1989

Turkish Kurds suffering restrictions against their right to exist; Brutal clampdown on protests in China; The final chapter of Iran-Iraq war in which 1 ½ million people were killed; US  support for guerrillas in Angola; Western support for Khmer Rouge; US  invasion of Panama – many killed; Contra operations against Nicaragua; US  support for anti-govt forces in Afghanistan and USSR withdrawal; Killings in El Salvador; Economic collapse of Brazil; Fall of communists in Eastern Europe. And destruction of the Berlin wall; Clashes in Kosovo; Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia; Clashes between Somalia and Ethiopia – greatly reduced; Pressure on Israel to negotiate with Palestine; Pressure on North Korea to negotiate.

January 1989
Ray gun spent his final days in power. His achievements in office included 50,000 dead in El Salvador, as many as 100,000 dead in Guatemala but only 11,000 civilians killed in Nicaragua up to 1986. These people weren’t just killed though. These were Pol Pot style atrocities including rape, torture, mutilation and “disappearance” all designed to enhance the feeling of terror in Central America .

In January, George Bush settled into office for what would be his first and only term in office without Reagan cramping his style.

Routinely, a newly elected president requests an intelligence evaluation of the world situation. In 1989, when Bush took office, a part was leaked. It warned that when attacking “much weaker enemies” the only sensible target – the US must win “decisively and rapidly”. Delay might “undercut political support”, recognised to be thin, a great change since the Kennedy-Johnson years when the attack on Indochina, while never popular, aroused little reaction for many years.

Cabinet
State, James A Baker (89 to 92); Treasury, Richard Thornburgh (89 to 92); Interior, Manuel Lujon; Agriculture, Clayton Yeutter (89 to 91); Commerce, Robert Mosbacher (89 to 92); Labour, Elizabeth Dole (89 to 91); Defence, Richard B Cheney (89 to 93); Health and Human Services, Louis W Sullivan; Housing and Urban Development, Jack F Kemp; Transportation, Samuel Skinner (89 to 92); Energy, James D Watkins (89 to 93); Education, Lauro F Carazos (89 to 91); Veteran Affairs Edward J Derwinski.

Cheney, Powell and Wolfowitz produced “Defense Planning Guidance” report calling for US Global Military dominance.  – Project Censored.

Co lin Powell – a 4 star general – the 1st black appointed to the JC of Staff. Powell later became the 1st black Sec of State.


Collapse of communist world
This is remembered as the year that people-power brought down the Soviet Empire. As remembered by Neal Ascherson in the Observer, 14th November 1999:
 “Prowling last week from one 1989 commemoration to another, I was fascinated to see how the myth of what happened 10 years ago is changing. The revolutions, velvet or bloody, now seem to have been all about unity, the passion to join Europe. The moral drawn in 1999 is that we (the west) have betrayed them (the east). They rebelled in order to share our wealth and freedom. But we have been unwilling to share. At least three things about 1989 are being airbrushed away by this sort of account. One is nationalism: the basic force, which was the vehicle for the revolutions. A second is the vision. Most of the opposition groups who led the revolutions dreamed of a free, self-managing society in which workers ran their own enterprises – a socialist dream which blew away within weeks of the fall of communism. And the third absence – a huge one – is Russia”
Gorbachev reduced or cut off support for Eastern European communist states. Popular movements then proceeded to lead revolutions to topple the dictators. Governments in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany and Romania all fell. Gorby had announced that the next Soviet parliamentary elections would be an open contest.
By mid 1989 demos at Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche was spreading all over East Germany – cries of ‘Stasi out’.
In August Hungarians cut barbed wire at border with Austria – the 1st crack in the iron curtai. Thosands of East germans went there and crossed the border.  Thousands more travelled to West German embassies in Prague and Warsaw and set up camp. They were allowed to leave the GDR.
Early October – flash point at Leipzig.
7th October 1989 Gorby was in GDR for 40th anniversary.. He’d gobe to tell the regime that it wa over and convince them to adopt his reforms.
17th October Honecker was ousted by a panicking party – his deputy Egon Krenz took power.
8th November – proceedings against Honecker began.
9th November Politbureau relaxed travel restrictions and 10,000 turned up at the Bornholmer Bridge checkpoint.. Finally people from east and west were climbing and dancing on the wall.

