Ronald Reagan

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

I think the citizens of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany (and yes I know Czechoslovakia and East Germany no longer exist as such) might have a case to show that there was intervention in their affairs. Those are just the countries where there was direct intervention that resulted in either a communist puppet government being installed or the country being absorbed into the Soviet Union. There are other formerly independent countries, such as Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, that had been part of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union until recently. Then there are other countries that have had a great influence exerted on them from the Soviet Union; Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Cuba, and many more from South America.

Of course, you are correct about direct intervention in the countries you list, of the very sort your describe.

Just so we don't lose site of the unfortunate dual history of superpower aggression, the list of countries in which the United States has directly intervened is also long. Here is just a sample of military intervention:

1890, Argentina, troops sent to protect U.S. economic interests in Buenos Aires

1891, Chile, Marines deployed to clash with nationalist rebels

1891, Haiti, U.S. troops put down revolt on Navassa

1893- , Hawaii, U.S. navy and ground troops overthrow and annex an independent kingdom

1898-1910, Philippines, U.S. navy and ground troops seize the country from Spain and kill 600,000 filipinos

1898-1902, Cuba, U.S. navy and ground troops seize Cuba from Spain (and still hold a Naval base on Cuban soil)

1898, Puerto Rico, U.S. Navy and ground troops seize Puerto Rico from Spain (still a U.S. colony)

1898, Guam, same as Puerto Rico above

1903, Honduras, U.S. Marines intervene in popular revolution

1907, Nicaragua, U.S. troops deployed to set up "Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate

1916-1924, Dominican Republic, Marines land and begin 8-year occupation to protect U.S. economic interests

1918-1922, Russia, U.S. Navy lands ground troops five times to fight the Bolsheviks

1922-1927, China, U.S. Navy and ground troops deployed during nationalist revolt

1925, Panama, U.S. Marines suppress a general strike

1932, El Salvador, U.S. Navy warships sent during the Mart? revolt

1947-1949, Greece, U.S. command operation to direct the far right in a civil war

1948-1954, Philippines, CIA directs war agains the Huk rebellion

1950, Puerto Rico, U.S. commands curshing of independence rebellion in Ponce

1953, Iran, CIA overthrows democracy and installs the Shah

1954, Guatemala, CIA directs exile invasion after new government nationalizes lands owned by U.S. companies; issues nuclear threat and launches bombers

1958, Lebanon, U.S. Navy and marines occupy country to stop rebels

1960-1975, Vietnam -- need I say more

1963, Iraq, CIA organizes a coup that kills the president and brings the Ba'ath Party to power, which then brings Saddam Hussein back from exile to become head of the Secret Service

1965, Indonesia, CIA assists the army in a coup that results in 1 million Indonesians slaughtered

1965-1966, Dominican Republic, U.S. troops land during the election campaign; bombings by U.S. air force

1966-1967, Guatemala, U.S. Green Berets intervene against rebels

1973, Chile, CIA engineers/backs a coup that ousts a democratically elected president

1981-1990, Nicaragua, "Iran-Contra" affair

1983-1984, Grenada, U.S. troops land and invade four years after a popular revolution

1990-1991, Iraq, First Gulf War

1992-1994, Somalia, U.S. troops, U.S. Navy help lead "UN" occupation during a civil war, backing one faction in Mogadishu

Shall I continue?

My point, of course, is that there's no clear good guy / bad guy in the world when it comes to the Cold War and its aftermath.