Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
In keeping with the obvious Anglo-American assault on Syria,
destabilization efforts disguised as popular movements against national
governments are once again popping up in all corners of the world.
Although the thinly disguised destabilization campaign known as the Arab
Spring was largely confined to the Middle East, the latest push by
Western-backed intelligence agencies, governments, militaries, and NGOs
(Non Governmental Organizations) is now taking on global form.
Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Malaysia all seem to be caught in the
crosshairs of the Anglo-American elite and the destabilization tactics
of NGOs, Foundations, and popular uprisings that end (and sometimes
begin) with violence. From the Middle East and South America to Africa
and Asia, the Anglo-American empire is marching forward with a drastic
enlargement of covertly conquered territory, putting the Western world
on an inevitable and intentional collision course with both Russia and
China.
One need only take a brief look at the unfolding events in Syria,
Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Malaysia in order to see the hands of Western
militaries and intelligence working behind the scenes; even though some
operate more out in the open than others. This article will briefly
examine the situation of the latter three countries.
Venezuela
In addition to the aforementioned NATO-backed crisis in Syria, there exists the continuing effort to
shake up and remold the regime in Venezuela.
Under the leadership of former President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela was a
stalwart source of resistance to the plans of the Anglo-Americans for
years, particularly since the George W. Bush administration and, like
the imperialist policies the Venezuelan government was initially
responding to, continued through the Obama administration.
Likewise, for just as long, both Chavez’ government and the current
Venezuelan administration has been the target of US/NATO-backed
destabilization efforts, covert operations, and political pressure.
Although Venezuela and the United States are held together by
joint business interests
involving petroleum exports and imports, this fact has done nothing to
soften the tension between the two governments. Venezuela is, after all,
the biggest supplier of petroleum to the United States. In turn, the
United States is Venezuela’s biggest customer.
Nevertheless, both countries have been without ambassadors since 2010
due to Chavez’ rejection of the nomination of Larry Palmer by the Obama
administration and Washington’s subsequent dismissal of the Venezuelan
ambassador in response. Furthermore, the imperialist US sanctions
regarding
countries, banks, businesses,
and individuals
that do business with Iran were applied to the Venezuelan state oil
company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), in May 2011 after the US State
Department claimed that PDVSA delivered two cargo shipments of refined
petroleum products worth approximately $50 million to Iran between the
months of December and March 2010-2011.
In addition,
as NewsMax reports,
The U.S. also imposed penalties on Venezuela's Military Industries Co.
for violating the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act by
selling or buying sensitive equipment and technology related to nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile systems.
Even more so, Chavez’ government, in 2002, was briefly overthrown as a result of
a coup largely supported by the United States.
Although Chavez was able to regain control of the Presidency and the
government within a mere 48 hours, such an affront to Venezuelan
sovereignty and personal power is not likely to be forgotten by the
Venezuelan government. In turn, the fact that the United States is ready
and willing to back opposition leaders capable of storming the capitol
and taking power is not likely to be forgotten by individuals seeking to
do so.
This
was precisely the attempt made by the United States and Anglo-American
networks during the last Presidential election when Chavez was still
alive and campaigning for another term against Western agent Henrique
Capriles Radonski who openly stated his favoritism toward dismantling
many of the social programs developed by Chavez.
Whatever one may have thought about Chavez or the Venezuelan government,
it was clear enough that the Radonski campaign was a tentacle of
Western intelligence and NGO networks.
As Lee Brown of Venezuela Analysis wrote at the time,
However there are obvious concerns that this fits neatly with the
objectives of those within the right-wing opposition in Venezuela who
are planning for the non-recognition of the coming elections if, as
expected, Hugo Chavez wins. With the polls showing strong leads for Hugo
Chavez, a campaign is already underway by sections of the right-wing
opposition coalition to present any electoral defeat as being down to
Chavez-led fraud.
This has seen baseless attacks on the independent National Electoral
Council (CNE,) which has overseen all of Venezuelans’ elections
described as free and fair by a range of international observers. The
opposition has announced plans to place tens of thousands of ‘witnesses’
at polling stations on election day and then, illegally to release its
own results ahead of the official results in a clear bid to discredit
them. These plans have sharpened fears that opposition-led disruptions
and destabilisation will follow their defeat. This could easily meet
Duddy’s condition of 'an outbreak of violence and/or interruption of
democracy'.
