From The Ramparts

                                              

                                               

                                                 Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                             Kettle Calling The Pot Black

            With all the brouhaha about alleged Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential election you would think the Democratic Party, the US Deep State (shadow government FBI, CIA etc), US politicians and the corporate media would not risk making fools of themselves if the masses knew the US has been quit busy attempting to undermine and influence election outcomes around the world since the late 1940's.  In fact I'll bet most people forgot President Obama tried to persuade voters in the United Kingdom not to vote to exit the European Union two months prior to the June 23, 2016 vote. He spoke openly on several occasions in support of the UK remaining in the European Union. Many feel Obama's pro EU push is what made Brits vote so overwhelmingly to leave the European Union!

            But that was, chump change, an extremely passive attempt to influence British politics by the US government. The US has a far more aggressive, imperialist and neo-colonial history of  interference, intervention and meddling around the world. Recent research by Dov Levin a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University's Institute for Politics and Strategy discovered the US government worked assiduously to influence the outcomes of foreign elections at least eighty-one times between 1946 and 2000 and that doesn't include the countless coup d'etas, assassinations and regime change campaigns of candidates the US wanted to toppled and get rid of. http://investmentwatchblog.com/us-intervened-over-80-times-in-foreign-elections/ Using declassified "intelligence" and Congressional reports on CIA activities, academic research and reports Levin reported the US was actively engaged in propaganda, misinformation, provided cash or foreign aid, created campaign material for their favored candidate(s), made open and veilled threats against a candidate and other sundry mischief. Again that was between 1946 and 2000 which didn't include the dirty tricks and lethal activities employed by the US CIA.

            For the US to accuse Russia of interfering or hacking an election is like the kettle calling the pot Black. But that's what hypocrites and psychopaths do. Think about all the regime change the US has engaged in since 2000.  For the record, some of the more infamous and egregious examples are: supporting a coup against Hugo Chaves of Venezuela in 2000, removing the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in 2001, murdering Saddam Hussein in 2006, support the coup against Manuel Zelaya of Honduras in 2009, killing Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, ousting Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine in 2014 and their ongoing attempts to replace the duly elected president of Syria Bashar al-Assad just to cite a few.

            Speaking of hypocrisy, the US charged Saddam Hussein gassed Kurdish Iraqis. They alleged this prior to the US warmongers settling on the weapons of mass destruction deception as the reason for the 2003 Iraqi invasion. The fact of the matter is the United States sold Saddam Hussein the tear gas, sarin and other chemical and biological weapons he used in his war against Iran. The US even had satellite footage of Iraqi troops using sarin gas against Iranian forces in 1988. There is no proof Hussein gassed the Kurds living in Iraq. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1148.htm

            In 2013 the US claimed Syrian president Bashar al Assad gassed his own people  killing over one thousand Syrians. The corporate media jumped on the story and the Obama administration tried to use the  anti-Assad propaganda as a pretext to do to Syria what they did to Libya. During the debate, Putin stepped in and brokered a deal whereby Assad agreed to turn over all the country's chemical weapons and allow full unfettered inspections. This prevented the US from declaring a no fly zone over Syria or invading and the US warmongers have not forgotten or forgiven Putin for that.

            Subsequently Assad asked Putin for help fighting the Western backed "rebels" who were waging a proxy war on behalf of the US and its Israeli, Turkish and Saudi Arabian allies. Putin sent in Russian bombers, missiles and logistical support. This along with the active support of Iran and Hezbollah turned the tide in Assad's favor. Now the US is saying Assad gassed Syrian civilians at a time when by all accounts he and his allies are winning!? It doesn't make sense nor is it logical, except if you see this as a ruse to rationalize US and NATO direct military engagement.

             This is a repeat of the Saddam gassed the Kurds and the 2013 claims Assad gassed civilians. Hopefully except for dolts like Donald Trump people will not go for the okey-doke again. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

                                                            -30-