Unreliable Sources: Major Smedley Butler tried to bring democracy to Nicaragua

Horhey · Sep 24, 2012

Smedley Butler excerpt from the movie "The Corporation"

[video=youtube_share;QQoBAc95tnw]http://youtu.be/QQoBAc95tnw[/video]

This one is particularly glaring in it's service to the corporate-state. Im sure many people here know who Major Smedley Butler is. This one I think may be in the top 10:

Unreliable sources: a guide to detecting bias in news media

In August 1987, New York Times editorial writer Karl Meyer reminisced about Major Smedley Butler, describing him as the U.S. Marine hero who tried to bring "true democracy" to Nicaragua 75 years earlier. Repeated U.S. interventions in Nicaragua had been motivated by our desire to spread democracy, said Meyer. As proof he cited a communiqué from Washington that Major Butler carried with him to Nicaragua:

America's purpose is to foster true constitutional government and free elections.
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Butler, however, saw his role somewhat differently than the historical revisionists at the Times. He admitted rigging Nicaragua's 1912 election on behalf of the Taft administration, which entailed rounding up 400 Nicaraguans who could be counted on to vote for the U.S.-controlled dictator, Adolfo Diaz. Only those 400 were told of the election, and as soon as they cast their ballots the polls were closed. Butler wrote home to his wife:

Today, Nicaragua has enjoyed a fine 'free election,' with only one candidate being allowed to run... To the entire satisfaction of our State Department, Marines patrolled all the towns to prevent disorders.
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After Butler retired, according to editorial writer Meyer, he "lamented the futility of his own interventionist missions." Not exactly. Butler attacked the motivation behind U.S. meddling. The New York Times didn't see fit to print Butler's speech before the American Legion on August 21, 1931, in which he stated:

War Is A Racket

By Smedley Darlington Butler

I spent 33 years being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1916. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenue in. I helped in the rape of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I had a swell racket. I was rewarded with honors, medals, promotions... I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate in three cities. The Marines operated on three continents.
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Horhey · Sep 24, 2012

Ok, well, there's your liberal bias.

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Unreliable Sources: Major Smedley Butler tried to bring democracy to Nicaragua

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Unreliable Sources: Major Smedley Butler tried to bring democracy to Nicaragua

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