The “Duddy” that Brown makes mention of in his quote is a reference to
Patrick Duddy, the former Ambassador to Venezuela, writing for the
Council on Foreign Relations in a paper entitled “
Political Unrest in Venezuela.”
In this paper, Duddy provided a clear list of possible military,
financial, and political contingency measures to be taken after the
October 7 elections were held, essentially giving voice to a variety of
opportunities which could be seized upon in order to foment the
appearance of a popular uprising in the event of a Radonski defeat. The
paper, in short, was a manual of suggestions for the implementation of a
coup against the wishes of the Venezuelan people.
In the end, Radonski was defeated and the immediate public rioting that
Duddy and the Anglo-American networks hoped for did not take shape.
However, the destabilization effort that Duddy and the CFR called for in
Duddy’s paper is beginning to take shape in Chavez’ absence.
After Chavez’s death and the subsequent campaign between Nicolás Maduro and Radonski, the vote count returned a
much smaller margin
of victory for Maduro than Chavez had enjoyed. Radonski, predictably,
refused to concede defeat and claimed that the elections had been
rigged.
Thus, while the internal debate surrounding the election results
intensifies inside Venezuela, Radonski has recently traveled to Colombia
to meet President Juan Manuel Santos, a staunch ally of the United
States. The visit is largely seen as an attempt to
shore up international support for his planned coup.
Indeed, Radonski is quite confident that the Maduro government will fall
and that he will be placed as leader. "I think this government, in the
current conditions of illegitimacy added to a deep economic crisis it's
showing no intention of addressing, is going to cave in,"
Capriles said.
As a result, Maduro has responded to Radonski with accusations that he
is nothing more than a destabilization agent for “right wing” actors who
wish to overthrow the leftist government. Tensions both inside and
outside the country are rising with diplomatic ties being “re-examined”
between Venezuela and Colombia as a result of the Radonski PR move as
well as growing pro-Radonski supporters now demonstrating in the
streets. Violent clashes between protesters and the government have
resulted in at least three deaths in recent weeks.
Anyone who has observed
the Syrian situation
in recent years can clearly see a parallel between that of Venezuela,
Zimbabwe, and Malaysia in the sense that NGO groups, Western media,
intelligence, and State Department related organizations initially
create or nurture an “opposition” party based on real, exaggerated, or
entirely imagined concerns which is then thrust into the streets with
claims of oppression, violence, stolen elections, and human rights
violations. The country is then thrown into disarray when protests are
stoked further and the government responds. Eventually, the introduction
of violence on the part of the protestors threatens to either grind the
country to a standstill (as in Egypt) or
plunge it into a civil war (as in Syria).
Zimbabwe
An example of a nation with numerous legitimate complaints against their
current government –economics, social policy, and civil and human
rights – Zimbabwe has also recently come under the fiery eye of Western
imperialists as of late.
To be sure, such interest in Zimbabwe never truly abated since the days
of British control, but the fact that Robert Mugabe has now outlived his
usefulness to the Anglo-American establishment is becoming clearer by
the day.
As Eric Draitser of
Stop Imperialism writes,
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by current Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai is no mere opposition party. Rather, they are the
Zimbabwean face of neoliberal capitalism and continued subservience to
corporate-imperial power. Although Tsvangirai’s party shrouds itself in
the flag of anti-corruption and “sustainable development”, the truth is
that these are merely the rhetorical cover for rolling back the gains
made by the people of Zimbabwe under the leadership of Mugabe and
ZANU-PF.
While the “gains made by the people of Zimbabwe” are highly debatable,
it is quite true that Tsvangirai is nothing more than an agent of the
Anglo-Americans.
For instance, Wikileaks revealed in a leaked cable in 2010 that
“Tsvangirai collaborated with President Obama and the US establishment
against the interests of Zimbabwe and the people.”
As reported by TalkZimbabwe.com, Tsvangirai travelled to Washington,
D.C. in 2009 in order to ask for the continuation of sanctions against
his own country. (Tsvangirai is part of a power-sharing government with
Robert Mugabe and was at the time of the meeting.)
TalkZimbabwe wrote,
A RECENT missive from whistle-blowing website, Wikileaks, makes the
shocking revelation that the MDC-T leader and prime minister in the
inclusive Government used a state trip to call for the maintenance of
sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Morgan Tsvangirai visited the US president, Barack Obama, and met at the White House on 12 June, 2009.
