Dirty Wars, Alliances, Strategic Objectives and most important of all...Profits

http://www.constantinereport.com/alabama-coal-company-bankrolled-colombian-death-squads/

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101493385

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/07/03/353432/-GOP-Backers-Drummond-Co-linked-to-Death-Squads#

http://www.drummondco.com/our-people/company-culture/

While you will not find these stories on the evening news or even in mainstream American newspapers, they're quite familiar fare. In this case we're speaking about US energy companies hiring death squads in South America. Shocking? Not in the least. People have been trying to sound the alarm about this for decades. This story comes out of Columbia.

While our media regularly reports on the dastardly deeds of the FARC, they are pretty silent when it comes to the Right-wing death squads and guerilla groups which operate in the country. The aristocracy, the landowners and American business interests have long collaborated in an attempt to control the land, the transportation routes and the resources. The United States militarily and financially backs the Columbian government and has been waging a terror war on the civilian population who will not comply with the policy.

The original justification was anti-Communism. In the 1990's the narrative switched to the Drug War and then of course (conveniently) Counter-Terrorism.

Years from now when the players are all dead the American public will learn of the spraying, the massive fumigation and destruction of Columbian land. Monsanto's Round-up has been sprayed over significant percentage of the country's arable land. No one yet knows what this will mean for future generations. We're only now beginning to fully grasp the magnitude of Operation Ranch Hand... the massive spraying of defoliants and other poisons (mostly made by Dow Chemical and Monsanto) over Vietnam.

That's a long term slow-motion crime, but the more immediate concern is with the mercenary/Death Squad activities financed by American business.

Once again it must be asked, are these rogue US companies that are breaking the law and employing murder to secure their interests?

Or are these companies CIA fronts/collaborators merely carrying out a clandestine policy?

While it may seem shocking to some, it shouldn't. These stories have repeatedly made the news since the growth of independent journalism in the 1960's. We learned about these types of episodes in Indochina and certainly even the mainstream news media couldn't ignore Iran-Contra.

The Empire has many tools in its arsenal. It can use alliances and treaties, international organizations as well as banking and corporate interests. When that fails the jackals are brought in... covert operatives and mercenaries. And if it's convenient there is several trillion dollars worth of hardware that can be used as the 'heroes' are sent in 'to defend our freedom'.

And you wonder why poor farmers will pick up an AK-47 and head for the jungle?

What I wonder is what makes them think they would even have a chance?

The Vietnamese finally wore down the Imperial will but at what cost? Few societies in the world would be willing or able to show that kind of resilience or perhaps madness.

As a Christian, it just strikes me all the more when I hear Christian leaders talk about Christian values under assault in the military, or if we can just bring ethics back into Wall Street, or apply the Christian worldview to Main Street...or to Washington.... we can somehow bring America back around.

What planet do these people live on? Do they not understand the nature of the world, the nature of power? They are deceived and in many cases willfully blind to what has happened in the past and what is happening all around them. They are too enamoured with the trappings of power and palling around with the high and mighty to notice the absurdity of their statements.

How many Christians own stocks in these types of companies, work for these institutions and implicitly or explicitly support these policies?

There's an evil bloodthirsty dog-eat-dog world out there and somehow the Christian worldview has been reduced to...when our side does it, then it's okay.

It's not okay.

The Church has blood on its hands. Protestantism has a history almost as bloody as that of Rome and the American Church is responsible for supporting death on a massive global scale.

This will always happen when the false church baptizes power.

There's a long record of Christian businessman and lobbyists who have been involved in these types of endeavours.  It extends across the Americas, throughout Africa and into Asia.

There's a great line from Blood Diamond. Danny Archer played by DiCaprio mentions his past activities fighting with the South African Army in Angola...an action heavily backed by the United States and the Christian Right.

"We thought we were fighting communism, but in the end it was all about who gets what, you know? Ivory, Oil, Gold... Diamonds."

It's true, but it's bigger than that... it's mastery of the world.