Counting the Number of Times the United States has Attempted to Overthrow Foreign Governments

Tonight I decided to start counting the number of governments the U.S. has attempted to overthrow since WWII. This list is from the website of author William Blum. Spoiler alert: This list ends with the 2014 overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine.

Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. (* indicates successful ouster of a government):

China 1949 to early 1960s Albania 1949-53 East Germany 1950s Iran 1953 * Guatemala 1954 * Costa Rica mid-1950s Syria 1956-7 Egypt 1957 Indonesia 1957-8 British Guiana 1953-64 * Iraq 1963 * North Vietnam 1945-73 Cambodia 1955-70 * Laos 1958 *, 1959 *, 1960 * Ecuador 1960-63 * Congo 1960 * France 1965 Brazil 1962-64 * Dominican Republic 1963 * Cuba 1959 to present Bolivia 1964 * Indonesia 1965 * Ghana 1966 * Chile 1964-73 * Greece 1967 * Costa Rica 1970-71 Bolivia 1971 * Australia 1973-75 * Angola 1975, 1980s Zaire 1975 Portugal 1974-76 * Jamaica 1976-80 * Seychelles 1979-81 Chad 1981-82 * Grenada 1983 * South Yemen 1982-84 Suriname 1982-84 Fiji 1987 * Libya 1980s Nicaragua 1981-90 * Panama 1989 * Bulgaria 1990 * Albania 1991 * Iraq 1991 Afghanistan 1980s * Somalia 1993 Yugoslavia 1999-2000 * Ecuador 2000 * Afghanistan 2001 * Venezuela 2002 * Iraq 2003 * Haiti 2004 * Somalia 2007 to present Honduras 2009 * Libya 2011 * Syria 2012 Ukraine 2014 *

For more details, check out the Wikipedia page, "United States involvement in regime change."

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Barack Obama’s impressive speech in Cairo

Obama gave a terrific speech (here's the video). In the first ten minutes, he detailed the many connections between Islam and the United States (yes, Rep. Keith Ellison did take his oath of office using a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson). The first condition for progress of any type is to plainly state where we are, and Obama's speech did a great job of this. Yes, our many misunderstandings, driven by irresponsible media frenzy, occlude plain facts, several of them highly embarrassing to the U.S. For instance,

For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is in fact a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government.

That, then, is how we can repair the damage: by establishing trust by stating the facts. Only after speaking frankly can tone matter. Obama's tone was impressive, based on the many applause interruptions. But good tone is nothing without admitting undeniable facts. Only then can we move forward. By traveling to Cairo to make his speech, Obama has made a dramatic statement that America is no longer framing its diplomatic strategies through the use of crude stereotypes. I don't know whether the audience entirely trusts America, but this was a huge step in the right direction.

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