The Unites States government has helped many foreign governments kill their own citizens. Have we stopped this practice?
It is common knowledge that the United States helped Saddam Hussein come to power and stay in power by supplying him money and weapons. What would have happened if we had not done that? Would Saddam have been able to kill and torture so many people?
The same thing has happened many times through the years. For example, the United States government supported Marcos in The Philippines.
We have stopped, right?
Have we learned from our mistakes? Have we stopped supporting foreign governments that kill their own people? What countries in Asia and the Near East do we support in killing their citizens?
| Country | Killings | Foreign Aid | US Troops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bangladesh | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Burma | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cambodia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| China | Yes | Yes | No |
| East Timor | No | Yes | Yes |
| Egypt | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| India | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indonesia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Israel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Jordan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Laos | No | Yes | Yes |
| Lebanon | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mongolia | No | Yes | No |
| Morocco | No | Yes | Yes |
| Nepal | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pakistan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Philippines | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sri Lanka | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Thailand | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vietnam | No | Yes | Yes |
| Yemen | Yes | Yes | Yes |
According to the US government, we are currently supporting regimes that kill citizens in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal, Pakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Yemen. Since Afghanistan did not have a real government in place, I find it difficult to assign blame to the current government there.
No aid, no troops
The United States government does not need to directly or indirectly finance the killing of citizens in these 14 countries. The Unites States military should not legitimize or help these governments to oppress their populations. We should not provide foreign aid from the US government to these nations. We should not deploy troops to these nations.
Why does the US government spend money on foreign aid and foreign troop deployments at all? Why not lower taxes, balance the federal budget, and let private organizations provide aid to foreign governments?
Sources
I have linked to all sources. All information comes from the United States Government. The list of countries receiving foreign aid comes from The US Agency for International Development. The information about what countries kill their own citizens comes from The US Department of State. The information about troop deployments comes from The US Department of Defense.
