[R-G] The Tibet Card

[Anthony Fenton]

First Published 2008-03-26, Last Updated 2008-03-26 09:49:30
The Tibet Card
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=25043

It seems that the US government excels at propaganda for it continues  
to win over the very people it has betrayed and caused to be killed;  
buying their trust, it offers a friendship that is only self-serving.  
Oblivious to the past havoc wreaked by the CIA in Tibet, the innocent  
gather around the storm, stare into the eye, ready to be sucked into  
it, says Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich .


During the Vietnam era, the United States eagerly supported the brutal  
regime of Ngo Dinh Diem, a man who brutally oppressed the Buddhists;  
yet today our government has risen in defense of the Dalai Lama and  
Tibet. Has our sordid history finally led to compassion for the people  
of Tibet? One must wonder which people we want to protect for there  
are 41 races in Tibet, including Tibetan, Menpa, Luopa, Han Chinese,  
Hui, Sherpa, Deng, and so on; although by far, the majority are  
Tibetans. Perhaps the US is reaching out to the Dalai Lama - again?

It seems that the US government excels at propaganda for it continues  
to win over the very people it has betrayed and caused to be killed;  
buying their trust, it offers a friendship that is only self-serving.  
Oblivious to the past havoc wreaked by the CIA in Tibet, the innocent  
gather around the storm, stare into the eye, ready to be sucked into  
it. Not too long ago, the Truman administration attempted to use the  
young Dalai Lama against China's new Communist regime. The CIA offered  
to provide him financial support as part of the deal. Its subsidies to  
the Dalai Lama lasted, at an unspecified level, until 1974. However,  
the CIA officials seem to have misled the Tibetans into thinking they  
had American support for the establishment of an independent Tibet[i].  
They did not.

Once again, the Tibetans are thinking they have the support of the  
United States. It should be mentioned that such names as Tom Lantos (a  
Holocaust survivor) endorsed the promotion of a free Tibet. He also  
promoted the International Campaign for Tibet, a campaign which  
receives grants from the National Endowment for Democracy – a State  
Department operation which engages non-suspecting NGOs to openly do  
what the CIA did/does. Neoconservative queen, Jean Kilpatrick was  
pushing The Committee of 100 for Tibet with artists such as Richard  
Gere as unsuspecting fronts[ii]

What is the reason behind America’s sudden interest in Tibet, the  
Buddhist ideology of 1649 Dalai Lama preserving animal and nature (we  
certainly could be preserving nature at home) or is it what is under  
nature? Tibet has the world’s largest reserve of uranium, and in  
addition to gold and copper, large quantities of oil and gas were  
discovered in Qiangtang Basin in western China's remote Tibet  
area[iii]. A friendly Dalai Lama would help reimburse the CIA  
subsidies, and much more.

There are other more important factors. Israel’s interest is  
undeniable. In fact, they have been helping this ancient green land  
with ‘agriculture techniques’ in recent years[iv]. Elie Wiesel, Nobel  
Laureate and Holocaust survivor, is recruiting fellow Nobel winners to  
press China on Tibet. Other notables such as Spielberg have already  
cooperated, and Sarkozy is considering boycotting the Olympics. One  
has to ask why these humanitarians are not concerned with the well- 
being of 1.4 million Palestinians described by the UN and the ICRC as  
being subjected to worst possible human disaster witnessed.

China has always shown reluctance to impose sanctions on Iran. From an  
Israeli and American perspective, China became a veritable short-term  
liability (versus a long term power challenging the US) when Iran and  
China engaged in talks to allow for a military base for China in one  
of Iran’s Persian Gulf ports. This was in response to Sarkozy making  
an announcement that France and the UAE were negotiating a deal in  
which France would have a small base in that region. Such a  
cooperation between Iran and China would make Iran less vulnerable to  
an attack by Israel and/or the United States.

Engaging China in a Tibet uprising, threatening the public image it  
has worked so hard to build around the world (China has far surpassed  
the United States in Public Diplomacy. During the G.W. Bush  
presidency, while the world watched in dismay an do-it-alone America  
that made a blunder at every turn, China, in spite of human rights  
issues that remain to be resolved, has won ‘hearts and minds’ in South  
America, Middle East, and Africa. It is attempting to win over its  
regional neighbors by developing economic, political, and diplomatic  
relations, and exercising skillful diplomacy) would distract or  
dissuade it from building alliances with Iran. Iran must be kept  
isolated at all costs.

Tel-Aviv hopes that Cheney will push Bush to launch a military attack  
on Iran, just as he persuaded Bush to attack Iraq. Given that the Iraq  
tactics are old, new ones have to be sought. As such, many experts  
suspect that a false flag operation would be required to launch an all  
out war. In October 2006, when Anti-terrorism officials conducted a  
helicopter survey of New York City's radiation sources in preparation  
for a so-called "dirty bomb" attack, they came across an unexpected  
radiation hot spot which has been kept out of the media as it is a  
political hot spot – A strong radiation spike from the area of the  
Israeli Embassy. Officials would not comment on why they thought that  
particular area showed such a stunning peak in radiation[v].

Can America afford another war? Will the world withstand another  
assault on humanity?

In 1787, George Washington said: “The power under the Constitution  
will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined  
purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of  
their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their  
interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and  
undoubtedly will, be recalled.”

Let us recall our servants who do not represent us, who do not serve  
our interest, and who are killing in our name.

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich is an Iranian-American studying at the  
University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She is a member of  
World Association of International Studies society, Stanford. Her  
research focus is US foreign policy towards Iran, Iran’s nuclear  
program, and influence of lobby groups. She is a peace activist,  
essayist, radio commentator and public speaker.

Notes:

[i] Jim Mann, Los Angeles Times: Jun 16, 1999. p. 5).

[ii] http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/crs/RL30983.pdf

[iii] http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/nts44532.htm).

[iv] (http://www.tew.org/archived/agri.israeli.html

[v] http://cleveland.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/22798.php