Ethiopia
The Soviet Union had supported the military regime of Colonel Haile-Mariam Mengistu in its war against  Eritrean, Tigrayan & Oromo claims to national and cultural self-determination, crippling agriculture and the economy of Ethiopia.
Hostility between western-backed Somalia and Soviet backed Ethiopia had been continuing since the 1977 – 78 Ogaden War in the Horn of Africa. Around this time the conflict was greatly reduced and Cuban forces on the border were pulled out.

Angola
Soviets pulled out of Angola on the 10th January. In its last days the USSR worked to end conflicts and to withdraw from its more expensive commitments. Soviet diplomats pressed for rapid withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and closure of ANC bases there to speed up a UN agreement to end South Africa’s occupation of Namibia, which in turn led to its independence in 1990.
The US stepped up its support for Jonas Savimbi’s Unita forces in Angola - during 1989?

Poland
In the middle of ’89 the Polish government had entered into talks with Solidarnos, the organisation that had instigated a national strike in 1980. Solidarnosc became legal this year.

Elections 4th June?

By autumn there were huge demonstrations against communist rule. They had their roots in the East German peace movement centred on protestant churches. Morale was boosted by contact with the western peace movement, particularly the west German Greens and Petra Kelly . So don’t let anyone tell you that Margaret Thatcher can take the credit.

Etc…
Soviets also encouraged the PLO’s recognition of Israel and Vietnam’s withdraw from Cambodia in ’89; with the Chinese, pressured North Korea to continue negotiation.  Russia itself pulled out of the costly and draining conflict in Afghanistan after signing the Geneva accords in April ’88.

Hungary allowed East Germans to enter Austria through their border on 10th September. Start of pro-Democratic changes in East Germany 2nd October, Hungarian socialist Labour Party proclaimed “self dismissal” on 7th October, East Germany opended the West German border on 9th November, Bush and Gorby met off Malta coast 2md to 3rd of December, Czechoslovakian Velvet Revoltuion on the 10th, Ceausesco overthrown on 22nd Dec.

Third World Debt Crisis
The scene is set for things to get much worse for the Rest of The World. Government revenues throughout the Third World plummeted under crippling burden of interest payments on loans taken in 1970s. Oil price drops in the mid 80s slashed income for oil-producing countries. Steady depression in the market value of other raw materials.
Third World governments could no longer afford to buy major weapons systems and saturation of Third World arsenals has effectively put a brake on demand for new weapons systems, 1989.
Many Third World countries began to produce their own arms. A growing emphasis on less advanced equipment – helicopters, insurgency planes, mobile missile launchers, small arms, ammunition and basic radio equipment.

