DSA: Foreign Policy

Where Thriving Communities concerned itself with domestic policy, the DSA also has plans on how to handle international relations.  Let's return to the DSA website.

Working-Class Foreign Policy

End the U.S. War Machine: Defund the Department of War. End all foreign wars and close overseas military bases. Support and fully employ veterans. End immunity for U.S. war criminals and support the International Criminal Court's mandate to prosecute war crimes.

This is a prescription for national suicide.  How does the US defend itself without a military?  Who will fill the vacuum left by a US withdrawal from all overseas bases and a dismantling of the US Navy?  Who will determine which Americans are war criminals that need to be prosecuted in the ICC?  A call for unilateral disarmament is an invitation for hostile nations to invade.

Free Palestine: Recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return, the right to resist military occupation, and the right to self determination in a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. End all military and economic aid to Israel. Prosecute U.S. and Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza.

Why doesn't anyone call for Free Tibet?  Or how about Free Kurdistan?  Free East Oregon?  No, it is always about the Palestinians.  Where Tibet is under the thumb of China, Kurdistan is dominated by Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, and East Oregon is oppressed by Salem, it is the Jews who are blamed for Palestine.  Yes, those rascally Israelis are uniquely evil and require a statement in DSA foreign policy.  Nevermind that the Palestinians always start the wars which result in the Israelis implementing defensive measures that further restrict the Palestinians.  Basically, until Israel is eliminated, Palestine is not free.  Understand that and you understand the whole Israel-Palestine conflict.  DSA wants the destruction of Israel.

End Blockades, Embargoes, and Sanctions: People around the world deserve to live their lives without U.S. interference. End economic warfare against countries whose governments act independently of the United States, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran.

Stop making life difficult for those who hate us and wish our destruction.  Yes, what an obvious plan.  Let's make nice with communist Cuba (clearly, DSA is sympathetic to communists), ease up on narco-state Venezuela, and let the Mullahs of Iran resume their title of leading state sponsor of terrorism.  We've gotten rid of the military, so let's also get rid of our economic tools for fighting hostile powers.  Can't wait for those Iranian missiles to get installed in Cuba.  This time, there will be no missile crisis because we have ended blockading and defunded the navy that would implement the blockade.  I'm sure it will be fine.

Abolish ICE: End ICE detention and deportations and punish federal agents' brutality. Legalize migration, grant amnesty for all immigrants regardless of status, provide a path to citizenship for all permanent residents, and end visa caps and quotas.

Throw open the borders!  Let everyone in and grant them amnesty.  A country without borders soon ceases to be a country.  Combined with the policies outlined in Thriving Communities, the US - which is already under heavy financial strain - will be bankrupt in months.  If it survives that long.  With the borders open and the military defunded, what is to stop a flood of hostiles from sweeping into the country?

Are there people who are stupid enough to believe this?  Apparently there are.  This proposed DSA Utopia would quickly devolve into a hellscape.  It must be remembered that Lenin spoke of useful idiots, people who believed the Utopian pap he spouted and supported his overthrow of Russia.  After their usefulness was at an end, firing squads can eliminate them.  The DSA playbook is an old one.

Cuba (1979)

Major Robert Dapes (Sean Connery) arrives in Cuba during the revolution.  He has been hired by General Bello (Martin Balsam) to help deal with the revolutionaries.  Dapes is given an assistant/minder, Captain Ramirez (Hector Elizondo), and authority to go where he will.  Though he begins well enough, he forgets his purpose when he spots Alexandra "Alex" Pulido (Brooke Adams), a woman whom he loved in North Africa during World War II.  Alex is married to the owner of a cigar factory, Juan (Chris Sarandon), who is cheating on her with Therese (Lonette McKee).  Therese's brother, Julio, is furious about the affair and intends to kill Juan for the effrontery.  Of course, Julio is also a revolutionary.  Meanwhile, Larry Gutman (Jack Westson) is an American businessman who is eager to purchase the cigar factory.  In order to get the cigars to Miami, he seeks out Donald Skinner (Denholm Elliott), the owner of Skinner Air and a man not above selling ammunition to the revolution.  Yes, there are entirely too many characters in this story, each of whom get solo attention through the movie.

