“One of the delightful things about Americans is that they have absolutely no historical memory.” – Zhou Enlai

On Monday of this week, millions of Americans enjoyed a day off of work and out of school to honor their U.S. presidents – past and present.  If the quote above from Zhou Enlai wasn’t true and Americans knew and remembered their history, I think they would view this day far differently than they do.  We would see it as a moral absurdity that we would all pause to celebrate what amounts to a more appropriately called “Chief War Criminals Day.”

It is important to note Zhou Enlai was a horrible person and helped lead the communist revolution in China.  His statement isn’t wrong though, and referencing him helps prove my point.  Many Americans view the world like an old western movie where there are good guys and bad guys and you can tell the difference based on whether they’re wearing a black or white hat.  Reality is not that simple and adults should develop their thinking beyond that.  Just because Enlai and communism are clearly evil, doesn’t mean that the American empire and its presidents aren’t their own kind of evil.

To believe otherwise is ignorance and reveals the truth of Enlai’s claim about Americans. 

Though it sounds sensational, the idea that without fail, every modern American president is a war criminal and a mass murder, it isn’t.  Also, it isn’t a political Left or Right thing either, it’s just reality.  You can listen and read about it from across the political spectrum from Ron Paul (See HERE) to Noam Chomsky (See HERE & HERE).

I imagine some people will find this truth unpatriotic, but I think it is unpatriotic to not tell the truth.  I think it is unpatriotic for politicians to misuse the trust, faith, and loyalty of their people.  I also think it is revealing of the power of our civil/state religion that so few people are aware of the nature of the empire they fund, serve, and support.  The desire of some people to plug their ears and scream “It’s not true!  How dare you!” when they hear things like this is civil/state religion on a whole other level.

It doesn’t matter which modern president you believe is uniquely good and has risen above them all, they’re all guilty.   Whether it be condemned-for-terrorism-in-the-International-Court-of-Justice Regan, or “Drone King” Obama, they are all bad men with torched lives, families, communities, and countries in their wake.  I get it, I would prefer to believe something different too. Yes, they all undeniably did some good things as well.  I’m sure that can be said of all mass murderers.

Every four years, Americans really do try to pick the lesser of the two evils. 

I have pasted below a section from a previous post on this subject.  I encourage you to read the whole thing if you have the time. The information in the link and below doesn’t get into the war crimes of the Trump administration, but rest assured the international terrorism of the empire hasn’t stopped with him.  He has continued Obama-era bombings and drone strikes in Syria, Yemen, and likely other countries.  US soldiers are currently loading bombs onto American-made Saudi planes whose final destination will be the bodies of starving civilians who are no threat to Americans.  It also looks like Venezuela could be our next target for an externally-forced regime change. 

As you read this I think it important to note two things, 1) America hasn’t declared War on anyone since World War Two and 2) I don’t think any of these imperial and presidential war crimes reflect the desires and values of the American people. 

These are the things we should be thinking about on Presidents Day. 

– – – (Taken from HERE) – – –

Historian William Blum (among many others) has put together several lists that all Americans need to familiarize themselves with.

Blum states, “From 1945 to 2003, the United States attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 populist-nationalist movements fighting against intolerable regimes. In the process, the US bombed some 25 countries, caused the end of life for several million people, and condemned many millions more to a life of agony and despair.”

Here is his list of countries we have bombed since WW2 (we drop thousands, and often tens of thousands, of bombs on people every year):

• Korea and China 1950-53 (Korean War)
• Guatemala 1954
• Indonesia 1958
• Cuba 1959-1961
• Guatemala 1960
• Congo 1964
• Laos 1964-73
• Vietnam 1961-73
• Cambodia 1969-70
• Guatemala 1967-69
• Grenada 1983
• Lebanon 1983, 1984 (both Lebanese and Syrian targets)
• Libya 1986
• El Salvador 1980s
• Nicaragua 1980s
• Iran 1987
• Panama 1989
• Iraq 1991 (Persian Gulf War)
• Kuwait 1991
• Somalia 1993
• Bosnia 1994, 1995
• Sudan 1998
• Afghanistan 1998
• Yugoslavia 1999
• Yemen 2002
• Iraq 1991-2003 (US/UK on regular basis)
• Iraq 2003-2015
• Afghanistan 2001-2015
• Pakistan 2007-2015
• Somalia 2007-8, 2011
• Yemen 2009, 2011
• Libya 2011, 2015
• Syria 2014-2016

Here is his list of countries where we have overthrown or attempted to overthrow foreign governments since WW2 (* indicates a successful removal of a government):

• China 1949 to early 1960s
• Albania 1949-53
• East Germany 1950s
• Iran 1953 *
• Guatemala 1954 *
• Costa Rica mid-1950s
• Syria 1956-7
• Egypt 1957
• Indonesia 1957-8
• British Guiana 1953-64 *
• Iraq 1963 *
• North Vietnam 1945-73
• Cambodia 1955-70 *
• Laos 1958 *, 1959 *, 1960 *
• Ecuador 1960-63 *
• Congo 1960 *
• France 1965
• Brazil 1962-64 *
• Dominican Republic 1963 *
• Cuba 1959 to present
• Bolivia 1964 *
• Indonesia 1965 *
• Ghana 1966 *
• Chile 1964-73 *
• Greece 1967 *
• Costa Rica 1970-71
• Bolivia 1971 *
• Australia 1973-75 *
• Angola 1975, 1980s
• Zaire 1975
• Portugal 1974-76 *
• Jamaica 1976-80 *
• Seychelles 1979-81
• Chad 1981-82 *
• Grenada 1983 *
• South Yemen 1982-84
• Suriname 1982-84
• Fiji 1987 *
• Libya 1980s
• Nicaragua 1981-90 *
• Panama 1989 *
• Bulgaria 1990 *
• Albania 1991 *
• Iraq 1991
• Afghanistan 1980s *
• Somalia 1993
• Yugoslavia 1999-2000 *
• Ecuador 2000 *
• Afghanistan 2001 *
• Venezuela 2002 *
• Iraq 2003 *
• Haiti 2004 *
• Somalia 2007 to present
• Honduras 2009
• Libya 2011 *
• Syria 2012
• Ukraine 2014 *