William Blum Author, Historian and Critic of US Foreign Policy
We are very saddened to hear of the death of William Blum. He was a friend of Russia, a friend of peace and even though he refused to question the 911 false flag, for a short time he was a friend and supporter of JAR2. God Speed December 14, 2018 - Вильям Блум был другом России и JAR2 и всю свою жизнь боролся за мир и против преступлений CIA. Его смерть после падения (дома) и многочисленных ушибов увеличивает подозрения, что он был избит и измучен. Дорогой Джон, Это прощание. Билл умер 9 декабря. От его имени я благодарю вас всех за вашу солидарность, за вашу щедрость и вашу политическую работу и говорю: не сдавайтесь. Скоро у нас будет панихида. Я посылаю вам текст, который написал давний друг и товарищ Билла Луи Вулф вскоре после смерти Билла. Лу и Джо были рядом с ним в последние недели. Как чудесно иметь таких друзей. И я прощаюсь сейчас. После 65-дневного боя за жизнь после фатального падения в квартире 4 октября, Билл скончался 9 декабря, примерно в 2:20 ночи. Он был перенесен накануне вечером из больницы Вирджинии в Капитолийский хоспис, в миле от больницы. Его сын Алекс, прилетевший сюда 8 декабря из Германии, и я поехали туда и встретились с доктором. Непосредственной причиной смерти была почечная недостаточность - в сочетании с многочисленными ранами на его теле. Мы намерены связаться с «Вашингтон пост» завтра, чтобы договориться о том, чтобы они написали некролог. Мы также планируем поминальную службу - либо в Вашингтоне, либо в Нью-Йорке, либо в обои городах. Некролог и запись последней публичной лекции Билла можно найти на веб-сайте CAQ. William Blum was a friend of Russia and JAR2 and during his life fought for peace and against the crimes of the CIA. His death after "falling and suffering many bruises" gives rise to suspicions that he was beaten and tortured. Dear John, This is the farewell. Bill died on December 9th.
In his name I thank you all for
your solidarity, for your generosity and your political work, and say: Don't
give up. I'm sending you the text that Bill's old-time friend and comrade Louis Wolf wrote, shortly after Bill's death. Lou and Joe were by his side during those last weeks. What marvelous friends to have. And I say good-bye now. A After a 65-day fight to live after his devastating fall in his apartment on October 4th, Bill died on Dec. 9, at approximately 2:20 a.m. He was transferred the night before from the Virginia Hospital Center to the Capitol Caring Hospice about one mile from the hospital. His son Alex who flew here on Dec. 8 from Germany and I went there and met with the doctor. The immediate cause of death was kidney failure – combined with the many wounds on his body. We intend to contact the Washington Post tomorrow to arrange for them to write an obituary. We are also planning a Memorial Service – either in DC or New York or both. An obituary and footage of Bill's last public lecture can be found on the CAQ website. https://covertactionmagazine.com/index.php/2018/12/09/william-blum-dead-at-85/
US Goal in Ukraine and World: Global Domination April 7, 2014 William_Blum - 04032014_Robles_Blum_Complete.MP3 The basic motivation and basic philosophy of US foreign policy is world domination and for the US, "world domination" means getting rid of the countries that stand in its way, says historian William Blum in an interview with the Voice of Russia. Today, there are only two countries in the world that have the military capability to confront the US: Russia and China.
This is John Robles. You are listening to an interview with Mr. William Blum, an American author, historian and a longstanding critic of US foreign policy.
Robles: Hello, sir, how are you this evening?
Blum: I’m fine, thank you.
Robles: Nice to be speaking with you again. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about your latest book? You said it is titled "America's Deadliest Export : Democracy".
Blum: Right, it is actually a collection of various writings I made over many years many of which have appeared in one form or another in my monthly internet report, the Anti-Empire Report But it is a very wide-ranging book. It deals mainly with the US foreign policy but also many other subjects including things like marijuana and abortion.
Robles: Has anyone been promoting it here?
Blum: In Russia?
Robles: Yeah.
Blum: The publishers, the entity which is behind it having been promoting.
Robles: I see. A lot of the commentators were saying you basically predicted what was going on in Ukraine. Can you give our listeners your opinion about what has been going on in Ukraine?
Blum: I don’t know what they are saying about how I predicted it, I didn't do that explicitly, but maybe they mean that given the past history of the US foreign policy, one can not fail to see the fingerprints of the US in Ukraine.
Robles: I see.
Blum: There was more than just fingerprints, we saw high officials of the State Department and the US Ambassador mingling with the people in Ukraine during the protests and handing out food to them. Why would they do that?
The US government would be very upset if during a protest in the US, there were high Russian officials mingling with the protestors and handing out food and smiling and laughing with them, it would be shocking to the media here, but for the US to do it of course it goes without any comment..
Robles: Right. I’m sure you’ve heard about the conversation between Geoffrey Pyatt and Victoria Nuland where they were basically choosing the line of the government. Is that a common practice?
Blum: Well the US had to approve the makeup of a new government when there was a coup taking place, a coup that they even planned?
On many occasions in Latin America especially over the years, coup plotters have actually gone to American embassies to speak to American officials to get their approval of the event, to make sure that the planned coup would be well-received, because if it wasn’t well-received they would not get any kind of support or aid they were hoping for following the coup. So they have to make sure beforehand that it will be improved.
Robles: Do you see the same regime change strategy that was used in other countries say South America, Central America used in Ukraine? Why do you think that will or will not work in Europe or in Ukraine in particular?
Blum: Well, it did work, the coup was successful. What do you mean it didn’t work?
Robles: I don’t think it is going to last because there is no popular support at all for the people who are in power and the people who they want to put in power there is no way they are going to be able to be elected in a democratic election.
Blum: You are probably right but only time will tell that, and I don't usually go in for predicting the future so much so we will see what happens.
Robles: For example Klitschko he made one public appearance and he was bombarded with eggs.
Blum: Are you speaking of following the coup or before the coup?
Robles: I’m talking about after the coup, I’m talking about a week and a half ago.
Blum: Well things have improved with certain aspects of the coup. They are not in love with the EU, NATO or the US as other people in Ukraine; the rightwing can be independt, I mean as nasty as they, in general they don’t like the western powers that much.
Robles: Yeah, right, right. But they were just used like... and this is a common tactic of the CIA, they would just use any group to destabilize the country.
Blum: I don’t know how the Ukrainian rightwing will allow themselves to be used too much. So only time will tell. One of their leader has been murdered by the police, that may well be a warning shot to the rest of the rightwing like: "Don’t go crazy!".
Robles: His name was Sasha Beliy. Now, these are really radical neo nazis in Ukraine. How do you think they are going to react if they find out or when they find out that they have just been used as pawns to bring about this regime change? Because Victoria Nuland and the CIA nobody is interested in them, they want to put their puppets in the government and these neo nazis were just an instrument to bring that by.
