America's longest war? Not Afghanistan

The Afghan war is winding down (we hope) with all troops expected out within months. It’s often called America’s longest war, currently at 19 years and 8 months.

But there’s another war I’d pick as America’s longest. It’s our now 61 year effort to remove the communist government of Cuba. Fidel Castro and his revolutionary band ousted the tyrant, Gen. Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959, culminating a 7 year long effort by Castro.

Castro was a Cuban of privilege, growing up in a prosperous Cuban family, becoming a lawyer and starting a political career. But his first campaign was thwarted when Batista, running third for president in 1952, re-grabbed power he initially stole in 1933, by launching his second coup in 19 years. Castro morphed into a revolutionary.

Once Castro assumed power, the U.S. tried to keep the gravy train of U.S. economic exploitation under Batista flowing. Castro said ‘NO’. He followed thru with land reform and expropriation of U.S. businesses that had been funneling billions of Cuba’s treasure into their coffers for the previous 60 years since Uncle Sam grabbed Cuba from Spain in the Spanish American war of 1898.

How much power did Uncle exert over Cuba? Earl Smith, U.S. ambassador at the time of Batista’s fall said: The U.S. ambassador to Cuba is the second most powerful, IF NOT THE MOST POWERFUL, person in Cuba, next to the Cuban president.”

Ike no like. In March, 1960, he transferred U.S. – Cuban relations from State, which does diplomacy, to CIA, which does regime change. It took 13 months but CIA got the greenlight from green prez JFK. The CIA’s winning streak of successful coups (Iran in ’53; Guatemala in ‘54) was crushed at Bay of Pigs. JFK, and especially RFK, never quit trying to kill Castro. Congress imposed an economic embargo that continues to this day.

Obama tried to set things right in his second term by re-establishing diplomatic relations and encouraging trade and tourism. But he couldn’t get Congress to end the embargo which degrades life for Cuba’s 11 million citizens to this day.

Trump, undoing all good things Obama, re-established a hard line that reduced trade and tourism, and ramped up demonization of Cuba that is no threat to the U.S. whatsoever. He imposed over 200 new sanctions, 55 of which occurred during pandemic. Cost to Cuba’s dwindling economy? $20 billion.

Those of us seeking a Cuba free from U.S. economic sanctions and bullying, believed Biden’s victory would quickly bring a return to Obama’s 2013-2016 détente. Biden’s campaign promised it. So far zilch. Biden press secretary Psaki stated: ‘No sanctions relief till more democracy in Cuba.’ That mentality sure doesn’t stop U.S. from selling billions in weapons of civilian destruction (WCD) to some of the worst tyrants on earth.

Dumping the Afghan war is a promise Biden appears to be keeping. Dumping the war on Cuba, is for Biden, a bridge too far.

Say it ain't so, Joe.

Trump election sedition represents third American existential crisis in 3 centuries.

American democracy has faced an existential crisis of possible collapse in each of the last 3 centuries.

The 19th century saw the Civil War which claimed over 700,000 lives, roughly 2.2% of the 1861 population. Only late 1864 war victories ensuring defeat of ‘peace’ candidate George McClelland, prevented possible permanent secession.

The 20th century crisis was potentially more ruinous, but largely ignored. The Wall Street based American Liberty League planned the overthrow of FDR’s New Deal, replacing it with a fascist government in the throes of 1934 Depression Era America. It was so covered up by mainstream media it’s not even taught in U.S. history classes. Suffice to say the House committee that investigated it issued this confirmation in November, 1934:

“In the last few weeks of the committee’s official life it received evidence showing that certain persons had made an attempt to establish a fascist organization in this country…There is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution when and if the financial backers deemed it expedient.”

– Report of the McCormack-Dickstein Committee

It took their designated leader, double Medal of Honor winner, retired General Smedley Butler, ratting them out to Congress to prevent the coup.

Just 20 years into this century, the Trump cult plotters scattered across the 23 Republican controlled states have introduced hundreds of bills to suppress largely Democratic and minority voting. They are doing this in plain sight, egged on by the national Republican Party and their treasonous ex-president who’s about to return to his Nuremberg style campaign rallies starting this Saturday in North Carolina.

Trump's current soft coup to return him to power is only happening because his violent coup attempt January 6 failed to overturn his re-election loss. Yet, with few exceptions, the national, state and local Republican Parties remain loyal to Trump. Some are true wannabe fascists. Many are simply cowering before the majority of Republican voters who can send them into retirement for not paying fealty to Trump’s anti-democratic agenda.

Informed about the Civil War in school, when vets of the carnage were still alive, I couldn’t imagine I would witness an internal attack on our democracy in my lifetime. But when a truely democratic president uses Memorial Day to proclaim that voting is under attack, not by external enemies, but from within, we’d better pay attention.

It’s not that ‘it can’t happen here.’ It is happening here.