A Fools Celebration

Yesterday Ronald Reagan was celebrated in London with the unveiling of a 10ft bronze statue of the former United States president representing the enduring alliance between the UK and US. This is at a time when many commentators believe the special relationship is unraveling.

Reagan was president of the US between 1981 and 1989 and a recent Gallup poll found he remains one of the country's most popular leaders. In my opinion, this shows just how stupid a lot of Americans can be.

The inauguration, attended by Foreign Secretary William Hague and former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, is part of a series of events across Europe to mark Reagan's role in bringing down the Iron Curtain.

Ronald Reagan was famous for not understanding how government works and not particularly caring about it. His job was to read speeches off the Teleprompter, shake hands with foreign dignitaries, pose for pictures, and maybe go out and visit a flag factory or a steel mill every once in a while. Otherwise he was busy sleeping in, eating jellybeans, and watching television.

Let’s not forget the arms fiasco in Iran. Reagan covertly sent arms to the mullahs of Iran and courted Saddam Hussein, even after his use of chemical weapons. As part of a secret deal to purchase the release of American hostages held in the Middle East, the White House agreed to sell arms to the government of Iran.

But that was really just the catalyst for their real objective. The NSC sold Iran weapons, and then funneled some of the proceeds to the Contra insurgency in Nicaragua. This was a blatant and intentional violation of federal law.

Then there's the payoffs and support of intervention in Nicaragua and Grenada, trial and sentencing of George Schultz, whom he gave amnesty to, and Col Oliver North. Nixon is responsible for Watergate, secret wire taps, Aborted attempts to kill Fidel Castro and the fact that his attorney general John Mitchell had to resign because of corruption.

Reagan was also a certifiable nut job. While he was running for office, candidate Reagan announced during an interview that "We may be the generation that sees Armageddon." It wasn't the first time Reagan had uttered such beliefs. At a 1971 banquet for California state senator James Mills, then-Governor Reagan broke it all down for the honoree during the dessert course:

"In the 38th chapter of Ezekiel, it says that the land of Israel will come under attack by the armies of the ungodly nations, and it says that Libya will be among them. Do you understand the significance of that? Libya has now gone Communist, and that's a sign that the day of Armageddon isn't far off. 

Biblical scholars have been saying for generations that Gog must be Russia. What other powerful nation is to the north of Israel? None. But it didn't seem to make sense before the Russian revolution, when Russia was a Christian country. Now it does, now that Russia has become communistic and atheistic, now that Russia has set itself against God. Now it fits the description of Gog perfectly.

For the first time ever, everything is in place for the battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. It can't be too long now. Ezekiel says that fire and brimstone will be rained upon the enemies of God's people. That must mean that they will be destroyed by nuclear weapon."

But this pales in comparison to the actual mismanagement and corruption the Reagan administration undertook. After Democrats and Republicans in Congress passed sanctions against the apartheid government of South Africa, Reagan vetoed the measure.

Reagan's Administration cuddled up with the fascistic and anti-Semitic junta of Argentina and backed militaries in El Salvador and Guatemala that massacred civilians. It moved to normalize relations with Augusto Pinochet, the tyrant of Chile. Reagan sent George Bush the First to the Philippines, where the Vice President toasted dictator Ferdinand Marcos for fostering "democracy."



Pursuing a quasi-secret war against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, the Reagan Administration violated international law and circumvented Congress to support contra rebels engaged in human rights abuses and, according to the CIA's own Inspector General, worked with suspected drug traffickers. Reagan also appointed officials who claimed nuclear war was winnable.

The so-called "Liberal media" never questioned Reagan properly on this and let him largely get away with his buffoonery and corruption. Reagan’s standard response when questioned was "Well, I don't recall." That seems like a familiar line we often hear from John Key.

Reagan is definately a contender for the most corrupt administrator in Americas history. So let's celebrate... Let's celebrate that Ronald Reagan is dead.