Tiannanmen Square
The Lead up
Chinese leader Hu Yasbang died. This event allowed widespread dissatisfaction in China to be converted into revolutionary protest. It started as a student protest and widened into full-scale national revolt involving workers and all sections of society, and threatening the communist regime.
It was seen, by outsiders, to be part of the flow of events overtaking the whole of the communist world at this time.
Beginning around the end of April with spontaneous displays of mourning, it blossomed into full-scale protests, with big demonstrations on April 27th.  There were calls to end corruption in government, and for clean government. Nothing radical there, and in line with government policy, but Chinese leaders were not happy about these events. They initially decided to do nothing and see if it blew over. The protests spread across the country and calls for democracy were heard; demands were made to the government. Still tolerance was the keynote for the politburo.
China’s leaders were under pressure to dissipate the demonstrations quickly as three major events approached: May 4th anniversary; a meeting of governors of the Asian Development Bank; and a summit with Gorbachev in May to normalise relations between the two nations.
As protests spread and grew in size, the biggest yet were held on May 4th. Den Xiaoping, an elder, officially retired, intervened, expressing his wish to clear the protests in time for the Gorby visit. This didn’t happen and the world’s attention was drawn to the demonstrations by huge numbers of journalists in Beijing for the summit.
On May10th 10,000 students held a mass cycling ride round Beijing.
US reaction
In Washington, Bush commented on the events. In May he said that it was not for him to tell the Chinese government what to do but that some of the student demands were worthy of support and China should continue on the road to democracy.
In testimony before a congressional committee, a state department official stated that non-peaceful repression of the students would have a deleterious impact on US-China relations. Brookings Institution scholar Harry Harding Jr. stated that the US should express its support for political reform without intervening in any particular incident.
The Gorby visit
Students attempted to break into provincial party grounds offices, hunger strikes began, Gorby’s visit, and fissures appeared in politburo standing committee, panic among students as rumours of martial law spread.
On 16th Yan Ming Fu gave benevolent advice to protesters – but too late – at same time as Gorby summit.
The leaders were upset by Yan Ming Fu’s actions. As more demos occurred, students began collapsing from hunger, support for protests grew, political fissures grew too.  Ziyang was ousted, along with his tolerant attitude. An air of mistrust reigned among the leaders. Martial Law troops deployed.
By now tens of thousands were coming to the square. Ziyang, in tears, tried to warn the students to leave before it was too late. This pissed Xiaoping off. Now a real atmosphere of panic in student camp, and crisis among the government, who were far from agreed on use of military option. Student leaders decided to stop protests but were unable to enforce this decision. Martial Law started on 19th to 22nd. To protect themselves students and citizens set up roadblocks and checkpoints to prevent troops from moving in.
Washington Protests
20th May – 5,000 Chinese rallied in Washington DC to support the students. “US government was taking a cautious approach”. When asked why the US did not support Chinese students, Baker replied that US supports democracy and the freedoms of speech and assembly but that it was very important that the US not be seen as in any way inciting political unrest.
Tiannanmen Massacre
21st May – Tiannanmen Square was under military siege. Students and citizens seemed to be getting on very well with soldiers and officers. Voice of America broadcast over campus PA systems and spreading rumours. Student leaders supported withdrawing. Numbers in square continued to grow. 600,000 demonstrated in Hong Kong. 22nd May – the purge of Zhao Ziyang, 300,000 in square now and first clashes began.
10pm – clash between troops and civilians, people injured. 10 arrested.

Bush called on both sides to exercise restraint and to seek a peaceful solution, but avoided taking a clear stand on either side of the conflict. Chair of the US house committee on foreign affairs, Rep Stephen Solarz, warned that a military crackdown would bring sanctions against China (it didn’t). He agreed that a stable China was in America’s interests but urged China to achieve stability through dialogue rather than force. Kissinger sided with Bush’s position of not wanting to appear to be inciting student riots.

May23rd about 10,000 students still sitting in square, May25th Taiwan lookedlikely to take advantage of student movement., May26th Elders choose Jiang Zemin as leader. – Ziyang to be punished. New standing committee chosen, June 2nd CCP elders decided to clear the square. June 3rd – violence against soldiers entering square meant leaders gave up ideas of peaceful clearance of square.
Most deaths occurred as troops moved in from western suburbs towards Tiannanmen along Fuxingmenwai Boulevard at a location called Muxidi where anxious soldiers reacted violently to popular anger. The violent reaction from citizens was sparked by a Jeep crashing into and killing 3 pedestrians and injuring one. Word spread that troops were sneaking in to cordoned area. Rocks were thrown at isolated soldiers. They were beaten and kidnapped, some killed. Students found guns on military buses they had captured. Tear gas was used. Students equipped themselves with weapons, clubs, chains, etc. Soldiers began a retreat. June 4th Troops negotiated a peaceful withdrawal as dawn broke but some killing of citizens and soldiers continued during the morning hours. Hundreds were shot – outraged citizens came out of their homes to protest and attacked troops, and they were shot at. Some were shot in their homes. Soldiers shot at students shouting out “fascists”. Dead and wounded were delivered continually to the hospital.
Troops entered the square on the 4th, by then numbers in the square were only a few thousand. They were forced to leave.
Internal investigations claim that no one was shot and none run over by tanks. Beijing Red Cross estimated 2,600 dead. Plenty of non-rioters had been killed.
Western reaction
Bush expressed “deep regret”. Baker called it “most unfortunate” and made American people “extremely concerned”. Jesse Helms, Senator, called for economic sanctions. Congress discussed granting “sanctuary” to Chinese students in the USA. Thatcher expressed shock and indignation. Labour urged western governments to take action. June5th to 8th student demonstrations broke out all over China. Bush announced five measures:
temporary halt to weapons sales and commercial exports,
suspension of visits between US and Chinese military leaders,
reconsideration of Chinese student requests to extend their stays in the USA.
Provision through International Red Cross of humanitarian medical aid to the victims
a review of bilateral agreements
House of representatives voted unanimously to support the president and senate voted for further measures (see p.549 Tiannanmen Papers). In China, mass arrests followed: 1,103 by June 30th. A national clampdown on illegal organisations. Deng Xiaoping had lost influence in party structure. On November 1989 Deng relinquished his last post and retired.

