Religion kept US married to Vietman conflict

[dArKeR]

Seth Jacobs suggests that the US' long and bloody involvement in Southeast Asia was mostly about Christian fundamentalism

By Bradley Winterton
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Sunday, Mar 06, 2005,Page 18

In the 1950s there were three prominent Asian leaders who were also Christians -- Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek (???), South Korea's Syngman Rhee and South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem. This excellent book tells the story of how the US became involved so deeply in supporting the last of these men.

But before looking at what it has to say about him, it's important to explain just what is Seth Jacobs' ruling theory.

Jacobs believes that religion played a far greater part in American involvement in Vietnam's affairs than has hitherto been realized. Asia was perceived by the policy-makers on Capitol Hill as an area about to be taken over by atheists, Communists receiving their orders from the godless citadel of Moscow.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/03/06/2003225763

[brindis_desala]

1. It was about drug-running first and foremost

One of the first books linking the CIA to drug trafficking was Alfred McCoy's1 The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia2 published in 1972, and his heavily documented 1991 update The Politics of Heroin—CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade.3 McCoy is a professor of Southeast Asian history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and has made an exhaustive study of the CIA's involvement in drugs while living in various parts of the world.

Professor McCoy started investigating the drug trafficking in the 1950s, questioning people in all phases of the drug culture from the growers to the end users. He spent considerable time in Southeast Asia and throughout the world obtaining first-hand knowledge of the drug trade. His books describe how CIA helicopters, supposedly fighting communists in Vietnam, were hauling drugs from the fields to distribution points, and how this CIA operation included heavy sales to the American GIs. McCoy described the role of the PepsiCo bottling plant in the drug processing.

www.druggingamerica.com/sample_chapter_drug.doc