Blum: I’m sure they were aware of the possibility that they were used and they are not going to take it sitting down. Obviously they can be very, very nasty and then violent. So we shall see what happens.
Robles: What kind of reports are you getting there? I know you are watching the web and you are probably better informed than the average American is, I’m sure you are. What kind of reports are you getting about the Right Sector there in the US?
Blum: In the media there is almost no mentioning of the terms: neo nazis or fascists or extreme rightwing. That is not referred too often at all. And I’m sure an average American doesn’t realize the influences behind the coup. But again we have to see how that plays out.
They are not going to be quiet about it, they are going to want their payment in one way or another, it may be very nasty.
Robles: Yeah. What do you think the main goal was for the US in Ukraine? Was it curbing, or getting rid of Russian influence? Was it NATO bases? Was it resources? A part of the EU Agreement was handing the entire gas pipeline to EXXON oil – that was part of the EU Association Agreement. What do you think was the main motivation for taking Ukraine?
Blum: For one thing I see it as part of the overall US policy of surrounding Russia with bases and with members of NATO and with missile sites and so on.
It is part of their repertoire and Ukraine is as close as you can get to Russia. So it is a victory in that context.
The oil thing you mentioned might well be a factor as well. I haven’t really studied that in any detail. But certainly the US keeps such things in mind all the time.
Robles: So you think it was mainly a military strategic move, I mean to..?
Blum: US foreign policy is always looking.. the basic motivation and basic philosophy is world domination and you could not understand US foreign policy unless you understand that basic motivation.
And "world domination" means getting rid of those countries which stand in the way of domination. And there are only two countries in the world which have the military capability to confront and hold back part of Washington's overts: Russia and China are the only two that could confront the US.
And the US has been busy for years surrounding both of them. So this is part of that process.
Robles: What do you think about the sanctions? You are in the US you know the economic situation better than I do. Do you think that the US is in a position right now to be doing all this? And the sanctions do you think they are going to backfire? Because I mean quite frankly trade turnover with the US is so minimal that it is almost..it could just be forgotten pretty much by Russia. I mean the UK’s trade turnover is about a hundred times more, I think.
Blum: Yeah. They have already had complaints from Europe about this. It may not hold up too long, these sanctions. Although the rhetoric keeps going very strong. I mean any announcement from NATO or the EU, or the UK, or the US is always sounding tough. They are going to impose sanctions and if they need to they will impose even tougher sanctions and so on. Well, this is just a script, we have heard this before many times and it gets really very tiresome.
Robles: Yeah. Yesterday Anders Fogh Rasmussen he said: "We are going to put up all these sanctions, we are going to isolate Russia". Boom, boom, boom, blah, blah, blah..
And he says: "But, we hope that Russia continues to cooperate with us in fighting narcotics in Afghanistan", in basically "our escape route from Afghanistan." I mean they are routing NATO cargos through Russian territory.
Blum: There are all kinds of ways that Russia has been cooperating with NATO in the past decades, including with Afghanistan and with fighting terrorism and fighting piracy and all kinds of things.
That is not going to just be dropped suddenly so easily. Some people in the West are going to have to wonder about the reason behind ending such cooperation.
Robles: Yesterday NATO said they cut off all cooperation with Russia that is what they said.. But they hope that Russia would continue allowing them to do those things in Afghanistan.
Blum: Yeah, lots of luck..We will see.
Robles: You don’t think that is serious? Regarding Venezuela, we talked before about Hugo Chavez before and now they are saying that there are university students and educational institutions and... Do you know who Mr. Raul Capote is?
Blum: No.
Robles: He was a CIA collaborator in Venezuela and he came out and said that the CIA was planning to overthrow the Venezuelan Government using students in various educational institutions. Can you tell us anything about Venezuela?
Blum: The whole thing with this protest, one of the main arguments they use is that there is a shortage of certain important goods.
It reminds me very much, I lived in Chili in the 1970s under Salvadoe Allende and there was the exact same thing taking place.
There were the shortages of toilet paper and things like that and then the police and the government kept finding huge hoards of these goods in warehouses, being hoarded by the conservatives just to cause a shortage.
And a friend of mine who lives in Venezuela has just informed me that there has been a repeated discovery in Venezuela of such hiding placesfor these goods. A large amounts of them are turning up so that reminds me very much of Chili.
The protestors are not very serious about the issues that they planned to be serious about. They are part of the scheme to bring down the government or at least those behind them are that is their motivation and these phony shortages are just one tactic of what they are engaged in.
Robles: I see.
That was the end of an interview with Mr. William Blum, an American author and historian and a longstanding critic of US foreign policy. Thank you very much for listening and as always I wish you the best wherever in the world you may be.
The US Only Cares About Expanding the Empire and Israel - Part One Download audio file 11 August, 2013 08:40 William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Part_01_.MP3 William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Part_02.MP3 On the surface, recent comments by the Deputy Director of the US Central Intelligence Michael Morrel seem to point to a shift in U.S. policy towards Syria and an admission to the failure of the United States in their War on Terror and against al-Qaeda and their funding, supporting and arming of extremist elements in Syria who have been fighting to overthrow the elected president of the country. Renown author and U.S. foreign policy critic William Blum characterizes U.S. policy on Syria as just a continuation of endless absurdity.
Hello, this is John Robles. I'm speaking with Mr. William Blum, he is an American author, a historian and a long-standing critic of US foreign policy.
Robles: Hello, William, how are you this evening?
Blum: Fine, thank you.
Robles: Thanks for agreeing to speak with me, appreciate it. Recently, the Deputy Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency Michael Morrel stated to the “Wall Street Journal” that Syria was a top threat to US security. Now, it's a small country on the other side of the planet. I don't think it was ever really a threat to US security. He said that there are now more foreign fighters flowing into Syria each month to take up arms with Al-Qaeda affiliated groups, I quote, then there were going to Iraq. He's also stated that the Syrian Government's weapons, if the Bashar al-Assad Government falls, will be up for grabs and up for sale by Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. What do you make of these statements? Do you think this is a change in the US position in the country?
Blum: Well, certainly a change in public to admit that they've been supporting all these Al Qaeda types for a long time. That's quite an admission, quite a change. Will this have any effect on the US foreign policy remains to be seen, but if the past is any indication we can’t expect too much change.
The US is committed to overthrowing Assad because of Israel. That's the main motivation for the US. Israel doesn't want Assad to be there and that is not going to change. It just makes their position more absurd than before.
The US's foreign policy is a continuous piece of absurdity, and to get it even more absurd at times like now.
They've been supporting these terrible people in Syria for a couple of years now and now all of a sudden one of their officials wakes up and says: “Hey, these are really bad guys we've been supporting, maybe, we should stop doing that?” It's almost comical.
Robles: Yeah, if there weren't so many people dying, it would be laughable, I think. So, they seem to have flipped the switch or switched the flip, but in an absence of a statement saying they would support the government of Bashar al-Assad, if they are going to be against Assad and they are going to be against the insurgents, what kind of a scenario could that possibly bring about?
