Would Someone Please Put A Muzzle On SecDef Gates?

On August 14th the media reported that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued a stern warning to Russia in regards to the conflict in Georgia. Secretary Gates said that strained relations may last for years if Russia does not pull back its forces.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4533544.ece

Is it just me, or does anyone else find Secretary Gates comments both arrogant and a bit hypocritical, especially when, according to Reuters, the United States currently has around 162,000 troops deployed to Iraq.

I wonder, how many times former Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the same stern rebuke to President Bush?

Could it be that President Bush is so full of self righteousness that he feels our nation can do whatever it wants without the same fear of lasting consequences or increased levels of anger towards the foreign policy of the United States?

The Bush administration has the audacity to warn Russia to pull back, yet a quick overview of our nations foreign policy history may cause some to ask who it is that needs to be told to 'pull back'.

In 1953 the U.S. overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mossadeq and installed the Shah as dictator. During his time in power it is estimated that he had anywhere between 60-100,000 people arrested and held as political prisoners.

In 1954 in an operation known as PBSUCCESS, the Central Intelligence Agency overthrew Guatemalan President Arbenz and replaced him with Colonel Carlos Castillo.

In 1963 the U.S. allowed Vietnamese President Diem to be assassinated, paving the way for Ho Chi Minh to come into power. After the assassination, Minh is quoted as saying, "The consequences of the 1 November coup d'état will be contrary to the calculations of the U.S. imperialists ... Diem was one of the strongest individuals resisting the people and Communism. Everything that could be done in an attempt to crush the revolution was carried out by Diem. Diem was one of the most competent lackeys of the U.S. imperialists ..."

And of course we all know about the Military takeover of Iraq in which Saddam Hussein was removed from power and replaced with a democracy more favorable to the U.S.

These are just a few of the times the United States has meddled in the affairs of other nations. Even more recently the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency funded and trained Osama Bin Laden to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Doesn’t anyone find if a bit peculiar how those whom we support at one time, end up becoming our enemies later on?

Now we find ourselves in a conflict/occupation in Iraq with no clear end in sight. Due to our nations military involvement in Iraq it is estimated that 655,000 Iraqis have died due to the conflict. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L11717456.htm

It is also estimated that 60,000 Iraqis are forced to leave their homes every month due to the violence from the war. The total number of refugees is now estimated at over 4 million. http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Refugees.htm

One has to remember that it was not Iraq that attacked us on September 11th. According to official reports fifteen of the hijackers were Saudi Arabian citizens, with two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon.

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdf

Why is it then that we have not invaded Saudi Arabia? Could it be the close ties between the Bush family and the Saudi Royal Family has something to do with it?

One has to realize that those radical Islamic terrorists who declare jihad against us are mostly from the Wahhabi sect, the same sect that is the state religion of Saudi Arabia.

According to a 1996 CIA report, one third of all the Saudi-backed charities they studied, were tied to terrorist groups. Also, in 1998 a report by the National Security Council identified the Saudi government as the ‘epicenter’ of terrorist financing, with their being the greatest force in spreading Islamic fundamentalism, funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to jihadist groups and al Qaeda cells around the world.

Not only do the Saudis support radical Islam and funnel money to terrorist groups, they are spreading their message of hatred into our country. The king of Saudi Arabia favors, with financial contributions, certain American organizations and is also funding Wahhabi mosques to be built.

The Saudis support numerous American Universities, including Duke, Howard, Johns Hopkins, and Syracuse.

http://www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com/main/m330.htm

Among the mosques they are building here within our own borders, there is the one in Fresno California, East Lansing Michigan, Los Angeles California, New Brunswick New Jersey, Toledo Ohio, Chicago Illinois, along with others in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington state.

While our Bill of Rights guarantees us freedom of speech and religion, these mosques are something we all should be very concerned about. These are not mere houses of worship where people go to praise God and worship Him. These are places were anti American hatred is instilled, places that teach their followers that anyone who follows Christianity as an infidel. They teach that strict Islamic law, Shariah, must be adhered to in America, to include that all women should be veiled in public of be killed. They are taught to see all non-Muslims as their enemies, to dissociate from us, and to oppose us in every way possible. Finally they are taught to prepare for war with America,
"To be true Muslims, we must prepare and be ready for jihad in Allah's way. It is the duty of the citizen and the government."

Yet, with all this evidence pointed at Saudi Arabia, why do we invade Iraq? Could it be because Iraq would not play ball with us and behave according to our wishes? Could it be that is why Iran is next upon our list to attack?

Or could it be that there are deep ties between the Bush family and the Saudis? In his book, House of Bush, House of Saud, journalist Craig Unger traced millions in investments and contracts that made their way from the Saudis over the past 20 years and found their way to companies in which the Bush family, or their friends, have held prominent positions. These companies include Harken Energy, Halliburton and the Carlyle Group. Saudi Prince Bandar even made a single $1 million donation to the Bush Presidential Library in Texas.

The point of all this is this, Secretary of Defense Gates is telling Russia to ’back off’ in Georgia, or else. Yet we have meddled in the affairs of countless other countries, staging coups and overthrowing their, sometimes, duly elected governments. We have military bases in more countries of the world than any other country from which we can mobilize our forces to invade almost anywhere. We have invaded Iraq, overthrew its government, killed over half a million of its citizens, and displaced over four million more. Yet through all this, Russia invades a neighbor and our Secretary of Defense has the arrogance and gall to tell them to back off or there will be lasting consequences to our relationship with them.

If Americans would view our nations actions from the perspective of someone from another country they just may find the comments made by Secretary Gates both arrogant and hypocritical. They may also begin to see why so many nations no longer consider America as a friend or an ally.