Afghanistan
Russia ended its campaign in Afghanistan – defeated by the US  supported guerrilla campaign. The Soviets completed full retreat from Afghanistan on the 15th February.
Soon the regime would topple, but women’s rights were thrown away even before that. As a desperate attempt to remain in power compromises were made with the Muslim fanatics.
By the end of the year – communist bloc was looking shaky. The east Europeans were optimistic that they would soon be running their countries along democratic egalitarian lines – not realising that the US  would be working to prevent this outcome.
The Warlords proceeded to pulverise Kabul “killing 50,000 civilians, half of them in one year,” 1994, according to Human Rights Watch, c/o Pilger.

Union Carbide $470m compensation for Bhopal’s victims – individual payments were from nothing to £6000. Water in the area is still unfit for drinking in 1998. 50,000 still suffered in 1998.

Yugoslavia
EVENTS
1989 Milosevic's speech at Kosovo Polje on June 28, the 500th anniversary of Serbia's defeat by the Turks stirred up Serbian nationalism and began the process of Yugoslavia's disintegration. The Milosevic Era according to PBS
1989 -- Pressured by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, the Kosovo assembly approved the abolition of the province's autonomous status. Serbia suppressed Albanian cultural institutions in Kosovo. - Dr S D Stein, Stuart.Stein@uwe.ac.uk, ©S D Stein, http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/Kosovo/Kosovo-chronology3.htm
Street violence erupted when the Kosovo assembly approved the measure. Violence escalated and more than 20 people were killed.
September: Slovenian assembly declared independence and autonomy from Yugoslavia.
Throughout the 1990's oppression of Kosovar Albanians increased and human rights were severely abused despite continual attempts at non-violent negotiation.

The Balkans continued to destabilise with reduced influence of USSR. Milosevic’s crackdown of 1989 was brutal, the first target of the 1989 crackdown was the old bureaucracy in Kosovo run by Albanian communists up till 1989.
Under their rule it was Serbs who were discriminated against and driven out of Kosovo.
In the 1980s and earlier, Kosovo Albanian nationalists were openly engaging in ‘ethnic cleansing’ in the interests of a homogenous Albanian state. In 1990s the movement aimed not for reform, but for an exit from Yugoslavia.
The movement’s leaders were also more openly interested in a “Greater Albania”. As in the case of the IZ faction of the Bosnian Muslims the KLA soon saw that by provocation and effective propaganda it would be possible to get NATO to serve as its military arm.
Yugoslavia made efforts to compromise and give Albanians greater autonomy. NATO powers failed to seek any kind of mediated solution.
Milosevic organised a series of demos in Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina.

Kosovan Albanians openly engaging in ethnic cleansing in 1989.

Iran-Contra Fall-Out
January 13th  - Central conspiracy and theft charges against North were dismissed cos of classified information problems.
Jan 31st to May 4th North trial resulting in three count conviction.
April 7th Secord is indicted on nine additional charges of obstruction, false statements and perjury.
April 21st Fernandez indicted on false statement and obstruction charges in eastern District of Virginia.
July 24th Attorney General obtained a stay of the Fernandez trial to appeal Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) rulings.
August 23rd the fourth circuit US Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in Fernandez on the Attorney General’s right to appeal under CIPA.
September 19th Walsh testified before the legislative subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on CIPA and submitted a report to the house and Senate Judiciary Committees and the Senate Intelligence Committee.
September 29th 1989, The Fourth Circuit ruled that the Attorney General does not have standing under CIPA to appeal trial court rulings in cases prosecuted by Independent Counsel. It dismissed the appeals and remands the case to district court.
November 8th Secord pled guilty to making false statements to Congress.
November 21st Hakim pled guilty to illegally supplementing the salary of a government official; Lake Resources Inc pled guilty to a corporate felony of diverting Iran arms sales proceeds to the contras.
November 24th Fernandez dismissed after Attorney General refused to allow the disclosure of certain classified information at trial. Independent Counsel filed notice with the Fourth Circuit US Court of Appeals that the Government will appeal the trial court’s CIPA rulings.
December 11th Independent Counsel submits Second Interim Report to Congress on CIPA.
December 12th Walsh testifies on CIPA in closed session of the legislative subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee.

