Is America a “bad guy” masquerading as a “good guy”?

President Trump himself has a reputation for lying.  Yet he was elected President of the United States. One joke going around asks “What two words tell you that President Trump is lying?”  When he says “Believe me!”

Mainstream media repeatedly portrays America as the world’s leader for freedom and democracy.  But sadly, this view of America appears to be factually false.  Aside from having undemocratic allies like Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for human rights violations, Douglas Valentine’s “The CIA As Organized Crime” (2017) is Exhibit A.  It portrays a different picture of who America is, a perspective that even President Donald Trump appears to agree with when he remarked, “You think our country’s so innocent?”

The exceptionalism myth fools Americans into trusting that their country is doing good, when in reality, America has routinely violated civilized standards of conduct, and could even be described as a rogue power.  The US, for example, refuses to belong to the International Criminal Court, thus protecting its officials, military personnel and covert operatives from judicial prosecution when they commit crimes.

But does the right wing’s delusional fantasy of American “exceptionalism” give the US the right to violate international law and customs, to target nations for regime change (Syria, Libya, Iran, Russia), to invade countries (Afghanistan, Iraq), or to kill anyone whom the US designates as a “terrorist” (drone strikes, covert operations)?

While torture is considered a crime under international law and customs, the current President of the US proudly declares he supports torture.  He will not go to jail for this.  After all, he is running the country.

WHAT MORAL VALUES?

When President Trump implies in an interview that America’s moral standards were no better than those of Russia, Establishment media howled with shocked disbelief.

Trump “waved off a description of Mr. Putin as ‘a killer’ by suggesting that the US was similarly immoral.” “We got a lot of killers,” Trump said, “You think our country’s so innocent?” (The Wall Street Journal reporting on a Bill O’Reilly Fox TV interview with President Trump, 2-6-17.)

But Trump makes a valid point. Mr. Valentine’s painstaking research on the Central Intelligence Agency documents a litany of criminal actions conducted around the world:  Assassinations, torture, overthrowing governments (regime change), supporting terrorists, and terrorism (false flag operations such as 9/11), drug smuggling and money laundering.

CIA methods include lying (Psy Op’s/propaganda -- infiltration of media, fake news), cheating (bribing or blackmailing politicians), stealing (other country’s resources), and killing (assassinations, supporting terrorists, military invasions).

A SHOCKING CONCLUSION

Mr. Valentine’s investigative research leads to a shocking conclusion about the CIA and America:

“If we were allowed to understand the CIA, we’d realize it’s a criminal organization that is corrupting governments and societies around the world.  It’s murdering civilians who haven’t done anything wrong.  The (US) military does the same thing in a more violent way (p. 39).”

It is not just the CIA involved in what one might term as world crimes.  Pentagon generals allow the potential use of weapons of mass mutilation such as cluster bombs, depleted uranium munitions (e.g., in Fallujah), landmines, and of course, weapons of mass destruction (nuclear weaponry).

America’s bad guy role is carried into the United Nations, where the US shows a lack of respect for less powerful nations, and the UN itself. The US opposes a UN General Assembly proposal to ban nuclear weapons.  As a result, other countries possessing nuclear weaponry (like Russia) also refuse to accept the proposed ban.

BLACKMAIL AT THE UN

From its birth the vast majority of nations at the UN have been frustrated by a rigged geopolitical system favoring the US, Russia, China, Great Britain, and France – the Permanent 5 veto powers on the Security Council.

Less powerful nations in the UN are second class citizens.  When they stray from the desires of the Permanent 5 veto powers, there can be reprisals.  The UN itself can be subject to threats.

US Senator Lindsey Graham, angry that nations voted their conscience regarding the illegal settlements by Israel on Palestinian lands, vows to “pull US funding” unless the UN Security Council repeals Resolution 2334 (cnn.com, 12-25-16).

Similarly, former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton insists that “there must be consequences” against the 14 countries that supported Resolution 2334.  Neocon Bolton, who shows little concern regarding the needs of the world community, proclaims that the US should defund its “assessed contributions” to the UN, presumably as a warning to the UN to submit to the demands of Israel (Wall Street Journal, 12/27/16).

Finally, the Trump Administration is considering withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council for being “biased” against Israel (politico.com, 2/25/17), yet the US has accepted Saudi Arabia’s presence on the Council.

UN STANDS BY HELPLESSLY

The UN is powerless to prevent international crimes directed by leaders of powerful, bully nations. International law is routinely violated by favored nations who excuse themselves from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, a court that can try individuals but with no independent enforcement capability.

The ICC has mostly been applied to a few corrupt dictators of African nations, but never to the leaders and corrupt officials from the most powerful nations.

The UN stands by helplessly even when nations are taken over by corrupt dictators who steal the peoples’ money. These kleptocracies, as documented by Sarah Chayes (“Thieves of State,” 2015), go unpunished, protected by the UN Charter’s principle of national sovereignty (Chapter 1, Article 2).

In the UN geopolitical system of sovereignty for each nation, nations police themselves.  As a result, deeply corrupted nations rarely prosecute their own world criminals since the leaders of those countries are often the very ones who are responsible for the criminal behavior in the first place.

An unlucky citizen who lives in a deeply corrupted country has no recourse for justice especially when the corruption starts at the top and runs through to the police and the courts.

The UN is generally not allowed to interfere with the domestic affairs of a nation, thus is unable to prevent the theft of the people’s money and unable to stop human rights violations.  This is why Saudi Arabia is allowed to oppress women, abuse immigrant workers, and maintain a “royal” kleptocracy.  It supports terrorist groups like Al Qaeda linked to Wahhabi extremists, uses beheadings, and continues its barbaric invasion of neighboring Yemen.

SAVING AMERICA THROUGH A “NEW UN” AND THE EARTH CONSTITUTION

The World Constitution & Parliament Association has the solution to the gaps in the Charter which have allowed unrestricted lawlessness among the nations.  WCPA’s Constitution for the Federation of Earth (aka “Earth Constitution”) corrects these problems, and efforts are underway to reach the UN General Assembly.

Americans lost their country when the US Supreme Court gave the nation away to the billionaires by allowing unlimited amounts of Big Money to enter the election process.  Essentially, the Court cancelled democracy and turned America into an oligarchy.

While peace, environmental, and human rights activists work fervently to try to save America from an out of control oligarchy and a Deep State shadow government, world citizen activists are looking at the Big Picture -- the need for a popular global movement to help end the nightmare of world crimes within and between the nations.

Recent academic research confirms that a Charter Review is legally required and was promised, but has never been conducted.  In response, Democratic World Federalists based in San Francisco has launched a campaign for UN Charter Review.  DWF is calling it “The San Francisco Promise.”

A Charter review by the UN General Assembly could open the door for a comparison of the current Charter to the Earth Constitution – the latter an invaluable resource for the UN to understand the type of world judiciary system that will be needed to end global lawlessness.

The Earth Constitution also calls for a democratically elected World Parliament, giving “we, the people” once and for all, a real voice in global affairs.

Dr. Roger Kotila                                                                                                                                                     Earth Federation News & Views