Lies and Invasions: Before Iraq there was Grenada .....
Epimenedes | 04.02.2004 18:40
The Iraq War was justified, as we all know, by the systematic lies of politicians about "intelligence". How interesting to see the similar ways in which the ground was laid for the United States's invasion of Grenada in 1983 twenty years earlier
WAR LIES, TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ....
Lie 1: The US media give wide currency to government reports that a Soviet submarine base is being constructed on the south coast of Grenada.
But: In 1983 Ed Post, a correspondent for the Washington Post, finally visits the supposed site and points out that no submarine base could possibly be built in an area where the sea was so shallow (characteristically, the Washington Post did not carry his story).
Lie 2: In February 1983, the US Defense Department announces that the Soviet Union has shipped to Grenada assault helicopters, hydrofoil torpedo boats, and supersonic MIG fighters which gave Grenada an air force of 200 modern planes.– Washington Post, 2/27/83.
But: None of this mighty armada has ever been found.
Lie 3: In March 1983, Reagan tells an American television audience that the new airport being built in Grenada is intended as a military facility for the Russians and Cubans. It would have a 10,000-foot runway, Reagan warned, although "Grenada doesn’t even have an air force [though see Hoax #2]. Who is it intended for? … The rapid build-up of Grenada’s military potential is unrelated to any conceivable threat. … The Soviet-Cuban militarization of Grenada … can only be seen as a power projection into the region." He also displays aerial photos of the construction site as if to imply something hidden and furtive in the operation. – New York Times, 3/26/83.
But: The site is open to the public (no need for spy photos) since the airfield is meant to foster tourism (the island’s only growth industry). Along with several new tourist hotels, the building of the airfield has been encouraged by the World Bank. The excavation is being done by a Florida company and the communications work is being done by British multinational corporation Plessey. Plessey states that "[t]he airport … was being built to civilian specifications" and lists a number of technical characteristics of a military airport/base which the new airport would not have. The airport is being funded by nations including Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. As for the length of the runway, at least five other Caribbean tourist islands such as Barbados have similar-sized or larger airfields yet do not possess air forces.
What is the moral of the story, apart from the fact that American Presidents can be counted on to lie? That once they have their war, and have succeeded, they quickly attempt to bury their lies.
We need to collect Tony's chain of lies from August 2002 to the present, and keep them ever visible. We will strangle him in his own chain of murderous lies.
Lie 1: The US media give wide currency to government reports that a Soviet submarine base is being constructed on the south coast of Grenada.
But: In 1983 Ed Post, a correspondent for the Washington Post, finally visits the supposed site and points out that no submarine base could possibly be built in an area where the sea was so shallow (characteristically, the Washington Post did not carry his story).
Lie 2: In February 1983, the US Defense Department announces that the Soviet Union has shipped to Grenada assault helicopters, hydrofoil torpedo boats, and supersonic MIG fighters which gave Grenada an air force of 200 modern planes.– Washington Post, 2/27/83.
But: None of this mighty armada has ever been found.
Lie 3: In March 1983, Reagan tells an American television audience that the new airport being built in Grenada is intended as a military facility for the Russians and Cubans. It would have a 10,000-foot runway, Reagan warned, although "Grenada doesn’t even have an air force [though see Hoax #2]. Who is it intended for? … The rapid build-up of Grenada’s military potential is unrelated to any conceivable threat. … The Soviet-Cuban militarization of Grenada … can only be seen as a power projection into the region." He also displays aerial photos of the construction site as if to imply something hidden and furtive in the operation. – New York Times, 3/26/83.
But: The site is open to the public (no need for spy photos) since the airfield is meant to foster tourism (the island’s only growth industry). Along with several new tourist hotels, the building of the airfield has been encouraged by the World Bank. The excavation is being done by a Florida company and the communications work is being done by British multinational corporation Plessey. Plessey states that "[t]he airport … was being built to civilian specifications" and lists a number of technical characteristics of a military airport/base which the new airport would not have. The airport is being funded by nations including Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. As for the length of the runway, at least five other Caribbean tourist islands such as Barbados have similar-sized or larger airfields yet do not possess air forces.
What is the moral of the story, apart from the fact that American Presidents can be counted on to lie? That once they have their war, and have succeeded, they quickly attempt to bury their lies.
We need to collect Tony's chain of lies from August 2002 to the present, and keep them ever visible. We will strangle him in his own chain of murderous lies.
Epimenedes