The trip, which was sanctioned by the State, was meant to be bring the
two governments diplomatically closer together, but Mr Tsvangirai used
the trip to ask the US to maintain sanctions against Zimbabwe for
“retaining leverage” against Zanu-PF.
This was revealed in a letter written to Mr Obama by the MDC-T leader on
29 December, 2009 and published in a cable by WikiLeaks this week.
Mr Tsvangirai said that sanctions can be used to “sustain momentum when it comes”.
During his trip, Mr Tsvangirai hoodwinked Zimbabweans arguing that
Zimbabwe has made progress and that he was working well with President
Mugabe and that they enjoyed a functional, working relationship, while
secretly calling on the US to retain the illegal and ruinous sanctions
against Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, Obama flatly refused to meet with members of the Zanu-PF
but met with members of both of the two different MDC factions.
TalkZimbabwe continues,
Mr Tsvangirai at the time travelled with a State contingent that
included tourism minister, Walter Mzembi, from Zanu-PF whom President
Obama refused to meet although he met other ministers from the two MDC
factions.
The WikiLeaks cable also reveals that Mr Tsvangirai was also talking to
US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, about the sanctions, which he
prefers to call “restrictive measures”.
Ambassador Ray has in the past denied that he takes sides in the
Zimbabwean conflict and says the US is a neutral party in the country’s
politics.
Mr Tsvangirai’s secret letter also reveals that the US has been directly
supporting his office – an allegation that the MDC-T has in the past
denied. He also reveals that the US President was “personally” giving
support to the MDC-T party.
“Your support for my office has also been invaluable and I look forward
to this continuing,” writes Mr Tsvangirai in a letter to President
Obama.
Zanu-PF Politburo member and former Zimbabwean Minister of Information,
Professor Jonathan Moyo has in the recent past written extensively about
how the US is funding parallel government structures in the country and
the MDC-T party has denied this. This letter now puts paid to MDC-T
refusals that the US has been funding parallel structures in the
inclusive Government.
In the secret letter Mr Tsvangirai also thanks US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who he sent his “warm thanks”.
Mr Tsvangirai also reveals that South African President Jacob Zuma has
had “secret dialogue” with President Obama over Zimbabwe.
Professor Moyo has criticised the mediation role of President Zuma and
his spokesperson Lindiwe Zulu alleging that they are not impartial in
their mediation role in Zimbabwe.
Mr Tsvangirai wrote: “The role played by SADC, in general, and the
mediator President Jacob Zuma, in particular, is greatly appreciated.”
He added: “I know that you have personally played a crucial role in
helping this to happen, and I encourage you to continue your crucial
dialogue with President Zuma.”
Yet, while this situation is bad enough, especially considering that the
people of Zimbabwe will be the only ones who feel the actual
ramifications of such bargaining tools, evidence also points clearly
toward the control over the entire MDC-T party itself by the American
CIA.
As the Zimbabwe Herald reported on May 13, 2013 in its article “
Zimbabwe: Three CIA Agents For MDC-T Indaba,”
MDC-T has reportedly invited three Central Intelligence Agency agents to
attend its policy conference set for this Friday as part of last ditch
efforts to formulate an appealing election manifesto ahead of the
impending harmonised polls.
. . . . .
The Herald is reliably informed that the three CIA agents were also
behind MDC-T's security policy document which is expected to be tabled
at Friday's meeting.
In the document titled "Policy Discussion Papers - Security Sector
Cluster: 1. Defence and National Security 2. Home Affairs", MDC-T
announces plans to fire all serving security chiefs with a Zanla or
Zipra background and hire what it termed senior police staff from
Western countries to instil "professionalism" in the force should it
attain power.
It is understood that the US spies were expected to arrive sometime this
week to work on the policy document that would be launched at the close
of the national policy conference.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora confirmed the invitation of
foreigners although he refused to divulge their countries of origin.
Mr Mwonzora preferred to call the foreign delegates "observers".
The Herald also quoted Mwonzora as saying, “To perfect the document,
there are three CIA members who have been invited under the banner of
foreign observers.”
The Wikileaks revelations also included cables sent by former Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, who wrote the following:
Our policy is working and it’s helping drive changes here. What is
required is simply the grit, determination and focus to see this
through. Then, when the changes finally come we must be ready to move
quickly to help consolidate the new dispensation
. . . . .
