US wants all independent governments eliminated: Stephen Lendman

The United States’ agenda around the world is to replace all independent governments with its own puppets and turn sovereign nations into vassal states, a political commentator says.

Stephen Lendman, a writer, syndicated columnist, peace activist and radio show host, made the remarks in a telephone interview with Press TV on Thursday, commenting on the US Agency for International Development’s involvement in “democracy promotion projects” around the world.

On Wednesday, the head of the USAID acknowledged that his agency is running clandestine social media programs to “promote democracy” in several countries.

Last week, the Associated Press revealed that the USAID ran a text-based social network in Cuba, called ZunZeneo, from 2009 to 2012 and had 40,000 Cuban users, but the users did not know that it was launched by the US government. The agency used shell companies to hide the US government’s involvement.

Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the US agency, appeared this week before the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss the agency’s $20 billion budget. He defended USAID’s controversial programs such as the “Cuba Twitter,” saying they are “critical in promoting democracy”.

Lendman said: “America has conducted a longstanding propaganda campaign on a worldwide basis and various organizations are involved. One is USAID. Another is the National Endowment for Democracy.

“These groups get State Department funding. They’re US government organizations. They claim that their mission is fostering and supporting democracy in nations around the world.

“The one thing that America doesn’t tolerate is democracy at home or abroad. It’s strictly verboten.

“Worldwide propaganda campaigns include Voice of America, Radio for Europe, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Marti targeting Cuba.

“USAID’s social media anti-democracy campaign operates against various countries, Cuba included. It’s subversive. It’s anti-democratic.

“The Cubans know it. The Cuban government knows it. It blocks out Radio Marti. Cubans get real information internally. They don’t need American propaganda.

“USAID is one of a number of US agencies that literally spread hatred around the world, masking it as a campaign for democracy. America has nothing whatsoever to do with democracy. Anyone living in America, who is paying attention, knows that the democracy in America is non-existent.

“America is one party state. Both parties are two sides of the same coin. Voters have no say whatever. Money power decides everything. They make the rules. They pick the candidates. They rig the elections to come out their way.

“And the only people allowed into power positions are the people who control America’s money in the big corporate interests, mainly Wall Street crooks. Only they are the ones who are to get all these positions.

“They write legislation Congress enacts. They rubber-stamp laws benefitting them.

“As far as America’s agenda around the world, it’s very simple. It wants all independent governments eliminated. It wants pro-Western vassal states replacing them, puppet states, the states that are beholden to America, mainly, other Western states.

“It wants their people exploited. It wants their resources stolen. It wants everything that benefits America and its corporate interests.

“It wants ordinary people in these countries denied all rights. This is the mission of the America. You can sum it up in one word, imperialism. That’s the US agenda.”