Blum: They may just stop giving any kind of support to the insurgents. They have given them all kinds of intelligence support and so-called non-lethal military support. Probably more than that but that is what they have admitted to, but they gave them arms as well. So, they gave them all this support. In such a case, it was difficult for Assad's government to be victorious. And, Israel may pick up the slack and invade Syria, I wouldn’t put it past them.
Robles: Do you think Israel is the one behind all this, pushing for Bashar Assad's demise?
Blum: In fact, Israel is certainly the root here if Israel was not a factor the US would not be fighting in Syria they would not have been fighting in Iraq and they would have to be threatening Iran the way they are. Israel is the important key in each of these battles. So they may do more in Syria than they have been doing.
Robles: I came to my own conclusion, if I may... it seems to me that this new flip of the switch which Israeli just... much of a switch... is just another reason for an armed, if you want to call it, “intervention” into Syria. I mean, O.K., they wanna get rid of Assad, to get chemical weapons, that didn't seem to work, and now, they can say: well, if Assad falls, these terrorists are getting all these weapons. They might have to go in and invade and kill everybody, without statements of support for Assad. What do you think of that?
Blum: I can see logic in what you are saying. I can see the US government doing that. But then, what will happen? If they interfere in force, who would they actually be shooting at? It's not clear what the repercussions of this statement would be.
Would they fight against the so-called insurgents, the jihadists – or will they fight against the government? It's an absurd situation, and I cannot predict what's going to happen.
Robles: Do you think that they are going to fight against everybody and just wipe everybody out?
Blum: I'm sure there are people in the US establishment who would like to see that, yes. They are crazy and evil enough to want to kill them all. That is the name of a new book in the US about Iraq, it's called “Kill Them All”!
Robles: That's interesting. There are those in US policy establishment who would promote an idea of just wiping everybody out if they could?
Blum: When Iran and Iraq fought against each other in the 1980s, the expressed wish of some leading American politicians like Henry Kissinger was “give aid to both sides and let them kill as many of each other as they can”. That was expressed by Kissinger and probably somebody else at the time. They did give more aid to Iraq than to Iran, but still, they were not above saying that they hoped that both sides would maximize death and destruction as much as possible.
Robles: That's a very interesting point you've raised, because it has seemed to me – well, I'm sure that its clear to everybody – that they have promoted and stoked sectarian violence between Sunni and Shias, but in reality, I think, the US does not support either group. Would you agree with that?
Blum: The US supports only one group – and that's the United States. Maybe, Israel but that is the other side of the same coin. There is the only reason – expanding the American empire. And, the US is not anti-Islam as you often hear people saying on the left and on the right that it's anti-Islam. It's not anti-Islam. What they've been doing in recent years in the Middle East – they've wiped out the three leading secular societies in the Middle East.
Robles: Right, right, right. Unbelievable!
Blum: In Iraq, then, Libya, and, then, Syria. The public says good we are fighting Islam we are fighting these terrorists but to the powers that be in Washington there is no such thing. They just want to expand the empire and to protect Israel, and that's all that counts.
Robles: Very, very good point, Bill, because in Syria, there were Orthodox Christians, there were Coptic Christians, there were hundreds of different ethnic groups, all living peacefully side by side, the same thing in Iraq, I mean, Sunnis and Shias... Sunni women were marrying Shia men, marrying and living together side by side before the invasion. Now I've heard that many Shia in Iraq wake up with a pot of blood on the doorstep, left by Sunnis stirring them to leave. And there is no more intermarriage.
Blum: Right. The same thing in Libya, any coexistence between various sects has been wiped out by the revolution, and the jihadists have a great influence in the new government. Obama is as Spineless as They Come - Part Two Download audio file 14 August, 2013 06:19 William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Part_02.MP3 The mission of most normal intelligence agencies is to provide the leadership of a country with vital information that they need to formulate and implement policy, protect the country and deal with enemies and allies alike. The seeming reversal which exists today in the United States, as the military industrial complex has taken over the country, where intelligence is created to give a reason or pretext for war and aggression is an alarming trend. Renown author William Blum adds his voice to a growing course fed up with war crimes, illegality, spying, a war on whistleblowers and a president, Barack Obama, who lied his way into the White House and lacks the moral fortitude to bring about accountability and rule of law.
Robles: We’ve had a lot of talk regarding the cancellation by Barack Obama of talks with President Putin here, in Moscow, in September. I’ve just got a report that talks were not cancelled they were postponed. A lot of this has to do with Syria, but mainly it has to do with Edward Snowden. Why such a huge, it seems, unbalanced reaction towards
Israel this one individual, in your opinion?
Blum: Because the US Congress and the US media are full of crazies they are fully accustomed to being on top of the world. Anybody who stands up to them, as Snowden has, or Bradley Manning, they simply lose their cool completely. They cannot take such opposition.
They are so unaccustomed to being opposed by anyone of any influence that it immediately bends them out of shape and so Snowden has and Manning and Julianne Assange. those three guys have really stood up to the Empire and the Empire cannot take that. You hear the expression “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. OK. I would add “Hell hath no fury like an Empire embarrassed”.
Robles: Very good, Bill.
Blum: And the revelations by Manning really embarrassed the Empire.
Robles: It just seems like ridiculous, especially since it was the US’s own idiocy that led Snowden get away in the first place and, you know, left him stranded in Moscow. If they hadn’t revoked his passport, he would have just moved on.
Blum: Yes but by then in Washington they had no choice. Such a man had to be punished as a warning to anyone who wants to act like him. They have to get very tough to make it clear to every possible future whistleblower, that is what I would call it.
They refuse to use that word because it’s an acceptable word, a whistleblower, so they refuse to call him a whistleblower and they call him by traitor.
Robles: I’ve got some hate mail today. It was really interesting by somebody in the United States. He said that Snowden was a traitor and he was US property and he needs to be handed back.
Blum: Par for the course.
Robles: Can I ask you a question now about the CIA. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe, you’re an older hand than I am and you remember further back than I do I’m sure. And you’ve been in the game much longer than I have.
It seemed to me that the USA, they CIA, they used to provide intelligence and then policy was formulated, right. So, for example, the CIA says “Oh, this country A has moved a nuclear bomb to country D”, right? So the government makes a policy okay: “We have to go for the country A” or something like that.
Now it seems that the CIA is formulating intelligence in order to back up policy. I see they want an invasion of Syria, the CIA is going to create the intelligence for it, and they wanted an invasion of Iraq, the CIA created yellow cake and all this other stuff. What do you think about that?
Blum: Your point is well taken but it’s not entirely that way. The CIA, during its heyday in the 50s and 60s and 710s. I could find examples of them in effect making policy. Subtlety now maybe it’s more open. But it’s not entirely new that the agency would attempt to make policy.
