Thai king endorses army chief as new leader

Thailand's king has endorsed the army chief who seized power in a coup last week, amid widespread international criticism and increasing detention of those considered to be opposed to the takeover.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha told journalists on Monday morning that the much revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, had officially backed him as the leader of the military council now running the country.

Prayuth seized power on Thursday after six months of political in-fighting between the now-deposed government and its critics, who had taken to the streets and besieged government buildings in an effort to oust it. At least 28 people were killed and more than 700 injured in sometimes violent clashes after anti-government protests began in November.

The Guardian

CIA Finally Admits Role in 1953 Iran Coup

Sixty years ago, on August 19, 1953, modern Iranian history took a critical turn when a U.S.- and British-backed coup overthrew the country's prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh.

Egyptian Military Massacres Protesters in Cairo

Major General Smedley Butler & The Fascist Takeover Of The USA

Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940) was a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps (the highest rank authorized at that time), an outspoken critic of U.S. military adventurism, and at the time of his death the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. During his 34-year career as a Marine, he participated in military actions in the Philippines, China, in Central America and the Caribbean during the Banana Wars, and France in World War I.

In 1933, he became involved in a controversy known as the Business Plot, when he told a congressional committee that a group of wealthy industrialists were planning a military coup to overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt. The purported plotters wanted Butler to lead a mass of armed veterans in a march on Washington and then become a dictator. Butler never met with any of the principals, and the individuals supposedly involved all denied the existence of a plot. The media ridiculed the allegations.

Wikipedia – Also see IndyBay

The Secret Government

CIA Overthrow of Mossadeq

State of siege

Scenes from a very hard-to-find movie made in 1972: "State of Siege". It's a fictionalized account of a true story.
Using an "aid" program as a cover, the CIA trained police officers throughout South America to fight "subversives" using of torture, assassination, and police-staged explosives to blame on terrorists.

Brasscheck tv

Paraguay Coup has all the Hallmarks of the CIA

Is the CIA somehow behind or connected to the impeachment – in a trial that took just a few hours – of the president of Paraguay? For Ecuador’s El Telegrafo, columnist Nancy Bravo de Ramsey speaks for many on the Latin American left when she ascribes the removal of office of President Fernando Lugo, a former priest who was trying to resolve a 140-year imbroglio over land reform, to U.S. machinations. In Paraguay, one percent of the population owns 77 percent of the arable land.

For El Telegrafo, Nancy Bravo de Ramsey writes in part:

The powerful country to the north, with the help of the traitors that are always on hand in Latin America, seems to have returned to its old ways. And this time the victim is Paraguay. The events of Saturday, June 23rd have all the hallmarks of the CIA and the pungent odour of a coup d’état, planned and hatched in the Paraguayan parliament.

Without putting any evidence on the table – “because the facts are a matter of public record and there is no need to present them,” they said – without observing due process, leaving only a few hours for the preparation of a defense and without identifying the crimes of the accused, the representatives of the purest elements of the Paraguay oligarchy put an end to a historic presidency that had made possible the greatest ever economic growth of the Guaraní people [the indigenous inhabitants of Paraguay].

More on The Moderate Voice

Egypt court dissolves parliament

Judges appointed by Hosni Mubarak have dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament and ruled his former prime minister eligible for the presidential runoff election this weekend - setting the stage for the military and remnants of the old regime to stay in power.

Thursday's politically charged rulings dealt a heavy blow to the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, with one senior member calling the decisions a "full-fledged coup", and the group vowed to rally the public against Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak.

The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court effectively erased the tenuous progress from Egypt's troubled transition in the past year, leaving the country with no parliament and concentrating power even more firmly in the hands of the generals who took over from Mubarak.

Egypt court dissolves parliament

Soldiers take control in Mali coup

Mutinous soldiers in Mali have taken over state television and announced that they have seized control of the government. The soldiers said the coup was necessary because of the mishandling of an insurgency in the north.

The spokesman for the soldiers, Lieutenant Amadou Konare, said in a communiqué that the troops had taken the country's security into their own hands "due to the inability of the government to give the armed forces the necessary means to defend the integrity of our national territory".

A soldier at the presidential palace said the presidential guard had failed to defend the palace against the renegade soldiers. They have seized control of the seat of government, but could not find democratically elected leader president Amadou Toumani Toure, who is in hiding.

