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From: rjn@duke.UUCP (R. James Nusbaum)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: A Pleasant Precedent
Message-ID: <8569@duke.duke.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 14-Sep-86 14:28:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: duke.8569
Posted: Sun Sep 14 14:28:15 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Sep-86 05:30:29 EDT
References: <7802361@inmet>
Reply-To: rjn@duke.UUCP (R. James Nusbaum)
Organization: Duke University, Durham NC
Lines: 39

In article <7802361@inmet> janw@inmet.UUCP writes:
>
>Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe, speaking at the non-aligned
>meeting in Harare, denounced the Libyan raid and the US support
>for the Angolan insurgents as acts of "international bullyism".
>In a very short while, he learned the happy news: the USA stopped
>bullying his country with any further foreign aid.
>
>People often ask why there's so much anti-American sentiment
>abroad. Why, it's because this kind of normal and sane response
>has been so rare on the part of the State Department.
>
>But is this the way to make us loved? Yes, it is: in many places,
>people know about the USA mostly what the national  leaders,  and
>controlled  media, tell them. If the leaders get the incentive
>not to vilify the US, that makes a difference.
>
>Foreign dictators sure  have  the  right  of  free  anti-American
>speech  -  but  not  paid for by the American taxpayer! 

I held off replying to the dozen or so other useless pieces
submitted by janw@inmet (why the heck didn't you put them all in
one article so that those of us who disagree with you didn't
have to go through them all), but this one takes the cake.  Now
I'm not saying that Mugabe is a saint, he has certainly let down
the ideals of his revolution, but he's no worse then Pinochet, Somoza, 
the Shah, Marcos or any of the other dictators which the U.S. supports 
or supported.  The reason for so much anti-American sentiment is
our support of brutal leaders and our bullying of smaller and less 
powerful countries.  Let's apply our policies evenly and stop aid to 
any country which denies basic civil rights to its citizens.

Jim Nusbaum

-- 
R. James Nusbaum, Duke University Computer Science Department,
Durham NC 27706-2591. Phone (919)684-5110.
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