You see in those days the CIA had the whole power to do such things and now there is also the NSA and the Homeland Security and the Defense Department which has its own intelligence agencies. There are more players in the game so the CIA doesn’t have as much power as it used to have.
Robles: Ok, who would you say is controlling the US government now: the military industrial complex, or the “war department” or the Defense Department? Who is calling the shot?
Blum: I don’t usually think in such terms. The defense corporations which are actually war corporations, they have a lot of influence they make a lot of money out of war and their people, executives with these corporations go the government in high positions and when they leave the government they go back to the corporations.
The revolving door between these two institutions. They have a lot of chances to influence matters.
I think the president if had any backbone could counter much of these things we’re talking about, but Obama has no backbone. He is as spineless as they come. and he has taken out the presidency from this equation.
So we are left with the Defense Department and the CIA and the NSA and so on. Obama doesn’t really care, it’s not that he wanted to do something but he didn’t have the nerve, he doesn’t care. I’ve said this about him since he took office and even when he was a candidate. The man has no strong beliefs except to be president of the United States. That is all that he cares about. There is nothing overridingly important to him.
Robles: Yes, you’ve said that before. And I think the more of him we see the more that your words are becoming unarguably correct. I agree with you 100%. But he was very careful in making all his promises about change and everything else. So…
Blum: Yes, people called him Mr. Hopey-Changey.
Robles: Mr. Hopey-Changey?
Blum: Yes. Those were the two leading points of his platform: Hope and Change.
Robles: And now he is Mr. Hopey-Changey. Ok. I like that, Bill. I appreciate that.
On Syria: do you see an expansion of the front there or do you think maybe the US government is just trying to find a way to back out off the whole conflict or… Do you think that is a possibility?
Blum: In light of the statement of today which you quoted from the CIA official I really can’t predict. I seldom engage in predicitions I prefer to analyze what have already taken place.
Robles: Yes. OK. You’re more of a historian than a fortuneteller if you will. Okay.
Blum: Have a nice weekend!
Robles: Okay you too! You have a wonderful weekend and thanks a lot.
Blum: You’re welcome. Bye bye.
That was an interview with Mr. William Blum, an American author and historian and a long-standing critic of US foreign policy. Thank you very much for listening and as always I wish you all the best wherever you may be. Stay with us.
Snowden better off in Cuba, chance of coup d'état is much less than elsewhere 25 June, 2013 13:53 Download audio file William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Snowden_Part_1.MP3 William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Snowden_Part_2.MP3 Speaking
about the latest Edward Snowden’s travel ‘plans’ and the confusion the world
has been exposed to in the media on the subject of his whereabouts, Mr.
William Blum, an American author, historian and a longstanding critic of US
foreign policy and an outer of CIA agents, claims that Cuba would be
Snowden’s best bet, as it’s “the most guaranteed place not to buckle to any
kind of American pressure” and “the chance of coup d'état is much less than
elsewhere”. He also thinks the American whistleblower allegedly chose
Ecuador “because of their record with Julian Assange” and says the Russians
are purposefully prpogating confusion in the media to make it difficult for
the CIA to capture or assassinate the NSA leaker. Robles:: I’d
really like to get your opinion on the whole Snowden affair, since this is
something I think you are pretty close to, as far as the whistleblowing.
What do you make of the whole situation? And what do you think his chances
are of making it to Ecuador, and why Ecuador?? Blum:Blum:He’s
a very brave man. I hope he makes it somewhere. I think that Cuba would be
his best bet, as Cuba is the place most guaranteed not to buckle to any kind
of American pressure. Where he is now, I have no idea. I think all the
confusion that we’ve been exposed to in the media is not by chance. I think
the Russians are purposely doing this to make it difficult for the CIA to
capture and/or assassinate Snowden, which in fact they would love to do.
That’s all I know about it. Robles: You
know a lot about South American countries, and Latin American countries and
the instability in a lot of those countries. Why would he go to Ecuador, I
mean it is a small country? I’m sure the knowledge he has, I don’t see what
real huge use it would have to Ecuadorian intelligence. Blum:His
knowledge concerning who was being spied upon by the U.S. Government I don’t
think wouldbe of much value to any foreign nation. I don’t think that’s the
issue. I think he
chose Ecuador because of their record with Julian Assange. They have proven
themselves to be a capable protector of someone like him. And so, that’s
probably maybe the only reason he’d chosen Ecuador. Of course the President,
Correa, is a leftist and the people under him in the high positions are also
leftist, so that’s a protection. Robles: You
know as well as I know Latin American countries they can be very volatile.
What if Correa is voted out of office next time and some right-wing
president comes in? Blum:Correa
was re-elected as president within the past six months I think. Robles: Yes,
he was. Blum:So,
he stays for a few years. Although, I would not put it past the CIA
instigating a coup; they tried in the past to do the same. But now they may
be more serious about it, andthey could certainly pour their heart and soul
into it, and use all their assets and all their wealth, and their wealth is
their main asset and they can buy almost anything and anyone. So, that’s the
reason I think Snowden would be better off in Cuba, the chance of coup
d'état is much less there than elsewhere. Robles: Yeah,
sure, sure, I mean they’ve been trying, what was it 600 and … more than 650
…? Blum:Oh
yeah, they’ve been trying to assassinate Castro 600 times or so, but they
haven’t succeeded, and they won’t (unintelligible). Robles: Why
didn’t he stay in Russia, I mean there is a very little chance that Russia
would buckle to U.S.? Blum:Russia
does not want to have all these headaches that might entail,and keep in
mind, this is not quite the Cold War. Russia is not a Communist country,
it’s not at war ideologically with the US. It’s at war on a different level.
The US has surrounded Russia with military bases. It’s incorporated many of
the former Soviet leading republics into NATO; all of them are not far from
Russia. So, the US
is really threatening Russia and Russia has reason to be hostile towards the
U.S., not as much as during the Cold War, but enough. They could have kept
Snowden there. I don’t know. He may even still be there, for all we know
he’s still there, for all we know he may be there. Who knows? Robles: I
think if Russia made a decision to give him asylum, and Russian officials
have said he would have been granted it had he requested it, I’m sure Russia
would be in much more of a position to protect him. It’s not that easy for
the CIA to operate here and manipulate politicians and everything as it is I
think in many Latin American countries - same thing for China. First, I
thought maybe he went from Hong Kong into mainland China, but apparently
not. Blum:The
point is well taken. I don’t know what’s going to happen. He could wind up
in Russia or in Ecuador, or Cuba, or Venezuela. But he is not going to wind
up in California, I’m sure of that. Robles: What
do you think the CIA’s going to try to do, or the NSA’s going to try to do
to get him back? How far do think they’re going to go? Blum:Physically
get him back? Robles: Or
get rid of him. Blum:It
depends on how many opportunities they have. The Russians and the other
countries we’ve mentioned have to be super careful to avoid giving the CIA
any special opportunity, which probably is why we have all this confusion.