On national television, a group of about 20 soldiers were shown in fatigues crowding around a desk facing the camera. They introduced themselves as the National Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State, or CNRDR. "The CNRDR representing all the elements of the armed forces, defensive forces and security forces has decided to assume its responsibilities and end the incompetent and disavowed regime of Amadou Toumani Toure," said their spokesman reading from a statement.

The Press Association

Kim Jong-Un Dead? That's The Rumor

In the past few hours, Twitter has exploded with unsubstantiated rumors that the new North Korean dictator died in Beijing today and that a coup is underway in North Korea. So far there is no indication at all that these rumors are true. The rumors originated on China’s twitter-like platform Weibo (fyi: here’s the fascinating Google translated page of original Weibo posts), and quickly got picked up by Gawker.com and retweeted in the U.S.

As the story goes, a couple assassins barged into Kim’s room in Beijing and shot him, before being shot and killed themselves by bodyguards. Twitter user @ChristianJMay posted that the rumor is “based on news that a host of blacked out cars have descended upon embassy in Beijing, where he was visiting.” Nevermind that as far as anyone can tell, Kim wasn’t even in Beijing.

Forbes – Huffington Post – Yahoo! News

UPDATE - Kim Jong-un assassination rumours sparked by Beijing embassy birthday party

Kim Jong-il’s 70th birthday is cause for celebration at the North Korean embassy in Beijing, so much so that building is now abuzz with activity for the multi-day festivities.

Now, along with the planned events, embassy staff can now mark worldwide social-media fuelled assassination rumours down as one of the many tributes for the late Dear Leader.

National Post

 

Turkish ex-army chief held in jail for trial

A Turkish court has ordered a former armed forces chief to be remanded in custody overnight pending trial over charges of bidding to overthrow the government. General Ilker Basbug is the highest ranking officer to be caught up in the so-called Ergenekon network, an ultra-nationalist group accused of conspiring against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

State prosecutors have been investigating allegations that Turkey's military launched websites to spread propaganda against Erdogan and his governing Justice and Development Party (AKP). Basbug told the court on Thursday he rejected the allegations, according to broadcaster NTV, describing the Turkish Armed Forces as one of the most powerful in the world. "We can say it is really tragicomic to accuse somebody who commands such an army of forming and directing a terrorist group," he was quoted as saying.

Al Jazeera English

Guatemala leader apologises for 1954 coup

The Guatemalan president, Alvaro Colom, has issued an official apology to the family of the former president Jacobo Arbenz, 57 years after a US-backed coup violently removed him from power. Colom, who apologised under a settlement worked out with Arbenz's family by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said on Thursday the coup was a "crime [against] the Guatemalan society committed by the CIA and Guatemalans with bad intentions".

Speaking during a ceremony at the former government headquarters, in the presence of Jacobo Arbenz Vilanova, the only surviving son of the former president, Colom said: "As head of state, as constitutional president of the republic and as the military's commander in chief, I hereby wish to request the forgiveness of the Arbenz Vilanova family for this great crime. "It was above all a crime against him, his wife, his family, but also a historic crime for Guatemala. This day changed Guatemala and we still haven't recovered."

More on Al Jazeera English

In Post-Mubarak Egypt, Waterboarding is Baby Stuff

'The honeymoon between the Egyptian military and the protesters did not last long. Tahrir Square, which had been the scene of jubilant celebrations, soon turned into a battlefield, as the army moved to violently disperse activists, beating them with clubs and electric rods – even firing live ammunition – leading to many casualties.

Hundreds were dragged away to trucks and thrown in prison. Between January 28 and August 29, almost 12,000 civilians were tried in military tribunals, far more than Mubarak managed in 30 years of dictatorship. Torture by police and military personnel remains widespread with hundreds of cases involving beatings, electrocution, and sexual assault reported.' - UrukNet

Egyptian Army Beating Protester

The Real News

Egypt’s interim military rulers could remain in power until the end of next year, according to a timetable for a transition to elected rule presented by Sami Anan, the army’s chief of staff, at a meeting with leaders of political parties.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, now the highest political authority in the country, has faced pressure from parties and democracy activists to set a timetable for its exit from power. (Financial Times)

Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, a pacifist, had refused conscription into the Egyptian army and had campaigned against forced conscription, which he likened to slavery. He is in hunger strike. (Christian Science Monitor)

Turkey's military chiefs 'quit'

General Ski Kushner, the head of the Turkish armed forces, has quit along with the heads of the ground, naval and air forces. The country's state-run Anatolia news agency said on Friday that the military chiefs wanted to retire because of tensions with Recap Typo Endogen, the recently re-elected prime minister. Anatolia reported Kushner as resigning "as he saw it as necessary".

