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As mayor of Burlington back in the 1980s, he attacked the foreign policy of the Reagan administration in Latin America, and even briefly toured Nicaragua in support of its Sandinista government. (Photo: Illustrated | AP Photo/Donna Light, AP Photo/Pat Hamilton, Wikimedia Commons)
Americans Should Be Very Concerned About Bernie Sanders' Record of Opposing Mass Murder
Is the U.S. supposed to obey international law like some kind of peasant country? The very idea shocks the conscience.
May 30, 2019
Bernie Sanders has a problem. As mayor of Burlington back in the 1980s, he attacked the foreign policy of the Reagan administration in Latin America, and even briefly toured Nicaragua in support of its Sandinista government. He was reportedly present at a rally in Managua where protesters chanted anti-American slogans -- which is deeply concerning, writes New York magazine's Jonathan Chait.
Quite right. Americans of all political stripes should be very concerned about Sanders' anti-mass murder record.
Historical context is important here, as it reveals beyond question the saintly motives of Reagan's foreign policy team. From 1936-1979, Nicaragua was benevolently ruled by the Somoza family, who were friendly to the U.S. and the Nicaraguan working class alike. Their government was not at all corrupt, and in no way did the Somozas accumulate a vast dragon hoard of wealth looted out of the country.
But leftist forces, motivated by nothing more than spite, mounted a guerrilla insurgency in the mid-70s. They took up the mantle of Augusto Sandino, who unfortunately died after slipping on a banana peel during earnest peace talks with Anastasio Somoza Garcia in 1934, who had offered free puppies and ice cream to all leftist factions. After years of hard fighting, these Sandinistas finally overthrew the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (son of the first Somoza) in 1979.
Conservative forces launched a counter-revolution (thus Contras, for Contrarrevolucion), and Reagan naturally supported them with money and weapons, as all right-thinking people would have done. Democrats in Congress were inexplicably wary of foreign intervention, and so after they discovered that the CIA was putting Freedom Mines in Nicaraguan harbors in 1984, they banned military aid to the Contras. The administration was forced to turn to selling arms to Iran to finance them.
Read full article here.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
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Ryan Cooper
Ryan Cooper is the Managing Editor of The American Prospect. Formerly, he was a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
Bernie Sanders has a problem. As mayor of Burlington back in the 1980s, he attacked the foreign policy of the Reagan administration in Latin America, and even briefly toured Nicaragua in support of its Sandinista government. He was reportedly present at a rally in Managua where protesters chanted anti-American slogans -- which is deeply concerning, writes New York magazine's Jonathan Chait.
Quite right. Americans of all political stripes should be very concerned about Sanders' anti-mass murder record.
Historical context is important here, as it reveals beyond question the saintly motives of Reagan's foreign policy team. From 1936-1979, Nicaragua was benevolently ruled by the Somoza family, who were friendly to the U.S. and the Nicaraguan working class alike. Their government was not at all corrupt, and in no way did the Somozas accumulate a vast dragon hoard of wealth looted out of the country.
But leftist forces, motivated by nothing more than spite, mounted a guerrilla insurgency in the mid-70s. They took up the mantle of Augusto Sandino, who unfortunately died after slipping on a banana peel during earnest peace talks with Anastasio Somoza Garcia in 1934, who had offered free puppies and ice cream to all leftist factions. After years of hard fighting, these Sandinistas finally overthrew the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (son of the first Somoza) in 1979.
Conservative forces launched a counter-revolution (thus Contras, for Contrarrevolucion), and Reagan naturally supported them with money and weapons, as all right-thinking people would have done. Democrats in Congress were inexplicably wary of foreign intervention, and so after they discovered that the CIA was putting Freedom Mines in Nicaraguan harbors in 1984, they banned military aid to the Contras. The administration was forced to turn to selling arms to Iran to finance them.
Read full article here.
Ryan Cooper
Ryan Cooper is the Managing Editor of The American Prospect. Formerly, he was a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
Bernie Sanders has a problem. As mayor of Burlington back in the 1980s, he attacked the foreign policy of the Reagan administration in Latin America, and even briefly toured Nicaragua in support of its Sandinista government. He was reportedly present at a rally in Managua where protesters chanted anti-American slogans -- which is deeply concerning, writes New York magazine's Jonathan Chait.
Quite right. Americans of all political stripes should be very concerned about Sanders' anti-mass murder record.
Historical context is important here, as it reveals beyond question the saintly motives of Reagan's foreign policy team. From 1936-1979, Nicaragua was benevolently ruled by the Somoza family, who were friendly to the U.S. and the Nicaraguan working class alike. Their government was not at all corrupt, and in no way did the Somozas accumulate a vast dragon hoard of wealth looted out of the country.
But leftist forces, motivated by nothing more than spite, mounted a guerrilla insurgency in the mid-70s. They took up the mantle of Augusto Sandino, who unfortunately died after slipping on a banana peel during earnest peace talks with Anastasio Somoza Garcia in 1934, who had offered free puppies and ice cream to all leftist factions. After years of hard fighting, these Sandinistas finally overthrew the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (son of the first Somoza) in 1979.
Conservative forces launched a counter-revolution (thus Contras, for Contrarrevolucion), and Reagan naturally supported them with money and weapons, as all right-thinking people would have done. Democrats in Congress were inexplicably wary of foreign intervention, and so after they discovered that the CIA was putting Freedom Mines in Nicaraguan harbors in 1984, they banned military aid to the Contras. The administration was forced to turn to selling arms to Iran to finance them.
Read full article here.
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