This is some kind of master plan. Robles: Once
he gets to Ecuador, if that’s where he’s going, what do you think is going
to happen? Blum:It’s
hard to imagine him living a peaceful life there. He will always be looking
over his shoulder. The CIA can have 1000 assassins on the loosewith a large
reward. I cannot see him having a peaceful, stable life there. But he must
have thought of all this in advance, I hope he has a master plan. Robles: Well,
I think he was very clever in getting out of their clutches and getting to
Hong Kong. That was actually a pretty wise move, because he was able to get
there without a visa or anything. Which, I guess he fell off the grid for a
while. What’s your opinion of the revelations that he’s made? How do you see
his case in contrast to an average espionage case? Blum:Compared
to WikiLeaks, it’s not quite as dramatic as WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks exposed all
kinds of very, very embarrassing things concerning US foreign policy.
Snowden’s revelationsare embarrassing,it’s just it’sone big embarrassment,
it’s not 100 different small embarrassments. It’s just the embarrassment of
they were spying even more than what people thought. I’ll tell you many
people who assumed that NSA was covering everyone, so even those people
would not be surprised. In any event, to me, it’s not quite as embarrassing
to US foreign policy as the WikiLeaks revelations were. Robles: To
the world’s public though, I mean I’ve always had the suspicion and I think
you have, and any thinking person on the Internet has had the suspicion that
they’re being watched or something. But this is right in our face now – we
are all being watched, we are all being spied on, they are into absolutely
everything. Do you personally feel uncomfortable getting online anymore?
What effect do you think this is going to have on the Internet? Blum:I
was always careful about what I said online and in emails. That’s not going
to change… well,maybe I’ll be a bit more cautiousness than usual, but not
much. So, to me it is not going to be a big change. You can
find part 2 of this interview on our website at english.ruvr.ru Inadvertantly Promoting Snow-Den Operation 28 June, 2013 11:11 Dead Links William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Snowden_Part_2.MP3 Snowden’s
revelations are just one embarrassment for the U.S. unlike the 100s of
WikiLeaks revelations. According to William Blum it would not be surprising
if the Obama administration attempts to go after Glenn Greenwald for his
role in exposing the NSA’s PRISM program. Despite all of the noise about
PRISM and Snowden, Mr. Blum is convinced that nothing at all will change. Robles: What’s
your opinion of the revelations that he’s made? And how do you see his case
in contrast to an average espionage case? Blum: Compared
to WikiLeaks, it is not quite as dramatic as WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks exposed
all kinds of very-very embarrassing things concerning U.S. foreign policy. Snowden
revelation is just one big embarrassment, it is not 100 different small
embarrassments. It is just the embarrassment that they are spying even more
than most people thought. I’ve seen
many people who assumed that the NSA was spying on everyone, those people
would not be surprised. To me, it was not quite as embarrassing to U.S.
foreign policy as the WikiLeaks revelations were. Robles: To
the world’s public though, I mean I have always had this suspicion and I
think you had, and any thinking person on the Internet has had this
suspicion that they are being watched. But this is right in our face now: we
are all being watched, we are all being spied on, they are into absolutely
everything. Do you personally feel uncomfortable getting online anymore?
What effect do you think this is going to have on the Internet? Blum: I
was always careful about what I said online and in e-mails. That’s not going
to change… well, I may be more cautious than usual, but not too much. So, to
me it is not going to be a big change. Robles: What
about other people? I mean most people think they watch terrorists or
something, they are not watching me, I’m just Joe Blow from Des Moines Iowa.
But they are actually watching everybody. Blum: Anybody
is a subject to being watched at any moment and for any reason. It is too
much even for the US Government to read each e-mail every day as they
appear. But what they are doing is saving up all this information, meta data
they call it, and when any individual comes into their focus on any reason,
then they have all the files they can turn to on him and then read them. But
they can’t read them as they come each day, that would be too much even for
the U.S. Government. Robles: That
doesn’t ease my mind at all, anyway. Back to Snowden, would you say he, in
your opinion, is a hero, is he a whistleblower, is he a spy? Blum: He
is the whistleblower and a hero, I think. He really put his life on the line
now. Whatever life he had before, that is over forever. He is very brave, or
unless he is somewhat suicidal, I don’t know. But it certainly was a brave
act and he’s chosen as his foes the toughest bastards in the world. Robles: Yes,
I mean, they are even worse than the CIA. Blum: It
is all one big happy family; the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, they are all
combined against this one individual, and the American media at the same
time. The American media they’re just playing their usual subservient role.
Leading correspondents on TV were attacking Glenn Greenwald yesterday.
That’s a sign of what is going to happen. Robles: What
exactly are they saying in the media and what’s the American reaction to
Snowden? Blum: This
guy, one of the leading reporters, interviewing Greenwald said; “Is there
any reason why you shouldn’t be arrested for what you’ve done?” Robles: Greenwald
should be arrested? Blum: Yes,
that’s what he said. Greenwald should be arrested. That’s the kind of thing
we can expect to happen. But no one has mentioned the former Washington Post
reporter, Barton Gellman I think his name is, who was also involved in this
story along with Greenwald. They didn’t mention him because he is from
Washington Post, he is on left. Greenwald has made it very clear that he is
on the left, so that’s why he is the subject of such attacks. Robles: So,
do you think Greenwald is going to have problems? Blum: I
don’t know what is going to happen. We’ll have to wait and see. Robles: Do
you think that it is possible that they could try to prosecute Greenwald for
this? Blum: Well,
yes, I wouldn’t put anything past them. They could prosecute you and I for
this interview I wouldn’t rule out anything. Robles: I
don’t want to make a joke out of this, but do you think it is possible the
Ecuadorian Embassy could have another permanent resident? Blum: But
how would Snowden get to London? Robles: No,
I mean Greenwald. Blum: Greenwald!
Oh, I don’t think that will happen. He himself is a constitutional lawyer. I
think he would love fighting this in court, not while he was in prison like
Bradley Manning, and that might be the case. Greenwald lives in Brazil and I
think he might be able to get sanctuary there. Robles: Is
this going to affect the NSA in any way or is this going to affect the US
policy in any way? Blum: That
can make them all feel so guilty that they are going to change all their
policies. They will stop attacking people and stop bombing people, and stop
overthrowing governments because they are so embarrassed. Yes! NOT! Robles: Is
there going to be any backlash against Microsoft and Skype etc? Blum: No,
the consumers’ love their toys, they can’t do without them. Nothing will
change there. Robles: You
don’t think anything will change. Do you think this is kind of part of a
plan? I mean I see this now, people are so dependent on their devices,
people are so dependent on the Internet, people are so dependent on their
computers and all their electronics. Do you think this was part of a larger
plan to get people dependent and then start watching them, and then let them
know they are being watched so they are kind of controlling themselves? Blum: That’s
a bit conspiracy minded to my taste. It is a bit too grandiose. So, for the
moment I would say I partly don’t know and partly my answer is “no”. Robles: Okay,
that’s my own conspiracy idea, but that’s okay. People are saying this is
going to spark a wave of other whistleblowers. Do you see that coming out? Blum: We’ve
had quite a few in the past few years under Obama. Snowden makes I think the
7th person that they have brought charges against, the 7th whistleblower,
which is more than in the entire history of the US. In all the previous
administrations there have been two of three, and now there have been seven
under Obama. Robles: Is
this problem because of the illegality of the Obama Administration is
outdoing all previous administrations or is this because they are being more
strict than other administrations on whistleblowers? Blum: I
can’t say. Obama anyway is not what he was thought to be. Robles: Thanks
a lot Bill, I really appreciate it. This is John Robles, you were listening to an interview with Mr. William Blum, an American author, historian and a longstanding critic of US foreign policy.
