other before swiftly moving on.

This is the reality, yet we are still told to believe Trump is some kind of historical anomaly and subjected to endless think-pieces and on-air pearl-clutching over his “problematic” affinity for some questionable characters. The narrative goes, that before Trump, US leaders were all going around crushing dictatorships and delivering peace and prosperity to oppressed peoples everywhere. This kind of revisionist commentary is completely disingenuous and utterly at odds with reality and history — yet it is spewed unquestioningly from the mouths of journalists, analysts, various “experts” and regular Americans without so much as a pause to consider whether it has any basis in fact. It would take far too long to list every instance of the US supporting — and indeed installing — brutal dictatorships around the world, but there are some that stand out as particularly shameful moments in American history.

Full Article here: http://www.rt.com/op-ed/429889-trump-kim-us-dictators/

eden

The article raises some essential and discomforting truths but did Trump have to fawn over this monstrous international criminal quite so enthusiastically? Has everybody forgotten that he threatened to nuke us all?

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

Good morning everyone looks like another great day.

EL Loc: Massachusetts

He just might have nuked us all. Be thankful someone is putting a stop to that....for a while, at least.

cold iron Loc: White House

Few understand and that is the problem with the Left. Kim is a child, he thinks like a child. Trump sees this and understands how to speak and act with Kim. Trump will undo NK and Kim will be happy
with all his new toys that are coming. You stupid Demecrats just stand back and watch, maybe you will learn something.

Mike Easterday

North Korea has been quiet lately!

bmac32 Loc: West Florida

Democrats learn, that right there would be quite something as nothing goes perfect so democrats would take whatever plan is in place, modify it and end up with a major nothing.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

It is high on my agenda to get a good night sleep & wake with the energy to meet the day head on.

It seems the energy level runs down much sooner these days.
The great plans from yesterday become a part of the plain old plans of today.
While thoughts of saving it for tomorrow grow..

Though it all having a tomorrow to look forward too is what keeps us going.

Saved. It is going to be too hot to do much today!
The joy that comes when being old is welcome when it comes.

Well old Marine take it easy & have a great day.

Tomorrow should be a great day for us also.
For those of us that have children that is..

eden

If Kim is a child then Trump is a toddler. Kim and the Chinese played Trump like a ukulele
and got what they wanted. Kim will play this to his people as “look how the leader of America came to Asia to beg for peace from me”.
Trump got a staged photo op that temporarily distracted world attention away from the looming Mueller showdown and a bunch of vague promises from a wiley sewer rat dictator.

cold iron Loc: White House

So, tell me how was Trump played? I did not hear any begging, tell me what you speak of.
Now I will tell you something you may not know. You are just a little creep that wants to beat his chest
here on the web. Now go cry in your safe place.

eden

Trump was too eager to meet, no doubt under pressure to distract from his domestic problems. If you cared to read what I posted properly I did not say Trump begged, just that Kim would spin the event to his people just like Trump is (unsuccessfully) to us. Now I will tell you something you may not know. Attacking me personally because you have no effective rebuttal means you are conceding the debate.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

Cold iron you are wasting your time trying to convince a socialist Demon-Rats swamp dwelling traitors of anything. All they can think about is destroy President Trump.

They are like a stupid terrorist bomber they forget or don't care that by killing their target they are killing theirselves. How stupid can you get with your hate?

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

Thanks brother I know what you mean. I have been there and done that.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

Quit watching the Socialist Demon-Rat swamp/sewer dwelling traitors FAKE news channels.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

You forgot to tell him to take his dolls with him.