It was funny to see David Rappaport as part of the cast.  He and Connery would star together again in both Time Bandits (1981) and Sword of the Valiant (1984).  His role is small (no pun intended), and partly dubbed.  Either that, or he could really deepen his voice.  His use of a pistol was unintentionally comical.

The ensemble cast is entirely wrong for the movie.  As a mini-series, this lack of focus might have been fine, but here Director Richard Lester only has 2 hours to tell his story.  The emotional rollercoaster between Dapes and Alex is unbelievable.  Dapes acts like Alex was the love of his life and he has not been involved with anyone since.  Maybe he hasn't, but that isn't made clear.  It gets weird when she reveals that she was 15 during the affair.  Yikes.  Clearly, Lester wanted to offer a cross-section of Cuba at the time of the revolution, giving a picture of all facets of society at the time.  Yes, it is often interesting but not entertaining.  It is eager to show how bad Batista was and thus paints the revolution as something positive.  The movie ends on the 'high note' of Castro entering Havana.  Then again, all of the characters we have met are worse off than when they started.

Skip this one.

The Rough Riders

While Theodore Roosevelt was working as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, the USS Maine exploded in Havana.  War with Spain followed shortly.  Determined to see combat, Roosevelt immediately set about creating a volunteer force.  Speed was vital if he was to be present when the fighting started.  First, he needed a regimental commander with proven experience and respect.  He chose Leonard Wood, an active military man and Medal of Honor winner.  The 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry was recruited and reported to San Antonio for training.  A motley band, there were cowboys, Native Americans, hunters, miners, Ivy Leaguers, and others.  Many of them were already expert marksmen and skilled horsemen, so much of the training could focus on drill, military etiquette, chain of command, and general discipline.

In May of 1898, the Rough Riders boarded trains for Tampa Bay.  Once there, they boarded the transport ship Yucatan in June, arriving on the coast of Cuba a couple of weeks later.  Though a cavalry regiment, they were not allowed to bring their horses.  Thus, they were cavalry serving as infantry.  Roosevelt details Las Guasimas, the first battle where the Rough Riders saw action.  Thanks to malaria, Colonel Wood was elevated to brigade commander and Roosevelt rose to command the regiment, now Roosevelt's Rough Riders.  There follows the charge up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill, and finally the siege of Santiago.  By mid-August, the Rough Riders were quarantined on Long Island until malaria abated.

Roosevelt offers extensive praise to the men, often using superlatives.  It is very much an on the ground account, seldom offering details of the bigger picture.  This is the war as Roosevelt saw it, occasionally reinforced with notes on the wider war if necessary.  It is sometime repetitive, giving the impression that there was not a lot of editing before being sent to print.  He does spend several pages countering the writings of other authors, notably on the number of Spanish troops in the area and the details of the Battle of Las Guasimas.  There is also extensive discussion of the lack of transport, food, and medical care.  The American logistics were terrible.  Merely noting that a cavalry regiment was deployed without horses says a lot.  Furthermore, the Spanish had superior rifles and used smokeless gunpowder.  This allowed them to quickly target US artillery and disable it.  Lastly, Roosevelt offered high praise, even pinning the largest share of credit for victory, on Lt. Parker and his Gatling Guns.

Highly entertaining account of one facet of the Spanish-American War.  It is a wonder that in a war that lasted less than 4 months, a volunteer unit was recruited, equipped, trained, and sent into the field to participate side-by-side with regular troops.  Recommended. 

Turnabout is Fair Play

In 1962, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was placing missiles in Cuba.  This was viewed as grounds for risking World War III, a nuclear Armagedon.  If not for Vasily Arkhipov, the submarine B-59 would have launched a nuclear strike on October 27, 1962.  It was the Cold War and tensions were high.  Of course, Cuba was an independent country.  What business did we have in denying them missiles, especially considering US involvement in the Bay of Pigs disaster the previous year?

