THE HORROR.

[RC]

Shapley,

Thank you for helping me not flounder here. You speak what I was thinking so much more eloquently.

[lliam]

I Feel I Must Post This, Lest We Forget, Although I Guess The Truth is, some of us need our Memories to be Jogged a Little.
===================================================
Idi Amin, a.k.a. "Big Daddy" or, more formally "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadj Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular
Amin's name was synonymous with tyranny during his presidency of Uganda, from 1971-79. Amin's career took him from illiterate national boxing champion to chief of staff, "doctor" to military dictator, mass murderer to chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). In the nearly 25 years since his rule ended, has the behaviour of African regimes or outside observers and aid donors changed?

"Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are," the saying goes. Amin's friends included the communist Red Brigades and Palestinian terrorists he aided in their 1976 hijacking of an Air France airliner to Entebbe. The Jewish passengers being held on the plane (who were rescued in the spectacular Israeli raid that ended the hijacking) had been carefully selected: Amin, who publicly praised Hitler for murdering Jews, had become an admirer of the Fuhrer after Israel, which he visited, refused to provide him with modern weapons.

Idi Amin was a declared racist. He confiscated the wealth and expelled from Uganda all Asians, whose crime was being hard working, and Asian. (Neither India nor Pakistan would receive them: it was the United Kingdom that gave them asylum and another chance to use their talents and get rich again.)

But the West's blind eye toward Amin was such that, as the U.S. ambassador to Uganda at the time, Thomas Melady, recently noted, the human rights-oriented administration of future Nobel Peace laureate Jimmy Carter refused to impose even the most minimal sanctions (such as on Ugandan coffee) on Amin's regime. And this was an administration that unhesitatingly penalized Argentina for human rights abuses against educated, middle-class Marxist terrorists.

That Amin was a member of Uganda's small Muslim community allowed him ultimately, after sometime in Libya, to reach safe and comfortable asylum in Saudi Arabia. He was granted asylum, thereby avoiding a trial in his own country for the 100,000 to 300,000 murders committed by his regime, in the name of umma (worldwide Muslim community) solidarity. Reporters describe the Saudi-funded exile's life in Jeddah as one of a comfortable suburban home, driving Cadillac’s, BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, lunching at the Meridien, having tea at the Sofitel, and swimming and taking massages at the Intercontinental.
The UN (which, interestingly, has been less vocal about Amin than it has been about Milosevic or Mladic), and the human rights NGOs were all disturbingly mute about Amin's comfortable asylum. Because Amin has enjoyed exile as a Muslim, the world must tolerate it, fearful as the West is of holding Muslims to the same human rights standard as others are held to.

Indeed, while 1979 was a bad year for African dictators-cannibalistic Jean Bedel Bokassa, the "Emperor" of Central Africa, was overthrown by his erstwhile French protectors; sadistic Macias Nguema of Equatorial Guinea was shot by a Moroccan squad (locals did not believe he could be killed, considering his voodoo talents)-Amin at least survived, no matter how many of his countrymen he fed to the crocodiles. Interesting for those who still believe, or claim to believe, in "international law," Bokassa, a recent convert to Islam, was removed by a perfectly illegal French Foreign Legion intervention; Moroccans tied up Equatorial Guinea after Nguema, and it was an illegal Tanzanian invasion that liberated Uganda from Amin.

After becoming chairman of the OAU in 1975, Amin was able to use that platform to rant about Israeli "racism" and other causes. At the time Amin became chairman, chairmanship of the OAU--which has since been renamed the African Union (AU)--was a matter of rotation. The chairman's values were assumed to be "African" because he was president of a member state. The Libyan-backed AU does not seem troubled by its history of glorifying mass murderers such as Amin, Bokassa, or Nguema. Old habits are hard to break, and the AU continues to preclude discussion of this by labelling it "racism" to question Africa or an African leader.

"African solidarity," a racialist term if ever there was one, remains the AU's approach to the rest of the world. Amin may have been a criminal, but non-Africans have no right to say so. The same AU nations that judge other nations' pasts harshly (Europeans, for instance, were "slave-owning criminals") are mute about Amin (and Bokassa, Nguema. etc.). But that was in the past, some would say - wrongly. Today Amin's successors, Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Taylor in Liberia, are still protected by their African colleagues. Mugabe is still in power (and harbouring fellow murderer and former Ethiopian version of Stalin, Mengistu Haile Mariam) and still ruining what was once one of Africa's prosperous countries, simply because South Africa does not want him out. Nigeria, which vies with South Africa for African leadership, has long allowed Taylor to stay in power and create havoc throughout the region, and now has given him asylum - despite his indictment by a UN court in Sierra Leone.

