Sean Hannity on evil in the world vs. US sponsored terrorism
The other day I was listening to Hannity rant about good vs. evil (he got on to the topic by discussing Rick Santorum’s 2008 speech regarding Satan as the driving force behind moral degradation in America). Hannity pointed to only two events in world history which, for him, confirm that evil in the world exists: Nazi Germany/the Holocaust, and 9/11. He also tied into this discussion the situation with Iran/Israel.
I would like to take a moment and point out a few instances which I feel could have strengthened Hannity’s argument for evil existing in the world:
US sponsored murder of Indians, 1776-1973: Low estimate 10 million deaths, high estimate 114 million deaths
US invasions/occupations during the Banana Wars, 1898-1934: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama, Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico
US drops 2 nuclear bombs on Japan, killing to-date 395,000 men, women, and children
1947-49 - U.S. helps command extreme-right Greece party in Civil War.
Death toll: about 70,000 contributed by US-backed forces
1948-54 - CIA directs war against Huk Rebellion in Philippines.
Death toll: about 11,000
1950 - Independence movement crushed in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Death toll: conservative historians estimated about 8,000 peasants
1950-53 - Korean War
Death toll: about 1,776,000
1952 - CIA overthrows Democracy in Iran, installs Shah
Death toll: about 20,000
1954 - CIA directs invasion of Guatemala after new Democracy there nationalized U.S.-occupied lands
Death toll: about 140,000 missing and dead
1958 - In Lebanon, marine occupation against rebels
Death toll: about 2,000
1960-75+ - Vietnam War including Cambodia and Laos
Death toll: about 4,502,000 including civilians and resulting famines (conservative estimates)
1961 - Cuba’s Bay of Pigs Invasion fails
Death toll: about 4,000
1963 - In Iraq, CIA organizes coup against President and agrees to back formerly exiled Saddam
Death toll: about 7,000 including civilians
1964 - In Panama, troops kill protesters against US-owned canal
Death toll: about 1,000
1965 - CIA assists Indonesian coup
Death toll: about 900,000
1966 - Troops and bombers threaten pro-communist parties in Dominican Republic
Death toll: about 3,000
1966-96 - Green berets in Guatemala against rebels, US backs pro-American forces in country until 1996
Death toll: about 200,000
1970 - Directs marine invasion of Oman
Death toll: about 2,000
1973 - CIA directs coup to oust elected Marxist president in Chile
Death toll: 30,000… 3,000 later disappeared under US-installed dictator
1976-92 - CIA assists South-African rebels in Angola
Death toll: median estimate at 550,000
1981-90 - CIA directs Contra invasions in Nicaragua
Death toll: median estimate at 30,000
1982-84 - Marines expel Lebanese rebels, aided by Israel
Death toll: 40,000
1987-88 - US intervenes for Iraq against Iran
Death toll: about 150,000 during time-frame, 100,000 during Desert Storm, 350,000 from resulting famine
1989 - US invades to oust CIA-installed Panamanian government gone rouge
Death toll: 2,000
1992-94 - US-led occupation of Somalia during civil war
Death toll: 50,000 in combat, 300,000 by starvation
2001+ - US Occupies Afghanistan
Death toll: 120,000 including civilians and combatants and resulting Opium Wars
2003+ - Iraqi War
Death toll: 665,000 also by starvation, displacement
2004- Present - US drones assassinate 1,700 - 2,700 individuals in the Middle East
This does not include classified events, POWs, torture, Guantanamo Bay, etc. I wonder why Hannity overlooked these events?
(sources: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_Native_Americans_were_killed_by_the_US_government, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Wars, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081217214603AA4Ev5m)