Beginning in 1979, the United States and Russia fought a proxy war in Nicaragua.  The US supported the Contras while the Soviets supported the Sandinistas.  The US Monroe Doctrine had essentially declared the Western Hemisphere to be the domain of the US, foreign powers not welcome.

In 1983, the US invaded Grenada.  It had been communist-friendly since a 1979 bloodless coup, trading with Cuba and the USSR.  However, when a coup by hardline Marxists murdered the milquetoast Prime Minister, the US sent in the Marines. 

Let us consider the current situation in that light.  During the Cold War, the NATO states were on one side and the Warsaw Pact on the other.  When the Soviet Union crumbled, many Warsaw Pact countries sought membership in NATO.  In much the same way that the US considered Cuba to be encroaching, Russia has reason to view such NATO expansion as an encroachment.  How far have we encroached?  Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Albania, Croatia, and Hungary were all in the Soviet Bloc but are now members of NATO.  That's a lot of encroachment that Russia has tolerated.  Of course, most of these countries had only been 'acquired' during World War II.  Sure, it stings, but it's not like they had been part of Russia for centuries.

In 1991, Ukraine became independent for the first time in centuries.  It had long been swapped among empires: Ottoman, Polish, Russian, Soviet Union.  It had been part of Russia/USSR since the 17th century and still has a large Russian minority (17%).  It is closer to Russia than Cuba is to the United States.  If Russia had something similar to the Monroe Doctrine, offering NATO membership would be a clear violation.  NATO is a military organization created to oppose Soviet expansion, but now it has been expanding toward Russia for 30 years.  Now it proposes to annex a region that has been in the Russian Empire for centuries.

It is argued that World War II was caused by the mismanagement of the peace in the wake of World War I.  The Treaty of Versailles was as much about assigning blame to Germany as to providing for peace.  How likely is it that the current conflict in Ukraine is a direct result of the mishandling of the peace in the aftermath of the Cold War?

America surrenders to Cuba

The United States defeated the Axis Powers of WWII and the Soviet Union but, in a surprise turn of events, lost to the Cuban Communist Dictatorship of the Castro brothers.  Yes, today, President Barack Obama allowed himself and his country to be shown in defeat.  The martyred JFK had imposed the embargo and it took Obama to declare defeat before the Castro brothers died.  Whatever one's view of the embargo, it has almost no impact on the US economy while a heavy one on the Cuban economy.  Why would we ever want to assist a murderous communist regime?  It is always peculiar to see glowing reviews of Cuba in certain circles, especially since this 'paradise' has a negative immigration rate.  Why, more then 50 years after the revolution, are Cubans still trying to escape?  Do they not know what a wonderful place Cuba is?

During a joint press-conference, Raul Castro demanded that the US end it's blockade.  Blockade?  Yeah, that ended more than 50 years ago.  Perhaps that was bad translation and he meant embargo.  I fully expect Obama to acquiesce to the demand, with or without Congressional support.  Also, Obama might even try to give Guantanamo Bay back to Cuba as a means of finally closing Gitmo. 

 

What has the US gained by opening an embassy in Cuba and having this high-level meeting?  What benefit do we get from our surrender?  Another Caribbean Island for vacationers to visit?  By contrast, the Castros have brought America to heel, using an American President as a willing prop for their victory celebration.  Though not as disastrous as the Iran Deal, this is yet another in a seemingly endless run of foreign policy failures by the Obama Administration: Russia (repeatedly), Ukraine, Iraq, Iran (repeatedly), Libya, Yemen, Syria, Israel, Egypt, France, and on it goes.  I am amazed at what a willing accomplice the State Department has been in his collapse of American foreign policy.

 

Both Hillary and Trump promise to mostly continue with the Obama foreign policy.  Outstanding!