Boston False Flag: Anti-American terrorism no mystery. U.S. Gov does not mean well 29 May, 2013 17:52 William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Book_Boston_Terrorism_ALL.MP3
There all
always conspiracies regarding violent events and the Boston Marathon bombing
is not different but proof must be solid, said William Blum in an interview
with the Voice of Russia. Anti-American terrorism is not just a Muslim
phenomenon, it is the result of U.S. “intervention” all over the world and
is in no way a mystery. This is obvious, but people want to believe the U.S.
Government means well, even when the fact that they do not is right in front
of them. Mr. Blum spoke on these matters and more in this interview. This is
John Robles, I’m speaking with Mr. William Blum. He is an American author,
historian and a critic of United States foreign policy. He is also the
manager, editor and owner of killinghope.org Robles: Hello
Mr. Blum! How are you this evening? Blum: Fine,
thank you. Robles: This
is a unique book for Russia. Blum: Well,
it’s a Russian language version of my book, which in English is called
“Killing Hope”, in Russian I think it is called “Killing Democracy”. It is a
very detailed list of American interventions all over the world; all the
invasions and bombings, and overthrowing governments, and assassinations and
so on. It is the
only book of its kind, as far as I know, which has gone into great detail
about each of these interventions. Robles: How
many of your books have been translated into other languages? Blum: I
have more than 30 foreign language editions of my books. My book “Rogue
State” has very close to 10 languages. But the total of my foreign language
editions is at least 30 now. Robles: You
had one book, I believe, quoted by Osama Bin Laden? Blum: Yes,
that was “Rogue State”. In 2006 I think it was. In one of his audio
recordings, he spoke to the American people and told them if they wanted to
understand what motivates he and his people, they should read my book “Rogue
State”. And I sold
about 20 000 copies because of that. But I lost more money because I lost
speaking engagements. University campuses, university officials didn’t want
to have their school associated with somebody who has been recommended by
Osama Bin Laden. And my paid speaking engagements in campuses fell from,
about, close to 10 a year, to almost nothing. Robles: Did
that come back up? Did it bounce back? Blum: No,
I’m still almost never invited to speak. Not by universities, it is only by
some other private group or individual. Robles: What
are your views on the Boston bombing? Blum: The
surviving brother said that he and his brother were motivated by anger at
U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. This has
been stated by many anti-American terrorists over the past 20 years or so,
I’ve written about this. There is a
whole list of terrorist actions which explicitly blame US foreign policy.
That’s a very important point which I try to emphasize. We shouldn’t think
of this anti-American terrorism as a big mystery, we know why it takes
place. Robles: You
are in the U.S. Have you heard anything about photographs on the Internet
saying that the Boston bombing was a false flag terrorist attack? Blum: You
find that claim following every terrorist action. I’m personally beleaguered
by all these conspiracy people for not following in their footsteps. I am not
opposed to the idea of conspiracy. There are many and have been many
conspiracies carried out in the US. But that doesn’t mean I have to look for
that in every violent action. Robles: Have
you seen the photographs and some of what they are calling the “evidence”?
The guy in the wheelchair who is actually already a double amputee and
stuff? Have you seen any of that? Blum: I’ve
had a few emails about, supposedly, there was a photo or a video of the
older brother captured by the police and he is shown naked, or almost naked,
and then his death was announced. So, they wonder what happened; that he was
captured, he wasn’t shot. So, how did he wind up being shot to death. It is
a valid question. Robles: There
is a lot of suspicion about: okay… he was killed, his brother was rendered
mute, their friend was killed in Orlando Florida after midnight questioning
in his home, two FBI agents were killed falling out of a helicopter that
were involved in the Boston investigation, as a great author and mind, what
do you think about all that? Blum: (Laughs)
Those things are always very intriguing. There are not too many cases, if
any, of the FBI murdering its own people. Robles: What
if it was somebody else in the Government? They are talking about Navy Seal
teams or something like this. Blum: I
would have to be shown very good proof. Robles: Are
there going to be any changes in U.S. Government policy because of this? Blum: I
don’t know. I can predict: as long as the U.S. keeps intervening all over
the world and doing these terrible things, anti-American acts of terrorism
will continue. Robles: Do
you think there is going to be many more attacks in the next 10 or 15 years
from people, or, “Muslim people” who’ve come of age since 9-11? Blum: Listen,
now this applies to all other people in parts of Latin America. From the
1950s, to the 1980s, the U.S. intervened in Latin America on many-many
occasions in bloody ways. What was
the result? Many anti-American acts of terrorism in Latin America. Many,
many attacks against these American targets. So, it is the same thing all
over the world. It is not just a Muslim phenomenon. People don’t like being
invaded and bombed, and overthrown, and tortured. It is that simple. Robles: You
just mentioned torture, it brought to mind Guantanamo. Do you have any
opinion, or anything, about the hunger strike that’s going on there? Blum: Those
people are very desperate. Many of them had been cleared to leave years ago
and they are still there. Any human being would find that totally
intolerable. Years and
years of being locked up under horrible conditions without being charged
with a crime, without being found guilty even. Who can blame them for being
so desperate. Their
hunger campaign is an act of desperation. I hope, for their sake, that they
are finally released and back to their home countries. Robles: Do
you think Obama is going to release them? Blum: Obama
has no backbone whatsoever. You can’t count on him to do the right thing
ever. It depends on how the winds are blowing, the “political” and “public
relations” winds, that is all he cares about. The man has no basic core
beliefs. Robles: What’s
your opinion on his Nobel Peace Prize? Blum: What
do you think it is? That
“prize” should be abolished. And it is not just because of Obama, Henry
Kissinger and Menachem Begin, and a bunch of other people have gotten that
prize. Total war-mongers and war-lovers and mass-murderers have gotten the
Peace Prize! What is the point of that? Robles: Yes,
I agree with you 1,000%. Blum: Give
it to Bradley Manning! Robles: Yeah!
