Imperial Social Media: Avaaz and the Arms Merchants
December 25, 2015
by Jay Taber
Avaaz Hones In On Burundi as Next U.S. Fait Accompli
Promoting the imperial social media fad of equivocating on US and NATO invasions that destroy entire societies, ostensibly because the current head of state is ruthless or corrupt, Avaaz apologists neglect the growing list of countries where these invasions have made things worse. Indeed, I am at a loss to find a country in my lifetime (1952-present) where US military aggression — either directly or through proxy mercenaries and US-financed and trained death squads — made things better.
Of course, if you look at militarism as a market-oriented strategy, then making war or creating armed mayhem is just part of doing business. With the crippling financial sanctions available to the US through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, invasion is just for show — part of the expected social spectacle — that routinely transfers wealth from the U.S. Treasury to Wall Street and the military industrial complex.
Given the US influence at the UN Security Council, any country seeking to conduct its governance, diplomacy and trade independent of the US and EU risks destruction. The evidence can be seen in the chaotic, murderous aftermath reigning in these unfortunate societies, and in the tsunami of refugees seeking asylum. Meanwhile, the revolving door between the arms merchants, the Pentagon and the State Department is now open to NGOs like Avaaz and its PR firm Purpose.
Image: U.S. President Barack Obama with Avaaz co-founder and former U.S. Representative Tom Perriello
Meeting with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame (R) and Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the UN- Washington DC, 4 August 2014
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry releases the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) with USAID Acting Administrator Alfonso Lenhardt, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Heather Higginbottom, and Special Representative for the QDDR (and Avaaz co-founder) Tom Perriello at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC on April 28, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
Meeting with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame (R) and Tom Perriello, US Special Envoy for Great Lakes Region- Kigali, 19 August 2015
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame (R) walks past US President Barack Obama (2nd R) as US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and National Security Advisor Susan Rice (C) look on during a “Peacekeeping Summit” at the United Nations headquarters on September 28, 2015 in New York. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives the thumbs-up to participants in the “Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping” with National Security Advisor Susan Rice (R), U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and Rwandan President Paul Kagame during the 70th annual UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters September 28, 2015 in New York City. Source: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
6 Comments
– I didn’t receive this petition and it has only a few shares and no visible signatures despite having been online for a few weeks, is this not one of Avaaz’ test campaigns that didn’t fly?
– Why all the pictures of Kagame under an article that doesn’t mention him or Rwanda?
– You misspell it as “Rawanda” in almost every caption
We fixed the typos. Thank you for pointing those out. Kagame photos are included because he is an integral part of the strategic plan to destabilize Burundi. (Those articles I believe are referenced under “further reading”). Not certain if Avaaz targets certain demographics in certain countries… only certain that this is indeed a campaign launched by Avaaz International.
You might be interested in this article about influence-peddling by the Clinton Foundation, with a focus on arms-trafficking by the U.S. State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton.
http://www.ibtimes.com/clinton-foundation-donors-got-weapons-deals-hillary-clintons-state-department-1934187
Avaaz was not hijacked; it was a PR creation of the top echelon of the Democratic Party from the outset, joining MoveOn and SumofUs.
Amnesty International was hijacked when Suzanne Nossel — Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organizations at the U.S. State Department — took over as AIUSA executive director in January 2012. Nossel is an aggressive pro-war advocate, who supported the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Libya. Under Hillary, Nossel fought hard at the UN Human Rights Council as an apologist for Zionist crimes against humanity in Palestine.
In 2013, Nossel took the helm at PEN America, to make sure no criticism of Israel would happen there. Nossel is on the board of Tides Foundation, a money laundry that funds compliant NGOs in the US and Canada. War hawk and convicted inside trader George Soros is a major funder of both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Well done for exposing Avaaz. I am disappointed they appear to have been hijacked – I thought they were an honourable set-up. I asked them to comment on their close ties with USA politicians and received no response. Is there a genuine petitioning organisation? I understand SumofUs are no good, either.
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