He [Mr. Tsvangirai] is the indispensable element for regime change, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power.
Dell also wrote
that “food and fuel shortages were to be used as a tool for regime
change.” In comparison to the CFR’s Patrick Duddy paper on Venezuela,
consider also that the notorious Anglo-American propaganda outfit run by
George Soros known as the International Crisis Group has recently
released its own report entitled, “
Zimbabwe: Election Scenarios,”
in which it suggests possibilities of violence and social
disintegration surrounding the elections. One need only glance at the
report to see the alarmingly similar tone of language to that of the
Duddy paper.
It says,
If the impasse on election reforms persists, the vote may be
rescheduled. Political leaders recognise that to proceed when the risk
of large-scale violence is high and when parties and SADC disagree over
what constitutes an acceptable threshold for credible elections would be
dangerous. Faced with divisions that threaten their performance in the
polls, ZANU-PF and MDC-T may back postponement.
A military takeover is unlikely, not least because of uncertainty about
the political allegiance of the rank and file, probable regional censure
and international isolation. However, allegations of the army’s bias
and complicity in human rights violations raise concerns it may seek to
influence the election outcome. It may also present itself as a
stabilising force if inter- and intra-party relations deteriorate
further.
Interestingly enough, the paper also goes on to discuss “red lines” concerning the upcoming vote. It says,
The pervasive fear of violence and actual intimidation contradicts
rhetorical commitments to peace. A reasonably free vote is still
possible, but so too are deferred or disputed polls, or even a military
intervention. The international community seems ready to back the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), which must work with GPA
partners to define and enforce “red lines” for a credible vote…That the
elections are likely to be tense and see some violence and intimidation
is clear; what is not yet clear is the nature of the violence, its
extent, and the response it will generate. [emphasis added]
Eric Draitser of Stop Imperialism, when analyzing the ICG report, thus
concurs with my previous statement that violence surrounding real,
perceived, or even outright fabricated election fraud is a typical tool
of the Anglo-American networks seeking to destabilize what they deem to
be “rogue” nations, i.e. nations not completely obedient to their
immediate dictates.
Draitser writes,
However, even a cursory examination of recent similar episodes in
Venezuela, Iran, and elsewhere shows that “disputed elections” are the
favorite tool of subversion by the imperial powers which use NGOs such
as the International Crisis Group as their unofficial mouthpieces. When
the ICG speaks, it is with the voice of US intelligence and the ruling
class.
If the experience of Venezuela is any indication, we are likely to see
violence in the streets should MDC-T lose the election, particularly if
the margin of victory is small. As with Capriles and the US-funded
opposition in Venezuela, the creation of violence in the streets is
merely a trick employed for the purposes of destabilizing the government
in a time of transition, with the goal of creating enough chaos to
delegitimize the rule of the victors. And so, ZANU-PF and the
Zimbabwean people must remain vigilant as the country heads into these
all-important elections.
Malaysia
Interestingly enough, Malaysia also
finds itself in the crosshairs
of a Western-backed campaign of destabilization. Much like the
situation in Venezuela, the attempt is clearly to install a Western
puppet president and, much like Syria, that puppet is one which has been
attached at the hip with Western NGO’s and think tanks as well as one
who has lived largely outside of the country since his own removal from
politics.
In the case of Malaysia, that puppet is Anwar Ibrahim.
It should be noted that, like Henrique Capriles Radonski of Venezuela,
Ibrahim was soundly defeated by the popular vote in the recent general
elections even despite the fact that Ibrahim was heavily supported by
Western NGOs, governments, and media. Regardless of the election
results, however, Ibrahim and his coalition are now calling for street
protests that themselves could easily turn violent as we have seen both
in Venezuela and the entirety of the Western-controlled “Arab Spring.”
Indeed, the stated purpose of the street protests is to topple the
current government with speakers at a recent forum attended by
“opposition” groups calling for the government to be removed by force.
NOTE* (Please see Tony Cartalucci’s excellent article, “
US Prepares to Overthrow Malaysian Government” for a run down on these events.)
As Free Malaysia Today reported,
Pro-Pakatan Rakyat groups have vowed to overthrow the Barisan Nasional government this year through a massive street rally.
