John McCain's links to terrorism
October 10, 2008 12:51 PM   Subscribe

McCain linked to group in Iran-Contra affair only begins to explore McCain's fondness for hating democracy. See A Hidden Agenda: John McCain and the IRI. And if you think those groups weren't rabidly antidemocratic in their approach to Nicaragua, an old FAIR article is good for a reality-check: the 1984 elections were perhaps the freest and fairest in Nicaraguan history.
posted by shetterly (26 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: please do not do this here, thank you. If there is really worthwhile stuff to talk about re: MCCain please obviate the spittle from lips before posting [i.e. less editorial, more awesom, thank you] -- jessamyn



 
Republican Sen. John McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group linked to ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America in the 1980s.

Well at least he’s not a terrorist-lover.

"McCain was a new guy on the block learning the ropes," Singlaub said. "I think I met him in the Washington area when he was just a new congressman. We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out. It looks good to have names on a letterhead who are well-known and appreciated."

Everybody needs a hug!
posted by Artw at 1:01 PM on October 10, 2008


only begins to explore McCain's fondness for hating democracy.

oh wow.
posted by shmegegge at 1:03 PM on October 10, 2008


As much as I think the connection between McCain and Singlaub is at least as relevant as Obama's links to Ayers I wonder if the rhetoric of your post including the phrase "fondness for hating democracy" is particularly well suited to fostering a dialogue on these issues.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy political axegrinding but blatant editorialism in the first post is pretty much a no-no right?
posted by vuron at 1:03 PM on October 10, 2008


Yeah, McCain sat on the board of the U.S. arm of the World Anti-Communist league. Kind of a crazy organization--always reminded me of the never-produced Buckaroo Banzai sequel, "Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League," which was frequently mentioned in '80s issues of Starlog.

One of the Asian chapters was started, amazingly enough, by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon (self-link--I wrote a book about him and recently did this documentary), the astonishing L. Ron Hubbard of the Far East.

Mefites might remember that in 2004 we helped break the story of Moon's crazy "coronation" on Capitol Hill, getting the jump on the Washington Post and ABC News...Keith Olbermann mentioned the McCain / Moon connection this last week on MSNBC.

Jon Lee Anderson (of the New Yorker) co-wrote an absolutely amazing book about the WACL, Nazis, drug lords, Moonies, etc. called Inside The League. It's all part of the lost history of the Eighties.
posted by johngoren at 1:04 PM on October 10, 2008 [3 favorites]


How can you be fond of hating democracy?

You know what I just adore? Hate. Love it love it love it love it!
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:05 PM on October 10, 2008 [2 favorites]


only begins to explore McCain's fondness for hating democracy

If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.
posted by Rafaelloello at 1:11 PM on October 10, 2008 [2 favorites]


If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.

*pulls up a chair, puts on some popcorn*
posted by mannequito at 1:13 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


surely this...?
posted by slater at 1:14 PM on October 10, 2008


I’m not really seeing how this will reflect badly on him, since hating on South Americans was a big Reagan thing and OMG REAGAN WAS A SAINT.
posted by Artw at 1:15 PM on October 10, 2008


"I love hate and hate everything else." -- Peter Bagg
posted by Manhasset at 1:15 PM on October 10, 2008


in before democracy-hating deletion!
posted by GuyZero at 1:16 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.

Remember people, don't feed the troll.
posted by baphomet at 1:21 PM on October 10, 2008


That was a trolling? I just assumed it was some weird meme I'd missed.
posted by Artw at 1:22 PM on October 10, 2008


If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.

Keep it up, dude. Every time his supporters talk like this, McCain slips farther down in the polls. Keep it up. I want an Obama landslide, baby!

(And now: John McCain as Steamboat Willie.)
posted by octobersurprise at 1:22 PM on October 10, 2008 [4 favorites]


I might jut have to rethink myh support of his ticket...why can't the other side deal with issues and not personal attacks?
posted by Postroad at 1:24 PM on October 10, 2008


Astro Zombi calls out Will Shetterly's first fpp. Will Will's fpp survive? We'll see.

I used to participate in Usenet discussions with Will back in the day, but I drank a lot then. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

With the Palin Mob thread going, and all the links in there, I am really starting to wonder if it's even worth trying to change anyone's mind. I mean mine's made up at this point.

