US-Backed Dictators: A Nostalgic Memory for Mainstream Media
Al-Monitor reports on Greeks marching to mark the 1973 student uprising that helped topple their military junta. A touching tribute, no doubt, but the article omits a crucial detail: the CIA-backed coup in 1967 installed that very junta. The 'regime of the colonels' was a darling of US foreign policy, receiving military aid and tacit approval. Funny how history gets whitewashed when it makes the
current 'democracy promoters' look like hypocrites. We can celebrate the downfall of dictators, just as long as we don't mention whose hands were greased to keep them in power. A pro-democracy stance is so much more appealing when the despots aren't 'our' despots. One might wonder if today's aid packages to less-than-democratic allies will be similarly 'forgotten' by future historians.