Speakers at a forum held yesterday unanimously agreed that waiting for
five years until the next general election was too long, and vowed to
overthrow BN this year through “force”.
. . . . .
Electoral watchdog group Bersih 2.0 steering committee member
Hishamuddin Rais pointed out that it was useless to take their
unhappiness to the courts as he claimed the justice system was being
controlled by the government.
“That is why we must take to the streets. We have to come out. What
Najib likes is wrong, and what he doesn’t like is what we have to do,”
he said.
“We will mobilise a big group and rally on the streets. This is not a threat, this is a promise,” he stressed.
It should be noted that the figurehead of the “opposition” in Malaysia,
Anwar Ibrahim,
was Chairman of the Development Committee of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund in 1998 as well as a lecturer at the School
of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Ibrahim
was also a consultant to the World Bank. Ibrahim was also the President
of the UNESCO General Conference.
In addition, Ibrahim has been
closely associated
with the Neo-Con destabilization organ known as the National Endowment
for Democracy (NED). For instance, he was a panelist at the NED’s “
Democracy Award” and a panelist at an
NED donation ceremony.
In another interesting coalescence of facts, the Bersih 2.0 “electoral
watchdog” allegedly “observing” and analyzing the rising tensions in
Malaysia is itself funded by the US State Department. By continuous
claims of fraudulent elections and obstacles to peaceful settlement,
Bersih is intentionally fueling the fire to collapse the current
government in order to install Ibrahim as puppet leader and usher in a
new era of imperialist domination over Malaysia.
Bersih’s own links to the NED are clear enough.
According to the Malaysia Insider,
Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevassan "...admitted to Bersih receiving some
money from two US organisations — the National Democratic Institute
(NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI) — for other projects, which she
stressed were unrelated to the July 9 march." The NDI is, of course,
nothing more than a subsidiary of the NED.
Cartalucci reports that clear evidence of both funding and training
being provided to Bersih by the NDI was present on the NDI’s own website
at one point until the NDI removed it.
Cartalucci states, “A visit to the NDI website revealed indeed that
funding and training had been provided by the US organization - before
NDI took down the information and replaced it with
a more benign version purged entirely of any mention of Bersih.
For funding Ambiga claims is innocuous, the NDI's rushed obfuscation of
any ties to her organization suggests something far more sinister at
play.”
There is, indeed, something much more sinister at play. However, Bersih
is not the only “election monitor” funded and directed by NGOs such as
the NED. Merdeka Center for Opinion Research is yet another organization
that is
funded by the NED and thus by the US State Department itself.
With this in mind, Cartalucci states,
Without a doubt, this premeditated sedition aimed at Malaysia's ruling
government has been designed, funded, and directed from Washington on
behalf of Wall Street and London, not by the Malaysian people on behalf
of Malaysia's best interests.
The street protests conducted by Bersih have all the hallmarks of
US-backed "color revolutions," and this recent attempt to overturn
election results that do not favor an overt US-proxy, foreshadows the
same destructive, divisive, violent, and regressive unrest that has
plagued Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria after US-engineered uprisings
have left each in turn destabilized, failed states overrun by
extremists, dictators, and traitors many times worse than the
governments activists sought to overthrow.
And with Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria in hindsight, will Malaysians
fall into this same familiar trap? Whatever discontent Malaysians may
have with the current government, it is all but assured Bersih and
US-proxy candidate Anwar Ibrahim will compound perceived injustices
while compromising Malaysia's political, social, and economic stability,
and begin channeling Malaysia's resources and energy toward foreign
interests and designs,particularly those involving the encirclement and containment of China.
As
Syria begins to mop up the psychotic death squads that have been
wreaking havoc on the Middle Eastern nation for the last two years,
talk is now turning to
direct military intervention.
Yet, at the same time, the Anglo-American empire is expanding its
assault in the third world, marching forward across, Latin America,
Africa, and Asia.
This march, no doubt, will place North America and Europe (meaning the
Western world) directly on a collision course with Russia and China in
the visible future.
By exposing both the ramifications of such action and the true nature of
what the majority of the Western public believes to be a mass movement
of oppressed peoples against their tyrannical governments, the notion
that the Western nations are supporting freedom fighters in the third
world, it may then be possible to break the false narrative of the
threat of “al-qaeda” terrorism that has functioned as the basis for
every police state measure put in place since 2001.
New York Post – by BETH DEFALCO
