In all the hoopla over the centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birth published in this newspaper and others during the past week I’ve seen nothing about his stated dream of a nuclear free world which both our Texas senators recently made every effort to derail by voting against the New Start Treaty.
There was also no word on Reagan’s support for the murderous right-wing Contra’s in Nicaragua whom he financed by selling arms to Iran in violation of U.S. law. Nor was there mention of his funding and training of the right-wing Guatemalan military, which a United Nations commission found to be a "key factor" in that military committing "acts of genocide" causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of indigenous Mayans and many other nonviolent left-wing activists.
No one wrote that it was under Reagan that the United States armed and supported Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his aggressive war against Iran, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Those actions, it should be noted, embittered citizens of both countries against the United States. And let us not forget that it was his administration which helped lay the groundwork for Al Qaeda by financing and training an Islamist militant movement in Afghanistan and Pakistan aimed at fighting the Soviet Union.
So yes let’s all remember Ronald Reagan just so long as we remember who he really was.
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Bravo. If we're going to "celebrate", let's at least be honest about who this man truly was.
ReplyDeleteAfter returning from Guatemala and meeting with the murderous dictator, Rios Montt, Reagan said HE didn't see any killing fields there, as if all the stories had just been made up. Did he really think that Rios Montt would take him out on a casual drive to see women and children hacked to death?
His support of that regime led to thousands more deaths. People will do well to remember this side of his as well, as Republicans venerate his life- remember all sides, and then think about if you really want to support people who worship this man.