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Europe, sure. But america only really cared about that because of domino theory and it’s own empire to protect. It’s not like america didn’t do the exact same t

Europe, sure. But america only really cared about that because of domino theory and it’s own empire to protect. It’s not like america didn’t do the exact same thing in South America, but on the other side of the political spectrum. But fears of a Red Dawn scenario were always delusional. And that’s my point.

wolverine876 5y ago
> It’s not like america didn’t do the exact same thing in South America, but on the other side of the political spectrum. It's not like that at all. The US relationship with South American countries was nothing like the Iron Curtain. > Europe, sure. And Central Asia, and many others. > But america only really cared about that because of domino theory and it’s own empire to protect. That's just an empty claim. How about some facts?
- the_af 5y ago
  > The US relationship with South American countries was nothing like the Iron Curtain. They did prop up or support right wing dictators that murdered our population and sometimes even waged futile war against other NATO allies (whooops!). On one thing we agree: the US didn't dirty their hands directly, they trained murderers in things like the School of the Americas and then sent them to do their dirty work.
teakettle42 5y ago
> It’s not like america didn’t do the exact same thing in South America, but on the other side of the political spectrum. What did America do in South America that you think is "the exact same thing" as the USSR's establishment — and four decades of control — of puppet communist governments across central and eastern Europe?
- the_af 5y ago
  "The exact same thing" is hyperbole of course, but the US was playing the "great game" of the Cold War just as well as the Soviets. Where the Soviets many times directly interfered by sending troops (while the US was less direct, with the exceptions of Korea, Vietnam, etc), the US preferred undermining existing regimes they didn't like in South America -- their "backyard" -- and propping up right-wing dictators trained in the School of the Americas (Chile, Argentina, etc). The Soviets were way less subtle and way more direct, but I believe there are geographical reasons for this.
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    Personally I think that the difference between a CIA backed coup and direct military invasion is a distinction without a difference if you live in the country. Either way you have a stronger foreign power stripping you of your local political autonomy and threatening your physical safety.
- cycomanic 5y ago
  Just one data point, the democratically elected government of Guatemala was overthrown with support by the CIA and a military dictatorship installed that killed about 150 000 people through disappearances etc.. Read up on the Guatemalan civil war. The history of every Latin American country reads very similar, ironically with the exceptions being the strongly soviet aligned countries.

wolverine876 5y ago

> It’s not like america didn’t do the exact same thing in South America, but on the other side of the political spectrum. It's not like that at all. The US relationship with South American countries was nothing like the Iron Curtain. > Europe, sure. And Central Asia, and many others. > But america only really cared about that because of domino theory and it’s own empire to protect. That's just an empty claim. How about some facts?

the_af 5y ago
> The US relationship with South American countries was nothing like the Iron Curtain. They did prop up or support right wing dictators that murdered our population and sometimes even waged futile war against other NATO allies (whooops!). On one thing we agree: the US didn't dirty their hands directly, they trained murderers in things like the School of the Americas and then sent them to do their dirty work.

teakettle42 5y ago

> It’s not like america didn’t do the exact same thing in South America, but on the other side of the political spectrum. What did America do in South America that you think is "the exact same thing" as the USSR's establishment — and four decades of control — of puppet communist governments across central and eastern Europe?

the_af 5y ago
"The exact same thing" is hyperbole of course, but the US was playing the "great game" of the Cold War just as well as the Soviets. Where the Soviets many times directly interfered by sending troops (while the US was less direct, with the exceptions of Korea, Vietnam, etc), the US preferred undermining existing regimes they didn't like in South America -- their "backyard" -- and propping up right-wing dictators trained in the School of the Americas (Chile, Argentina, etc). The Soviets were way less subtle and way more direct, but I believe there are geographical reasons for this.
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  Personally I think that the difference between a CIA backed coup and direct military invasion is a distinction without a difference if you live in the country. Either way you have a stronger foreign power stripping you of your local political autonomy and threatening your physical safety.
cycomanic 5y ago
Just one data point, the democratically elected government of Guatemala was overthrown with support by the CIA and a military dictatorship installed that killed about 150 000 people through disappearances etc.. Read up on the Guatemalan civil war. The history of every Latin American country reads very similar, ironically with the exceptions being the strongly soviet aligned countries.