And then there is Central Africa, a bloody mess the size of Western Europe. In 1994 the majority Hutus in Rwanda murdered at least half a million Tutsis, in a mass frenzy of genocide proportions. What did "Africa" and its Western supporters, or enablers, do? Blame the West for not stopping Africans from butchering Africans, and have the UN establish a court to try the perpetrators. That court, in Tanzania, has managed to convict 15 persons in seven years at the cost of sixty million dollars…Meanwhile in neighbouring Burundi the Hutus are trying hard to come to power - with the potential of a Rwanda repeat.

As for the Democratic Republic of Congo (!!!), the continent's second largest "country", it is a huge sore on the map, robbed blind by "friends" like Angola and Zimbabwe, with large areas under Ugandan or Rwandan control, a political fiction but a much too real tragedy. After Mugabe and the Angolans stole enough and left (just as the Nigerians did in Liberia a few years back), it was left to…the French to establish temporary order in a small region.

Collapse in Sierra Leone? Call the British. Collapse in Côte d'Ivoire? Call the French. Collapse in Liberia? Call the Marines. Where is the African Union, so aggressive in condemning colonialism and slavery (but only the European part in it) and demanding universal respect and "a voice" in world affairs? Well, the AU did take a position on Zimbabwe - it elected Mugabe as one of its vice presidents.

There are, of course, notable and decent exceptions - Senegal, Botswana and… Senegal and Botswana. Uganda itself has recovered from Amin's reign of destruction and is now doing better than most. But all in all it does not seem that "Africa", or at least its self - proclaimed spokesmen have internalized the lessons of Idi Amin's rule. He may have died but the evil he represented still haunts the continent.

[Shapley]

Thank you, Lliam, I had not wanted to be so specific, since my memories of actual events are poor. Clearly Amin was the worst of the worst.

Thanks, RC, you gave me an opening to leap into waters that I had wanted to test, but was a bit timid to jump into.

V/R
Shapley

[RC]

Likewise Lliam, thank you for your efforts.

I can ALMOST remember the catchy lyrics:..."Idi, Idi, Idi Amin, he's the...(something, something)...the world has seen. He be the general, the president, the king of the sea Idi, Idi, Idi Amin"

Let me throw in another taboo since I appear to be on a roll~ when you hear "holocaust", most westerners think of Adolf Hitler's persecution of the Jews.

What has happened multiple times all over the African continent for the last couple hundred years is equally horrifying and manages to simply recycle from time to time.

[Shapley]

"I'd like spend some time in Mozambique,
the summer sky is aqua blue.
All the couples, dancing cheek to cheek,
It's very nice to stay a week or two,
and maybe fall in love, just me and you."

Bob Dylan wrote those lyrics in the '70s. I'm sure they were true, once.

[haggis]

"Don't forget the US who fed the demand for slaves long after many european countries had banned slavery."

RC, that's a historically inaccurate comment with no appreciation of the horrors visited upon Africa by the Europeans.

Nothing the slave trading U.S. (despicable as it was) ever did even began to rival the atrocities of the Europeans. In one year the British and French killed more Africans than were ever sold into slavery to the U.S.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the only country in Africa regarded as “non-Colonial” was Liberia which had been endowed and set up by the U.S. for former Southern slaves who immediately set about enslaving the native Africans on the West coast of Africa.

And don’t believe that slavery is a thing of the past; slavery is alive and well even unto today in parts of Africa, Sudan mostly, and the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, mostly, and Africans still remain the majority of those enslaved.

The U.S. miserable contribution to the sorrow and misery of Africa was despicable but not even remotely on the scale of the Europeans who enslaved and exploited the native Africans for more than four centuries, including well into the 20th Century.

<small>[ 08-04-2004, 12:07 AM: Message edited by: Haggis ]</small>

[RC]

Haggis,

Liberia, Sierra Leone's neighbor, was a product of Nation Building by the US. We sent former slaves back to Africa, set up a democracy, set up capitalistic trade, and watched it crumble over the next 150 years into disaray and bloodshed.

~taken from the EXACT same post from which you quoted

What has happened multiple times all over the African continent for the last couple hundred years is equally horrifying and manages to simply recycle from time to time.

You have taken a single line out of an entire thread to make a point that has already been made.

Unless I missed YOUR point.

You have labeled something historically inaccurate which is not. The fact that some European countries are MORE egregious does NOT wash away our own sins. That is all the point there was to be had from the line you chose from all the rest.

Also, if you carry on with the post, you will note that Africa itself is not spared blame.

It would be very shallow not to take ALL things into consideration. I think that is a problem with food handouts.

<small>[ 08-04-2004, 07:39 AM: Message edited by: RC ]</small>

[haggis]

You misunderstand my point; I apologize for not being succinct.

It seemed from your original quote that you somehow thought the U.S. was equally culpable for the state of Africa now based on the slave trade.