Like a friend of mine said, "If Obama turns out to be an advanced scout for a murdering race of robotic reptile cross-breeds I might not vote for him, but I'd still want to hear what the race of robotic reptile cross-breeds had to say before changing my mind."

p.s. I've got Dogland in my iPhone as a PDF (thanks Tor).
posted by cjorgensen at 1:26 PM on October 10, 2008


McCain's fondness for hating democracy

If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.

I'd say we're even now.
posted by adamrice at 1:34 PM on October 10, 2008


I’m not really seeing how this will reflect badly on him, since hating on South Americans was a big Reagan thing and OMG REAGAN WAS A SAINT.

Reagan was a saint for hating on commies, not South and Central Americans. The Sandanistas = bad, The Contras = good. So what if we need to bypass a Congressional order and sell weapons to Iran in order to fund the Nicaraguan death squads? We're fighting communists!
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:35 PM on October 10, 2008


IRI?
So...McCain smokes doobies and listens to a lot of dub?

Seriously tho’, did he want to keep fucking with Chicago and playing hardball?

Want to spin McCain out of his mind? Ask him about the Boland Amendment he and Cheney spearheaded the fight against.

“We had McCain on the board to make him feel like he wasn't left out.”

Yeah, uh huh, that’s how it works.

I think he cut out of that organization just after the Contras shot down a Sandinista chopper with a (U.S.) Red Eye SAM on it. I mean that was just before McCain’s trip down there. Sort of a big matzo ball there if you’re trying to claim you’re not sending them military aid.

So, if you really want to spin him out - ask him about that trip (with Bobdole - not a typo, that’s how Bobdole says Bobdole’s name) and bring up Thad Cochran’s (a southern trueheart GOP senator no less) account of McCain roughing up (Nicaraguan president) Daniel Ortega’s secretary.

(Oh, I don’t buy the story - maybe McCain got pissed off and belly bumped the guy, but the story is he grabbed one of Ortega’s entourage by the collar and “roughed him up.” Well, McCain was younger then, but I don’t think he’s in any kind of shape to really shake someone up, much less raise his arms that high. But y’know, people in glass houses, all that).

The story is Bobdole and McCain were down there (Guatamala City) to see how serious Ortega was about this peace plan they’d signed a bit ago and McCain’s genious (no typo) idea to beef up El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. That’s what McCain said at the time anyway -
"beef up the economic and military capabilities of Nicaragua's neighbors."
That’s why we had that show of force in Hondo (later) with the airborne troops, etc.

Anyway, they met with some Contras as well. McCain comes back to the table and tells Ortega that (contra) Col. Enrique Bermudez sends his regards. Ortega says the regards he would accept from Bermudez and President Reagan would be for them to stop killing (nicaraguan) children. And at that point McCain went over and played the heavy.

But the stories differ whether he got physical or not. (I myself have no clue).
posted by Smedleyman at 1:37 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]



If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.

posted by stet at 1:38 PM on October 10, 2008


Remember people, don't feed the troll.

I thought it was sarcasm/snark. Sometimes is too hard to tell the trolls anymore.
posted by cjorgensen at 1:39 PM on October 10, 2008


If he really hated democracy, he'd be a democrat.

Damn democrats with their suspension of habeus corpus, presidential signing statements and illegal wiretaps. Truly the enemies of democracy.
posted by JaredSeth at 1:47 PM on October 10, 2008 [2 favorites]


Aww, come on. Don't kick him while he's down.
posted by Pants! at 1:47 PM on October 10, 2008


From the second link: "Senator McCain has been chairman of the IRI since 1993 and Lorne Craner, president of the organization, is one of the presumptive Republican candidate’s informal foreign policy advisors."

Kinda goes against the skeleton in the closet thing.

I thought you were supposed hide things there.
posted by cjorgensen at 1:52 PM on October 10, 2008


begins to explore McCain's fondness for hating democracy

Nthing that this is kinda stupid.
posted by Shepherd at 1:53 PM on October 10, 2008


Sometimes is too hard to tell the trolls anymore.

Political boards like RedState and Ko's mention trolls. I thought MF wasn't an adjective. Am I mistaken?
posted by Mblue at 1:54 PM on October 10, 2008


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