Bernie Sanders may be trying to rehabilitate the image of socialism in the eyes of Americans, but past comments of his will doubtlessly make that task all the more difficult.
Whereas the independent Vermont senator turned Democratic presidential candidate now studiously avoids issues pertaining to foreign policy, Sanders went out of his way to weigh in on matters of national security and international relations back when he was mayor of Burlington back in the 1980’s.
Actually, perhaps “weigh in” isn’t a strong enough phrase: Sanders vocally denounced the Reagan administration’s policy in Central America and not only that, spoke glowingly of the communist dictatorships in Cuba and Nicaragua.
According to Sanders, these regimes took care of their people and provided them with free healthcare and food. He even went as far to say that Americans were wrong to think negatively of bread lines in socialist countries because, in his view, they were a “good thing.”
Watch Sanders’ outrageous comments regarding communist regimes for yourself on the next page:
what a moron! Only an idiot would vote for this commie pos
Stossel lied on his show as to why there were good lines.
Here is the reality
Reagan destroyed the economy and infrastructure of Nicaragua and bread lines where better than starving which is what Sanders point was.
President Reagan and Nicaraugua
Lying for peace
The purpose of the Contras was not to defeat the Sandinista army in battle but to use terrorist tactics to destroy infrastructure, health, and educational services. Their intention was not to confront Sandinistas but to blow up bridges, power plants, oil pipelines, ports, schools, health clinics, grain silos, irrigation projects, and farmhouses. The underlying purpose of these acts of terrorism was to destroy the morale of the Nicaraguan people and to force the Nicaraguan government to divert a high proportion of its budget to defence as discussed in detail below. Diverting government resources to the war, forcing the Sandinistas to cut back on their reform programs, had a considerable negative impact on the people of Nicaragua. David Womble., in The CIA in Nicaragua, discussing the atrocities of the Contras called attention to:
Witness For Peace, an American Protestant watchdog body, collected a list of Contra atrocities in one year, which include murder, the rape of two girls in their homes, torture of men, maiming of children, cutting off arms, cutting out tongues, gouging out eyes, castration, bayoneting pregnant women in the stomach, amputating the genitals of people of both sexes, scraping the skin off the face, pouring acid on the face, breaking the toes and fingers of an 18 year old boy, and summary executions. These were the people Ronald Reagan called the “freedom fighters” and the “moral equivalent of our founding fathers.”
The Contras were trained by the CIA in terrorist warfare and were provided with a manual of instruction which encouraged the use of violence against civilians. According to William Blum, in Killing Hope:
The CIA manual, entitled Psychological Operations in Guerilla Warfare gave advice on such niceties as political assassination, blackmailing ordinary citizens, mob violence, kidnapping, and blowing up public buildings. Upon entering a town, it said, “establish a public tribunal” where the guerillas can “shame, ridicule and humiliate” Sandinistas and their sympathizers by “shouting jeers and slogans”.
p181In 1982, the Standard Fruit Company announced that it was suspending its operations in Nicaragua while foreign oil tankers refused to deliver oil to Nicaragua after Contra threats to blow them up. In October 1983, Nicaragua lost its primary oil supply when Esso (Exxon) announced that it would no longer ship oil from Mexico to Nicaragua. Nicaragua suffered the destruction of oil pipelines and the mining of oil-unloading ports, creating a critical shortage of fuel.
Another result was an acute food shortage stemming from Contra attacks on crops, grain silos, irrigation projects, farm silos, and machinery. In addition, the fish industry suffered from lack of fuel for its boats, spare parts, and the mining of Nicaraguan waters.
In addition to the guerilla warfare against the Sandinistas, the United States embarked on a devastating campaign of economic warfare to starve the people of Nicaragua in the hope that eventually they would “vote with their stomachs.” Washington’s ultimate objective was to impose a complete economic blockade against Nicaragua by blocking foreign aid, trade, and loans. The United States persuaded the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Development Fund to cut Nicaragua off from any form of assistance. A total trade embargo imposed by the U.S. was a serious blow to the Nicaraguan economy. Foreign trade with Nicaragua was almost severed when the CIA mined Nicaraguan harbours in 1984. The placing of 300-pound mines in three harbours not only discouraged foreign trade but destroyed Nicaragua’s fishing industry.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/American_Empire/Reagan_Nicaragua_LFE.html