Central America
Predatory action by consumer countries such as the USA undermined the International Coffee Agreement that had stabilised and supported world prices. The agreement collapsed in 1989 and coffee prices fell to a 14-year low. Plantation owners resorted to a new crop, esp. in Colombia. The new crops were illegal – drugs .

Invasion of Panama
One month after the Berlin Wall fell, America invaded Panama to overthrow General Manuel Noriega. Noriega, a dictator of Washington’s own making. had been on the CIA payroll since 1966 and had been transporting drugs with the CIA’s approval since 1972. By late 1980s Noriega had been acting increasingly independently which angered Washington. Howard Marks and Noriega were “fellow inmates of Miami Metropolitan Correctional Centre and our court attendances sometimes coincided. Trained by former CIA chief George Bush, Noriega switched loyalties and began selling arms to Cuba and drug trafficking with Colombian cartels. For the first time the US  adopted the now familiar policy of invading a country to capture one criminal”.  Plans were drawn up to remove him from power. There had been a botched attempt to overthrow Noriega in October 1989, by supporting a coup.

America described Noriega as “evil”, “a dangerous drugs trafficker, whose capture by US Marines required a full-scale invasion of his country and the death by bombing of at least 2,000 Panamanians, mainly the poorest of the poor in their barrios. Noriega and drugs had precious little to do with it. The aim was to put Panama, its canal and its US base, under direct American sovereignty, managed by other Noriegas.”

General Frederick Woerner, commander in Panama, refused to obey an order to illegally attack Panama and was replaced by George Bush. General Maxwell Thurman was levered into his place. Also, Admiral William Crowe also played up and was ditched in favour of some bloke called Colin Powell.

Operation Just Cause.
On 19th December 1989, 24,000 troops were sent into Panama and was vigorously endorsed by the British PM. The US  had indicted Noriega for “drug trafficking and involvement in organised crime ” and therefore his arrest acted as a convenient pretext for the invasion. The US had previously ignored Noriega’s drug business in return for his help in arming and training the Contras and supporting their attempts to overthrow the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In the 1960s Noriega was paid $50 a month and a bottle of whisky for the information he provided.  By mid 80s Noriega was earning thousands of dollars from the CIA and DEA, according to Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes.  After all these years why did the US become concerned about his drug related business?

Afterwards the number of dead and injured was subject to censorship. The US  lied about the number of dead, presenting casualty figures considered acceptable for domestic consumption. In reality, the operation left 7,000 Panamanians dead, 13,000 homeless and caused $2bn worth of damage . “Thousands of nationals were killed and dumped in mass graves. The Americans burned neighbourhoods, used tanks to crush families in their cars and left tens of thousands impoverished and homeless. ” And the real motives? With Noriega’s increasing independence and insubordination and that under the Canal Treaty of 1977 the Panama Canal was to be handed back to Panama by year 2000,  the US became concerned over their future access to the Panama canal. The last thing the US wanted was an unstable, independent or hostile regime in charge of their canal.

Noriega was captured, tried and condemned for his crimes, almost all committed while he was on the CIA pay roll.

Countries throughout Latin America condemned the invasion. Reports that the US  was planning to mount a naval blockade against Colombia sparked outrage in Latin America.
It has been said that the Panamanian campaign served as a model for American ally Saddam Hussein when he planned to invade neighbouring Kuwait.

The Drugs Industry
The Senate sub committee on Terrorism, narcotics and international communications, headed by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts issues its 1,166 page report on drug corruption in Central America and the Caribbean. The sub committee found that there was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zone on the part of the individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots, and mercenaries working with Contras support throughout the region.
US  officials ‘failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardising the war efforts against Nicaragua.’
The investigation also revealed that some “senior policy makers” believed that the use of drug money was a “perfect solution to the Contras funding problem.”