I was pointing out that it was the Europeans who reduced Africa to utter ruin and that the slave trade, though diminished, still remains today.

[RC]

RC,

I avoided talking about this becasue of the ease with which ones statements can be misconstrued.

:roll:

[RC]

Please listen to the audio for details: HHS delivers interactive books to Afghanistan

from HHS website:

HHS will initially disseminate 2,000 books to Afghan households and primary health care centers through an initial distribution program used to evaluate both usability and behavior change measures. Results of this initial distribution will be used to determine the best dissemination method for the 20,000 books that the United States is giving to Afghanistan.

The US government is sending battery operated picture books to show Afghan women basic hygien and nutrition information.

We're talking about a place where you have to bring your own syringe to the hospital and if you can't afford the drugs when you get there, you die because there just isn't enough to go around.

The battery operated books cost $60/each. X $20,000 = $1,200,000.00 (plus shipping and handling) and excluding the batteries .

Where do you buy batteries in Afghanistan and whith what do you buy them? Don't worry about it, we're sending "extras".

You will hear Tommy Thomson's comments if you listen to the audio in the link-

...will improve the image of Americans in the world...medical diplomacy...make a big difference in the world.

Maybe we should spend $1,200,000.00 on schools. If you're looking to stem the death rate immediately, why not spend $1,200,000.00 on drugs and hospitals?

I'd like to know what your opinions are.

[dai bread]

One of the people I talked to when I was working on night shift was an American ex-serviceman. (Very ex- he was about my age & I'm retired). He had been in a group sent to Afghanistan to gather intelligence. They were equipped with all the latest American mod. cons., and so the first thing they needed when they reached a village was a hefty power supply.

They very quickly realised that in most villages the power supply might possibly have been enough to run a lightbulb in the head man's hut, but it would never run their American mod. cons.

They found more primitive ways of getting their imformation out. Do you still call it "Yankee ingenuity"?

It seems that decisions are still being made by people with no knowledge of the countries they're dealing with. In the case of the books, what on earth is wrong with paper? Things like this make me wonder if someone got a bribe.

[RC]

The thing that stuck in my craw (do people still say that?), was the part where Tommy Thompson deliveres his passionate speech about how this will make America look good to the rest of the world. He can not possibly believe that.

This is exactly what tarnishes a reputation; insincerity, obliviousness to the rest of the world.

And when things don't work out in Afghanistan, we can say but not mean "we did our best". Just like most of the times we sent humanitarian aid to Africa. Most of America, whith our noses to the grindstone so we can pay for our boat, will buy it. After all, we're paying the government to handle it.

When was the last time you personally hired a contractor and didn't really care if the job was getting done?

<small>[ 08-05-2004, 11:34 AM: Message edited by: RC ]</small>

[rwcrooks]

RC,

We (in Wisconsin) are all too familiar with Tommy Thompson, since he used to be our governor.

His nickname in the state is "Stick it to 'em" Tommy. This started when the Milwaukee Brewers wanted a new stadium. Since they couldn't afford one, they asked for a state bailout which was sent to a ballot resolution. The deal is that 5 counties would pay higher taxes to pay for the stadium in Milwaukee. The stadium has absolutely NO impact on 4 of the 5 counties. Thompson actually traveled around the state pushing this referendum (yep, everyone in the state got to vote on applying taxes to only 5 counties!) and telling people to "Stick it to 'em."

Most Wisconsinites were happy to see him get a federal gov't post.

[rwcrooks]

RC,

Actually, we could probably buy a traditional book for everyone in Afghanistan with that kind of cash.

Maybe Thompson needs to go to Afghanistan and try to buy some batteries? What a hoser.

[RC]

RichC,

Thats interesting insite into Tommy Thompson, I guess he shot himself in the foot as far as you're concerned.

We couldn't actually buy paper books. Because so much of the population is illiterate, you'd actually have to hire someone to read to them, thus my comment on spending the money on schools or meds.

[dai bread]

What about picture books? Still, I suppose that becomes a whole Special Project and would end up costing the same anyway. I hope the electric books have decent speakers. The ones that come with electronic dictionaries produce pretty unintelligible sound.

It's a while since I read "The Ugly American", but if I remember correctly it ended up with a physically ugly American doing real spadework that actually helped the village he was in. It was something of a textbook in how to deliver foreign aid, as well as how not to do it.

[Shapley]

It's interesting to me that so many people who are blasting the government for wasting money on things such as battery operated books still think they are the best choice to manage health care here at home.

[rwcrooks]

Shap,

Based on how well the government has done handling Social Security, I'd expect to see the same results if they got their meathooks into health care.

[RC]

dai bread~

It's a while since I read "The Ugly American",

from this post, I purchased "The Ugly American" and am reading it with my daughter. Thanks