Did You Know?
The National Endowment for Democracy and Burma
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is funded by Congress which has oversight, however NED in turn funds other organizations which are unaccountable. The topic of NED is worthy of a separate diary but for now we'll provide some basic information on NED activities and on their agenda in Burma.
During the late 1970s there was new thinking at the highest levels of the U.S. foreign policymakers, that ugly murderous military dictatorships of the 1970s were really the best way to preserve U.S. interests in these countries – U.S. interests being defined traditionally as unfettered access to the primary products and raw materials, to the labor and to the markets of foreign countries. (Think Iraq, Venezuela, Iran) This new thinking led to the establishment in 1983 of the National Endowment for Democracy.
NED regularly provides funding to opposition candidates in elections in countries other than the USA. According to Allen Weinstein, one of the founders of NED, "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."
NED has principally supported candidates with strong ties to the military and who support the rights of U.S. corporations to invest in those countries with minimal restriction. The NED has not supported candidates who oppose investments by U.S. corporations or who promise restrictions on investment rights of U.S. corporations.
A list of former and present members of the board of directors includes Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, Frank Carlucci, Zbigniew Brzezinski, General Wesley K. Clark, Paul Wolfowitz, and Vin Weber.
NED was present and had an active part in directing the protests last month in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). In fact CNN mentioned their presence and activities in one of their broadcasts. The State Department also admits to their presence. The protest "concert master," per Engdahl, was Gene Sharp who is the founder of an organization funded through NED, called the Albert Einstein Institution.
Taken from http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/17/113050/64
Editor's note: Anytime you see the word, "Democracy" in an organization, be very wary of it. Democracy is a euphemism for tyranny. This is why I published this particular information as I want you to begin to think critically about the world in which you live.
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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jun2005/oas-j07.shtml
Sumate is an organization, and is largely funded by the US government through the National Endowment for Democracy, a conduit for money directed at subverting governments opposed by Washington.
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The Journal of History - Fall 2007 Copyright © 2007 by News Source, Inc.