Defence releases documents claiming Noriega was “CIA’s man in Panama” May 15th 1991.

It was Cheney that shut the media out of Panama invasion – learning from the Falklands.

Brazil
Fernando Collor de Mello elected president.
Brazil held the first direct presidential elections in 29 years. The former governor of the small north east state of Alagos. The 40-year-old winner was the youngest president in Brazil’s history. He took office in March 1990 and introduced radical economic reform to achieve his promise to wipe out four-digit inflation in a year and to eliminate corruption in government. This included opening up the economy to imports, privatisation and a controversial freeze on savings and bank accounts. His promised economic improvements fail to materialise, and by 1991 inflation will reach 1,500%. Foreign debt repayment was suspended.

Another IMF casualty?

El Salvador
Congressman Miller of the US Congressional Task Force, sent to El Salvador after the killing of six Jesuit priests in November 1989. “The fact of the matter is, this is part of the policy of the military to go out and kill people who they disagree with or they believe are a threat to them…They are a very efficient killing machine and thanks to us [the US] they are very well financed.”
Six Jesuit intellectuals murdered by US-trained Atlacatl Brigade.   www.Costarica-net-guide.com
The war in El Salvador was directed by the army against civilians living in rural areas.  US military experts had advised the Salvadoran military to adopt Vietnam War-style tactics. Since the rebel fighters rely on popular support, especially in the countryside, the army should target the local population to remove this support. Ground sweeps by Salvadoran army units are directed by Americans, used together with intense aerial bombardment, serves to terrorise, kill and maim the peasant population in El Salvador, leaving the countryside scarred with craters, and causing huge forest fires.
US planes from the Palmerola base in Honduras provided reconnaissance, which enabled more accurate locating of human targets. Napalm, white phosphorous and fragmentation bombs have been reported to have been used to inflict maximum destruction on people, their land, crops and forest. They have all become legitimate targets.
Between 1978 and 1990 more than 150,000 people were killed by political violence and civil war. The US have poured over $5bn in military and economic aid to dodgy regimes during 1980s.
El Salvador suffers the worst soil erosion and most skewed land distribution in the region. Nearly all of its original deciduous forests have gone. As the soil washes away so does the food supply. It is eroding because peasant farmers are deprived of enough land to survive on. Unable to allow the land to recuperate between crops, the land soon becomes barren and infertile. Large portion of the country’s land is used for pasture and nearly as much is completely unused – and yet the government refuses to make it available to peasants who need it .
Half the children in El Salvador died before their 5th birthday. A conservative estimate is that between 1979 and 1987 68,000 Salvadorans met violent deaths, 2/3 murdered by death squads and security forces.

See sources Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International UK; AI USA.
Boston’s Fernald School for mentally retarded children – experimental subjects for radiation studies.


Nicaragua
“1989 Washington voted (alone with Israel) against a UN General Assembly Resolution calling on it once again to observe international law and call off these illegal actions – terrorist war and embargo against Nicragua.”
Methods described in Time Magazine: to “wreck the economy and prosecute a long and deadly proxy war until the exhausted natives overthrow the unwanted government themselves.”

The Middle East
The big news – finally the appallingly bloody Iran-Iraq war came to an end. From now on the US  begins to demonise Islam as a “satanic cult that encourages suicide attacks” . It was a dream of the Neo-Cons to turn the relatively small and failing Islamist terrorist groups into something that could be sold to the public as a serious global threat. The Power of Nightmares.
The US increased pressure on Israel to negotiate with Palestinians following the PLO’s recognition of Israel, a conciliatory move encouraged by the Soviets.
Turkey repealed its laws banning the Kurdish language, but severe restrictions continued. Kurdish tv and radio remained illegal; it was illegal to teach Kurdish in schools, use Kurdish names or use the Kurdish language in advertising.
Turkish prisons were often hardly more than torture chambers.

Kurds: “A people without a country”
When Kurds in Iraq reported that over 3000 villages had been razed by Saddam Hussein they were treated with scepticism – but Western governments could easily confirm such assertions using satellite photography.

Powell-Cheney rift over the war? What was that all about?