Give it to you even! Blum: Even
me, I would accept the money, although, in my acceptance speech I would not
hold back my views. I would say: “I’m taking the money because I want to
give it all to anti-war organizations.” Robles: That’s
wonderful! Hey Bill, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Anything that you
want to finish up with? Blum: Yes,
my usual standard message is that: “Do not believe that the U.S. Government
and its foreign policy, means well. It doesn’t!” And that is the main
barrier to people like me in convincing other Americans to oppose American
policies. They have this basic belief that the U.S. Government “means well”
and that is very tough to get around. Robles: And
people do want to hear it. Blum: They
don’t want to believe it, yes. Robles: They
don’t want to believe it. Even if it is right in their face, right? Blum: Yes,
it is painful. Robles: Bill,
thank you very much. I really appreciate you speaking with me. Blum: Thank
you, John. Can I mention my website. It is williamblum.org This is
John Robles, you were listening to an interview with Mr. William Blum, an
American author, historian and a longstanding critic of US foreign policy.
The CIA has attempted to assassinate 50 foreign leaders including Chavez
William_Blum - Robles_Blum_Full_Site.MP3
The late
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was warned by Fidel Castro to be careful of
a very specific attack, namely a quick jab from an infected needle. Such a
warning coming from a leader who has reportedly been the target of CIA
assassination plots more than 600 times in over 50 years, was sure to be
heeded. Was the illness of Hugo Chavez a completely deniable assassination
by the CIA? William Blum spoke with the VOR’s John Robles and discussed this
issue and more.
Robles: I’ve
read your Anti-Empire report regarding Hugo Chavez. Can you give us your
comments on speculation that he was assassinated by the CIA?
Blum: I
cannot prove it of course, but I believe he was. It would be totally in
keeping with the entire history of the CIA and its attitude towards people
like Hugo Chavez.
The CIA
has attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders and successfully
at least half the time. And very few of them were as despised by the US
Government as Chavez was, I would say. So, there would be no reason at all
to expect that the CIA would not at least plan on killing, and the nature of
his ailment is very odd.
He went
from a cancer, which would not go away despite several sessions of
chemotherapy and what have you. Then it went to serious lung infections,
which would not go away no matter what they did. And then it went to a
massive heart attack. All in the same man with no apparent cause, he was
only 58 years old, and as far as we know he was a very healthy until this
happened, it is all very odd.
And given
the great motivation that the US Government and the persons in the CIA has
put for killing a man like Hugo Chavez, I’m pretty sure that the CIA played
a role in this.
Robles: Do
you know are have you heard of any credible new technology or new programs
that could deliver such a cancer?
Blum: The
means would be a needle with a quick sharp jab and what you need is getting
one person close enough to Chavez to do that.
Chavez was
always in the public eye, he was always embracing people. There must have
been countless occasions in the past few years when he was vulnerable to a
quick jab by a needle that would be the method of transmitting the ailments.
Robles: Did
he ever complain that he had been poked by something in public? Were there
any reports of anything like that happening that you had heard about?
Blum: He
did mention that Fidel Castro warned him about just that. He said: “A quick
jab with a needle, and they’ll do… I don’t know what!” Actually he was told
by Fidel.
Robles: A
quick jab with a needle. Do you think that happened with Fidel because he
had become very ill?
Blum: Well,
Fidel… According to Cuban intelligence, there were more than 600 attempts on
the life of Fidel Castro by the CIA. There is an entire book on that subject
by Cuban Intelligence.
And many
of the methods were pretty bizarre, including an exploding cigar, but over
the course of 50 years the Cubans claim there were more than 600 attempts on
his life and it may have taken just one with Chavez.
Robles: Have
you heard anything from your sources or from where you get some of your
information? Have you heard anything detailing any connection between these
two US Air Force Attaches that were expelled from the country and the death
of Hugo Chavez?
Blum: No.
I would assume that there is a connection but I don’t know if the Venezuelan
Government has actually said so.
Getting
back to Chavez’s case,we have to keep in mind that four other South American
leaders, prominent people on the left, all came down with cancer within the
past year or two.
Robles: I
think it was seven, wasn’t it, altogether?
Blum: The
four that I named in my report… You can add the ones that you know just for
my information… were Cristina Fernandez…
Robles: …
De Kirchner, right…
Blum: of
Argentina, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, the former
Brazilian head of state Lula da Silva. Who would you add into that list?
Robles: Well,
and then of course Hugo Chavez himself…
Blum: Castro
is one of them…
Robles: I
would add Castro to the list and Kirchner’s husband who died of a mysterious
heart attack as well.
Blum: Right!
Robles: We
might add that as a mysterious illness, not exactly a cancer but…
Blum: Right!
If the CIA was involved it doesn’t have to be cancer necessarily of course.
Robles: Oh,
sure, it could be anything! Have you heard anything about cancer strains or
any kind of killing weapons like this, any kind of biological weapons that
would give maybe cancer-like symptoms, not exactly a certain type of cancer?
Blum: I
very well may have read of such over the years, I have read so much about
the CIA, but at the moment I can’t think of anything to supply you with that
information. Although we do know, it is well known, that for decades the CIA
was looking for a method of killing somebody which would not leave a trace.
The CIA itself has used those words. For the entire period of the Cold War
that was a major stated project of the CIA. But where that stands today, I
have no idea.
Robles: Yes,
of course that is all very secret and no one is going to talk about it, but
perhaps there are some echoes or some whispers? Maybe somebody has come out
and said something? What other reasons would you give to back up the
argument that he was assassinated?
Blum: I
will mention there is no one in the entire universe who was more hated, no
leader, more hated than Chavez was by the US Government. In the eyes of the
US power that be, Chavez was worse than Fidel Castro and Salvador Allende.
Robles: Why
was he so hated?
Blum: Because
he was the most outspoken leader in the world when it came to criticizing
the US foreign policy. He never pulled his punches for a moment, he made a
claim that it was all crimes against humanity and the US leaders were war
criminals, and he said so explicitly. It is unusual for a head of state to
be talking that way. And at the UN he attacked Bush in front of the whole
world.
Robles: Oh
yes, I remember he said that the Devil had been there the day before or
something, and it still smelled like sulfur.
Blum: Yes,
Bush had spoken to the UN before Chavez from the same platform. And Chavez
said there was a smell of sulfur in the air because of that.
Robles: That’s
usually the domain of the United States, I mean… Isn’t it? I mean Bush was
calling everybody the axis of evil, and all this stuff, branding everyone
evil. Wasn’t that kind of a shock to see the same thing done to an American
leader?
Blum: Yeah,
it is a shock for anyone under any circumstances to be so outspoken in the
criticism of the US foreign policy. It is a point in Chavez’s favor that he
could have the honesty and the courage to say such things, which very much
needed to be said.
Robles: So,
you supported the way he stood up?
