“Pentagon
appropriations and for military adventures
abroad have included
charges and accusations of supporting, harboring, or
condoning
terrorism; possessing, or in the process of producing, or having
plans and intentions to produce weapons of mass destruction; engaging
in
drug trafficking, or collaborating with drug traffickers;
obstructing
democracy and/or free enterprise; and the like.
”
“The
drastically increased number of U.S. military operations in various
“trouble spots” of the world in the post–Cold War era is a
reflection of this
aggressive policy. The Federation of American
Scientists has recorded a list
of U.S. foreign military engagements
that shows that in the first decade
after the collapse of the
Berlin Wall (1989–1999) the United States
engaged in 134 such
operations, the majority of which are altogether
unknown to the
American public. The following list is a sample:
Operation Eagle Eye
(Kosovo), Operation Determined Effort (Bosnia-
Herzegovina),
Operation Quick Lift (Croatia), Operation Nomad Vigil
(Albania),
Operation Nomad Endeavor (Taszar, Hungary), Operation Sharp
Guard
(Adriatic Sea), Operation Desert Thunder (Iraq), Operation Seva
Verde (Columbia), Operation Constant Vigil (Bolivia), Operation
Fundamental Response (Venezuela), Operation Infinite Reach (Sudan and
Afghanistan), Operation Noble Response (Kenya), Operation Safe
Border
(Peru and Ecuador), Operation United Shield (Somalia),
Operation Safe
Haven/Safe Passage (Cuba), Operation Sea Signal
(Haiti), Operation
Provide Transition (Angola), Operation Safe
Harbor (Haiti), Operation
Desert Storm (Southwest Asia), and many
more. As noted, profiteers of
war and militarism have managed to
launch these capricious military
adventures often under false
premises and cooked-up pretexts.”
“Many
of these military operations took place during the Clinton
administration. President Clinton was known to be a champion of
neoliberalism and
multilateralism, seeking to advance U.S. interests
through unhindered international trade and investment in the context
of multilateral economic
institutions such as the World Trade
Organization, International
Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. To
insure the success of the policy
of global neoliberalism (sometimes
called the “imperialism of free trade”),
military force was not
ruled out but only as the guarantor of the last resort,
and in the
context of the multilateral, NATO framework. The Clinton
administration also managed to slow down the pace of the growth of
the
Pentagon spending. Nonetheless, as this record of U.S. military
operations
in the 1990s shows, he did have his own (indeed, large)
share of military
adventures abroad. This shows that, contrary to
popular perceptions, the
rise of U.S. militarism did not start with
the arrival of George W. Bush in the
White House—although he has
embraced it quite enthusiastically and has,
consequently, elevated
it to new heights.”
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