The Far East
Soviets encouraged Vietnam’s withdraw from Cambodia in ’89. But there was outrage when the public found out that Britain, along with China, France, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the USA was giving direct military assistance to the Khmer Rouge dominated guerrillas fighting to overthrow the Cambodian government.

Rich World – Poor World
The poor is now aiding the rich. In 1989, the Third World paid out $52bn more in debt service that it received in new investment and loans.
By 1989 $6.4bn – nearly 30% of total World Bank lending fell into category of SAPs. In sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 30 nations are following Bank adjustment policies, average incomes have fallen by 20% in ten years before 1990. Spending on health care has been cut by half and education by a quarter.

Terrorism
November: Father Ignacio Martìn-Barò, a social psychologist, delivered speech in California on “The Psychological Consequences of Political Terror”. According to Noam Chomsky “He stressed several relevant points. First, the most significant form of terrorism, by a large measure, is state terrorism – that is “terrorizing the whole population through systematic actions carried out by the forces of the state”. Second, such terrorism is an essential part of a “government-imposed sociopolitical project” designed for the needs of the privileged.

Environment
Earth’s forests are depleting faster than ever.
Thailand, previously a heavily forested country forced to ban timber exports in January 1989. Philippines, another former wood exporter (plywood), was now importing wood.

Education
The Carnegie Forum (see 1985) is now called the National Center on Education and the Economy with Marc Tucker as president was asked to help in developing the National Education Goals upon which “America 2000” and “Goals 2000” would be based.

In Berlin, by the Wall…
In November the unexpected occurred. Berliners started pulling down the wall that had divided their city for ?? years. The new mood of optimism was at its peak, and everyone seemed to be looking forward to the end of the cold war, freedom, democracy, and peace. Some chance!

notes
In 1989 Bolivia – whose relations with the US had improved since Paz Estenssora (Zamora??) took over – got more aid from the US than any other south american country and 3rd highest in Latin america, behind El Salvador and Honduras.
Congress were trying to enforce the 1985 Foreign assistance Act, limiting aid to countries that engaged in drug trafficking – not what Reagan was trying to do – he wantrted to “strengthen democratic institutions in Latin America.” Edward Rowell took over as US ambassador.
May 1989 elections in Boloivia?

Colombia asked the US to install a radar system to monitor flights from the south – source of most of the cocaine for drug merchants. The US installed one on an island San Andreas in the Caribbean, 500 miles from mainland Colombia and as far as possible from the drug routes – handy for intensive survey of Nicaragua – just as terrorist war in Nicaragua was peaking.
A Costa Rican request for drug war radar ended the same way.
From 84 – 92 6844 Colombian soldiers trained under US International Military Education and Training Program. From 90 to 92 over 2000 were trained.

Bush’s concern in 1989 over “reports of Chinese assistance to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program.
Chinese diplomats denied nuclear aid to Pakistan.

East Germany – peace movement was started by Rudi Dutschke who escaped from East Berlin.

US navy jets shot down 2 Libyan jets in 1989.

Jamaican prime minister Michael Manley – he won as Democratic Socialist in 1972 and 1976. Was defeated in 1980. Won third term in 1989 – now not a socialist – supported IMF policies?
“My budget has no flexibility” he said “the DEA offers a $29m grant to burn ganja fields. I have a choice: use the money to open the roads blocked by Hurricane Andrew or raise teachers pay and keep the schools open. I can’t do both. No agrarian reform. No healthcare. He shook his head. Political power without money in the budget is an illusion.” Saul Landau
He resigned shortly afterwards – a tacit admission of political impotence.

Virgin islands – US troops in st Croix – black arrest after a storm
Philippines – US provided air cover for government against coup in 1989
Panama – troops and bombing, 27,000 soldiers, 7000 plus killed.

It was always recognized that Europe might choose to follow an independent course. NATO was partially intended to counter this threat. As soon as the official pretext for NATO dissolved in 1989, NATO was expanded to the East in violation of verbal pledges to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It has since become a U.S.-run intervention force, with far-ranging scope, spelled out by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who informed a NATO conference that "NATO troops have to guard pipelines that transport oil and gas that is directed for the West," and more generally to protect sea routes used by tankers and other "crucial infrastructure" of the energy system.
Noam Chomsky
http://mistymountain.info/content/noam-chomsky-world-too-big-fail-contours-global-order