U.S. Backed Overthrows are an Old, Old Story

Once upon a time, United States troops entered a foreign country half a world away under the guise of liberation. They were initially welcomed and regaled with thanks. But tensions soon developed. U.S. troops became resented, and denounced as imperialists and colonialists. Fighting soon erupted between the U.S. and that country. U.S. forces sometimes fought with established armies, but soon the other country started resorting to guerilla-style combat, prolonging hostilities and taxing both the country and our troops. Well over 100,000 U.S. forces were soon fighting and dying in what was supposed to be an easy mission, which ran for years after the president formally declared an end to large-scale hostilities. As the situation dragged on, U.S. troops were accused of war crimes and torturing prisoners and opposition to both the war and the president claimed a heavy political toll.

Is this Iraq today? Nope. It was the War in the Philippines that was happening exactly a century ago. The parallels are eerily familiar, but the similarities don’t stop at the Philippines. Since becoming a world power, the United States has had a long history of toppling foreign governments or invading other countries when it serves our interests. Sometimes this has been correct and justified, like overthrowing Hitler in World War II, Milosevic in Kosovo or the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sometimes U.S. troops are involved (Iraq, the Philippines, Panama in 1989). Sometimes we are a behind-the-scenes player (Iran in 1953, Hawaii in 1893). Sorry, but Iraq was not instigated by Bush’s buddies at ExxonMobil. And of course, there’s that whole Vietnam/Cambodia thing.

All of these endeavors were executed by people who claimed to have America’s best interests at heart. Not all of them turned out to be successful, and some had disastrous consequences, either right away or a decade or two down the road. It is inevitable that given America’s power, it will become involved in other country’s domestic affairs and get its hands dirty. And this is certainly not limited to America either, given Ethopia's recent invasion of Somalia to topple the fundamentalist Muslim government. In fact, the last decade alone of regime change and government overthrows in Africa, by African nations makes the U.S. look like the U.N.

But I’m willing to bet people aren’t learning from past mistakes, and don’t take proven historical facts like nationalism and sectarianism into account when deciding how much intervention or force is necessary. And overthrowing governments have been U.S. success stories too. Countries like Panama and Afghanistan are much better off today than they were beforehand. But the U.S.-backed Iranian coup that placed the Shah of Iran in power sowed the seeds for disastrous consequence two decades later, Vietnam forever scarred us, and Iraq certainly looks grim.

In the Philippines, U.S. troops were involved in full-scale war for three years until Teddy Roosevelt declared hostilities over and made the Philippines a U.S. colony. However, U.S. troops continued fighting a guerilla war (with the official Philippine army they trained) for another 11 years. The Philippine War is barely mentioned in U.S. history books today. How long will the Iraq parallels continue? Nobody knows.

More info: Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change – An overview of the last 100 years or so of American-designed coups gone bad. Focuses too much on the negative, but still worth checking out.

Why Anna Nicole Smith's Death is So Incredibly Important

If I had more money, I’d like to pay a media clipping and monitoring service to see whose death received more notice and attention during the last two months: Saddam Hussein’s, Gerry Ford’s or Anna Nicole Smith’s. I know who I’d bet on.

Why is this so? I’ve seen a few pundits and bloviaters using this as yet another excuse to bemoan the dumbing-down of America, and the media focusing on the sensational instead of the substantial, etc. etc. These same media outlets, after beating us senseless with every development on this admittedly juicy post-mortem speculation on her cause of death, paternity dispute, inheritance battle and conspiracy theory, then take a step back and ask if their tabloid focus reflects well on themselves.

That always makes me chuckle. But the simple fact is that most people in America know more and care more about Anna Nicole Smith than a former president, and more people in America followed her life and will watch the struggle over her remains than those who know how Saddam Hussein’s capture, trial and death will affect the entire Middle East. Nobody would argue that the Middle East is more important, but most Americans simply can’t or won’t follow those traces. After all, a Playmate of the Year who may have several hundred million dollars is dead.

You may think that sardonic paragraph is an indictment on our celebrity-obsessed culture that values appearance and tabloid news over intelligence and ethical, political debate. You’re probably right. But guess what? That is what most people value. More people watch Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood than Frontline and Meet the Press. I used to say this was wrong and people should be more discriminating. But I sounded like one of those elitists who decry the drop in our moral values while everyone else is drinking the superficial Kool Aid.

So I no longer rail against the masses’ choice in news and entertainment. I merely observe and comment on it. And so do the media. In a perfect world, Frontline and Entertainment Tonight’s ratings would be reversed, but they’re not. The media wouldn’t keep feeding us bland entertainment and trivial news if we were not eating it up in the first place. Why eat your vegetables when candy tastes so sweet?

This is one of those unfortunate facts about how the world works. As much as the elites complain about how the media is dumbing down America, the fact is the media needs to make a buck at the end of the day just like you do. And if smart news and entertainment aren’t selling and the celebrity shows are, what are they gonna do? Gerry Ford’s funeral was televised. Did you watch it? Of course not. But if Anna Nicole Smith’s funeral is televised, and you hear that all the warring paternal suitors, family members and people who want part of her estate would be together, would you be at least a little curious? Of course you would. It could be a train wreck, but it would also be great TV. Just like her many media interviews, Playboy photo spreads and reality show.

RIP Anna Nicole Smith, or whatever your real name was. Your untimely death has showed us what really matters to people after all. And it also proves why the media keeps giving most of us exactly what we want.

More Info:

A similar, though slightly different take from the L.A. Times on how the Internet is telling mainstream media what the public wants

My earlier post on why you can't trust the media

Guerilla Marketing Bombs in Boston

There was some panic in Boston Wednesday as two local idiots took the fall for Turner Broadcasting’s guerilla marketing campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which shut down two bridges, the Charles River, parts of the MBTA and put the city under a terrorist scare before the hoax was fully revealed.

The whole thing made me feel a bit old because I have never heard of, let alone watched, the show. Judging by the reaction of the show’s message boards, this means I’m an old fart (well, that’s true) who completely overreacted to a marketing campaign that wasn’t aimed at me. It makes me feel a bit better to realize that 98% of the population here is probably with me, and the defendants’ immature reactions to their indictments didn’t do the show’s fans or supporters any favors. Turner has also published a full apology and says it will reimburse the city for expenses (except for items like lost T fares, businesses that had to close, people who missed flights and appointments due to mass transit shutdowns, etc.)

On one hand, if the campaign was aimed to boneheads like the defendants, the campaign was a wild success. Fines and potential jail terms are small potatoes compared to the reams of free publicity the show received, and its ratings will rise in the near term as curiosity will pique interest in Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

But as usual, Boston Mayor Tom Menino is right. In the world we now live in, security and public safety are paramount, and an overreaction is better than ignorance. The people on message boards and elsewhere who dismiss Bostonians as being out of touch because we haven’t seen the show and don’t get the guerilla marketing campaign have either very short memories, very loose morals, or just were not here to see a city completely on the edge. And sorry, but a mysterious package under a bridge with protruding wires and visible electronic components sticking out of it is going to start a panic and security issue, even if it is adorned by Ignigokt flipping the bird.

Menino said he wants to find who at Turner Broadcasting was behind this and see if he can press charges. No matter what further chuckles this brings from people who say we don’t get the joke, I won’t stand in the mayor’s way.

More Info: This isn't the first time guerilla marketing has crossed the line. Hopefully it will be the last.