The legacy of the Iraq war, and the prospect of a bloody sequel sparked by Donald Trump’s assassination of a senior Iranian official in Baghdad this week, has the potential to transform the Democratic primary, offering voters radically different visions of how the next commander-in-chief proposes to deal with the ongoing chaos caused by the 2003 invasion.
"The Lessons Learned interviews also reveal how U.S. military commanders struggled to articulate who they were fighting, let alone why. Was al-Qaeda the enemy, or the Taliban? Was Pakistan a friend or an adversary? What about the Islamic State and the bewildering array of foreign jihadists, let alone the warlords on the CIA’s payroll? According to the documents, the U.S. government never settled on an answer. As a result, in the field, U.S. troops often couldn’t tell friend from foe."
Strikes, demonstrations, marches, the blocking of highways and the burning down of polling stations have been undertaken by a wide range of actors from across Bolivian society. Some have been content to point out that Bolivia’s urban middle classes and student organisations took to the streets, angered about the democratic and constitutional legitimacy of Morales’s run for a fourth presidential term. Others have pointed out that there is a large indigenous contingent protesting the developmental agenda of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) government – indigenous peoples and organisations from communities who stand to suffer at the hands of large-scale infrastructure and resource extraction projects.
Whereas:
Bolivian President Evo Morales received the most support in Bolivia’s presidential elections; President Morales gave his consent to a second round election, even though, according to Bolivian election law, the results and support he received did not require a second round election; and, whereas the coup d'état put in power an illegitimate government in Bolivia which has promoted violence against progressive Bolivian activists and Indigenous peoples.
It is proposed:
That Québec solidaire formally denounce the coup d'état in Bolivia and the foreign interference through the OAS.
And that Québec solidaire denounce the violence of the extreme right towards President Evo Morales, the popular movements and Indigenous communities of Bolivia.
U.S. military intervention has played an important role in the instability, poverty, and violence that drives tens of thousands of people from the Central American countries toward Mexico and the United States... On March 11, 1999, President Bill Clinton took an unprecedented step. During a four-nation visit to Central America, he expressed regret for the role the United States had played in a brutal counter-terrorism campaign that had caused the deaths of thousands of civilians in Guatemala’s civil war.
"At least 21 people have been killed in the turmoil since the disputed Oct. 20 elections, Bolivia’s human rights ombudsman said."
"Why is Bernie Sanders the only one who has spoken out? Don't the other candidates have a position about a destabilizing, right-wing takeover of a neighboring country? We need to hear from them."
CUPE joins the international community in raising our concern about the developing situation in Bolivia, which has led to a coup.
"Chinese companies including TBEA Group and China Machinery Engineering made deals with [Bolivia]. It was being said that China’s Tianqi Lithium Group, which operates in Argentina, was also going to make a deal with [Bolivia]. Chinese investors and the Bolivian lithium company were experimenting with new ways to mine the lithium and share the profits. The idea that there might be a new social compact for the lithium was unacceptable to the main transnational mining companies. Tesla (United States) and Pure Energy Minerals (Canada) both showed great interest in having a direct stake in Bolivian lithium. But they could not make a deal that would take into consideration the parameters set by the Morales government. Morales himself was a direct impediment to the takeover of the lithium fields by the non-Chinese transnationals. He had to go. After the coup, Tesla’s stock rose astronomically."
Will the US and the Organization of American States once again be able to overturn election results?