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http://JeremyBigwood.net Note (JB): This is a fairly
even-handed analysis for a US CIA officer. However, there are some cold
war bias-produced problems with this analysis. The "Libyan
connection" is clearly overplayed, and the
connection to the Cubans wasn't limited because the Cubans were backing
"the Marxist United Left", but because the Cubans rightly saw
the MRTA's struggle as impossible to win in a three-way race against Sendero Luminoso and the US, British, and Israeli-backed government.
The Cubans were more interested in maintaining good relations with the
government --any government-- than playing the insurgency
game. In the ties to other areas, the officer neglected
to mention the "solidarity" between Alfaro Vive Carajo (Ecuador)
and the MRTA, as well as contacts in Panama etc. The MRTA, more than
some kind of Cuban spinoff, was a Bolivarian movement, interested in
maintaining Latin American solidarity in the face of US aggression (an aggression
that continues). Yes, El Che was the fountain that nourished, but
the MRTA was (and is) more than a quickie foquista outfit. From my
many long conversations with the Comandancia General in 1992-3, they did
believe that the reason for the Gulf War was about western (US) control of
middle eastern oil reserves, and the CIA author is correct about this.
Given that Sadam Husayn was (and, is) little worse than the monarchies
ruling so many of the US-allied middle-eastern states, the Gulf War
clearly wasn't about bringing "democracy" to the area. In
short, the MRTA's analysis was correct, the war was about oil! Members
of the Comandancia General, including Serpa, Miguel Rincón, and Lucero
Cumpa were not interested in destroying the US. Such ideas were
never on the table. The concept was to protect a little bit of
Peruvian and South American culture in the face of the US mass-market,
cultural and political hegemony. The concept was also to achieve a
greater degree of democracy than is possible with the US neocolonial system
presently in place in Peru. It
is interesting to note that true US interests (the interests of its
citizens) are not protected by the CIA in Peru. Apparently economic
interests are far more important (compare the attention given to Kentucky
Fried Chicken) and the lack of attention to US citizens such as Lori
Berenson. Click on images above to expand: |