Blum: Well,
in general yes. I think there certainly were times when he may have overdone
it, even for me. I mean, he felt obliged to comment on everything under the
sun, and I thought several times that he could have held off on saying
certain things, they were not serving any good purpose. But that’s a minor
criticism of his overall marvelous record.
Robles: You
say he had a marvelous record. What do you think were his major achievements
in your opinion?
Blum: What
he’s brought to the poor people of Venezuela in the way of education and
healthcare, and housing, and what have you. And what he brought to the rest
of the South America, he formed various anti-US empire blocs which stood in
the way of expansion of the US influence.
He and
others formed a new… A counter to the OAS, the Organization of American
States, which for decades has been dominated and corrupted by the US and
Canada. And they formed a new organization in South America excluding the US
and Canada. So it was that simple.
Robles: Do
you think his achievements will continue or do you think the US will be
successful in rolling back everything he did? Which of course I assume they
would want to.
Blum: Yes,
they would want to. But if Maduro who was chosen and backed by Chavez, wins,
and he is expected to win in the election next month, then most of it will
continue, I assume.
In 1959 I Exposed Over 200 CIA Officers - William Blum William_Blum - Robles_William_Blum_1_ready.MP3 William_Blum - Robles_William_Blum_2_ready.MP3
Assange will be assassinated if freed, expert says. In an exclusive interview with the Voice of Russia, William Blum, an American author, historian, and critic of United States foreign policy spoke about CIA assassinations (one of his areas of expertise) and some of his past work. Mr. Blum is candid in his assessment of CIA assassination plots against such people as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. He also has some surprising things to say about Julian Assange and Osama Bin Laden. Robles: Hello Mr. Blum,nice to be speaking with you.You have a very long and interesting history… a lot of things you have written. You wrote a book about the CIA. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Blum:Well, American interventions carried out via the CIA and all the U.S. military have been my specialty for many-many years. My books emphasize those things. As does my monthly newsletters “The Anti-Empire Report”.
As far as
the backlash: the U.S. government doesn’t bother American authors that much,
because they know we don’t have that much influence, they can afford to have
us write things and point to that as proof of freedom of speech in America.
So they don’t care.
Robles: I
see. They said that you had exposed more than 200 CIA employees.
Blum:That
was in 1969 when I was working for the “Underground Press” in Washington
D.C. and I and a colleague we parked our car outside the CIA headquarters in
Virginia and for a couple of hours or so, we recorded the license plate
numbers of all the cars going into the CIA. And with that information we
were able to compile a list of names and addresses of these people, which we
published in our underground newspaper.
Robles: That
sounds very interesting! You talked about CIA assassination plots, you’re
pretty much an expert on that. Can you tell us a little bit about what you
know about the plot to remove Hugo Chavez?
Blum:
Assassination
attempts? That was in 2004, the U.S. government met with the coup plotters
both in Venezuela and Washington and these people then carried out a
military coup which overthrew Chavez and the people took him to custody, but
he was freed after about two days, because of a combination of public outcry
and pressure from the remaining members of the military who were not part of
the coup. So then he actually had and still has a lot of support in the
military. He, himself was a member of it. So a combination of the military
and a public outcry forced the coup plotters to abandon their plans and
after two days Chavez was released.
Robles: Can
you tell us about your book “Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only
Superpower”? And could you comment on an endorsement you received, at the
time, in 2006 by Osama bin Laden?
Blum:
It
was supposed to be a mini-encyclopedia of all the nefarious things done by
the U.S. foreign policy. There’s a chapter on assassination, a chapter on
bombings and so on. There are many chapters covering the gross and illegal
aspects of U.S. foreign policy. It’s compiled together many things which
most Americans, and most people in the world are not aware of.
Individual
elements of each of these compilations one could find in some public area or
other but to put it together into long tables of information was my
contribution and that came out in about 2000. And then in 2006 the Arabic
version of the book, the book had many foreign translations, there were two
in Arabic and one of those two was read by Osama bin Laden and he, in one of
his periodic audio recordings, mentioned that Americans would be well served
if they read my book and get a better understanding of their enemy.
And I can
only guess that the theme in that book Rogue State which most caught his
attention and his sympathy was one chapter dealing with the motivations of
anti-American terrorists. Contrary to what we were being taught, and still
now to a large extent, were that these people were: just hated America, or
they hated Christianity, or they were just crazy, or they were just envious
of democracy and our wealth, all of these reasons, but never even a hint
that they were acting out of retribution for the decades of very serious
military and other infringements upon people in the Middle East. All kinds
of bombings and overthrows of governments, supporting dictatorships,
supporting Israel,all kinds of things I gave a long list of the American
actions which created all these anti-American terrorists, and that is what I
am assuming most appealed to Bin Laden.
Robles: What
do you know about the assassination plot to kill Ecuadorian President Rafael
Correa? Before the elections, he is supposed to be assassinated.
Blum:
This
month you are speaking about?
Robles:
Yes sir. Correa made this statement that they had uncovered a plot to
assassinate him before...
Blum:
I
wouldn’t doubt that. I would be surprised if the CIA did not attempt to
assassinate him. I mean among other reasons, he’s sheltering Assange! That
by itself is reason to assassinate him.
Robles: Are
you saying that just the fact that he’s given asylum to Assange, that’s
enough for the CIA to assassinate him?
Blum:
The
CIA attempts to assassinate people for much less reasons than that. Assange
is the public enemy №1 in America. The U.S. is obsessed with him and they
are afraid that he will be issuing the realease of more classified documents
so they’d really like to put him out of the way, if they can.
They were
all set to invade the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, when the British
government was finally talked out of it by their own people: That it would
set a terrible precedent, that the U.K. Embassies all over the world would
not be safe then. That was the reason that they called off the invasion
plan.
They’re
very serious about Assange. I mean he has to go. He’s the most marked man in
the world.
Robles: You
think so? You said he’s enemy number one of the United States.
Blum: As
far as being put out of the way? Yeah. I would say that if the US had a
choice it would get him out of the way before anyone else.
Robles: So
you think it’s pretty credible his fears of being assassinated by the CIA?
Yeah?
Blum:There
is a drone somewhere with his name on it, and if he walks around in the
world and he is not in the midst of a big city, he’s a marked man. There’s a
rocket with his name on it inside of a drone with his name on it. So I can
not imagine that would not be the case. The CIA has, if you delve as much as
I have into the history of assassinations and so on, that is totally
expected.
Robles: So
as an expert you are saying that it is totally expected?! Wow! Okay
Blum: If
he’s walking around free somewhere. Yeah.
Robles: Sure.
I see. I see. Hey Bill thank you very much! I really appreciate you speaking
with me! Bin Laden's death changed nothing (Transcript and Interview Deleted Immediately)
Killing Hope Full_Version_Killing_Hope_William_Blum_Pass_truth.pdf
America's Deadliest Export Americas_Deadliest_Export_William_Blum_Pass_truth.pdf
Rogue State Rogue_State_2002_William_Blum_Pass_truth.pdf
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