In a written statement released after the news of the generals' retirement, Recap Typo Endogen, the Turkish prime minister, said that the armed forces will continue to do their duty in a spirit of unity.

Hurried, a Turkish daily newspaper, said on its website that Kushner was quitting his post as an act of protest against the court cases jailing military officers which mean he could no longer defend the rights of his staff. "It has become impossible for me to continue in this high office because I am unable to fulfil my responsibility to protect the rights of my personnel as the chief of general staff," the report quoted Kushner as saying.

More on Al Jazeera

Chile's President Allende killed himself, experts say

A team of international experts has concluded that the former president of Chile, Salvador Allende, killed himself during the 1973 military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.

A detailed report was released two months after Mr Allende's body was exhumed as part of an inquiry into his death. Mr Allende's family has always accepted the official version. But some of his supporters suspected he had been killed by soldiers.

Allende, who was 65, died in La Moneda presidential palace on 11 September 1973 as it was being bombed by air force jets and attacked by tanks. The official version was that he shot himself - with a rifle given to him by his friend, the then Cuban leader Fidel Castro - as troops stormed the palace.

Mr Allende's family agreed to have his body exhumed from a cemetery in the capital, Santiago, so that an international team of experts, including specialists in ballistics, could determine the cause of death.

Full article on BBC News

Ousted Honduran President Zelaya’s Return Home 23 Months After U.S.-Backed Coup

In a Democracy Now! global broadcast exclusive, we take you on the plane of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as he and his family return home after almost two years in exile. We speak with Zelaya, ousted Honduran foreign minister Patricia Rodas, Honduran exile René Guillermo Amador, and former Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba, one of the many representatives of Latin American countries who accompanied Zelaya home.

We also speak to Father Roy Bourgeois of School of the Americas Watch on the role U.S.-trained generals played in the 2009 coup. "This military coup had real connections to the School of the Americas. The two top generals, the key players in this military coup—the head of the air force, the head of the army—were graduates of the School of the Americas,” said Bourgeois.

Listen to the interview on Democracy Now!

Military coup possible in Greece

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency warned in a report that the tough austerity measures and the dire situation could escalate and even lead to a military coup, according to a report by Germany’s popular daily Bild.

According to he CIA report, ongoing street protests in crisis-hit Greece could turn into escalated violence and a rebellion and the Greek government could lose control, said Bild. The newspaper said the CIA report talks of a possible military coup if the situation becomes more serious and uncontrolled.

From Turkish Hurriyet Daily News

1953 Iranian coup d'état - operation TPAJAX

The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, on August 19, 1953 (known as the 28 Mordad coup in Iran), was the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh orchestrated by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom and the United States as operation TPAJAX. The coup saw the transition of Mohammad-Rezā Shāh Pahlavi from a constitutional monarch to an authoritarian one who relied heavily on U.S. support to hold on to power until his own overthrow in February 1979.

In 1951 Iran's oil industry was nationalized with near-unanimous support of Iran's parliament in a bill introduced by Mossadegh who led the nationalist parliamentarian faction. Iran's oil had been controlled by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). Popular discontent with the AIOC began in the late 1940s, a large segment of Iran's public and a number of politicians saw the company as exploitative and a vestige of British imperialism. Despite Mosaddegh's popular support, Britain was unwilling to negotiate its single most valuable foreign asset, and instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically. Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the Abadan oil refinery, the world's largest, but Prime Minister Clement Attlee opted instead to tighten the economic boycott while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government. With a change to more conservative governments in both Britain and the United States, Churchill and the U.S. Eisenhower administration decided to overthrow Iran's government though the predecessor U.S. Truman administration had opposed a coup.

Britain and the U.S. selected Fazlollah Zahedi to be the prime minister of a military government that was to replace Mosaddegh's government. Subsequently, a royal decree dismissing Mosaddegh and appointing Zahedi was drawn up by the coup plotters and signed by the Shah. The Central Intelligence Agency had successfully pressured the weak monarch to participate in the coup, while bribing street thugs, clergy, politicians and Iranian army officers to take part in a propaganda campaign against Mosaddegh and his government. At first, the coup appeared to be a failure when on the night of August 15–16, Imperial Guard Colonel Nematollah Nassiri was arrested while attempting to arrest Mosaddegh. The Shah fled the country the next day. On August 19, a pro-Shah mob, paid by the CIA, marched on Mosaddegh's residence. According to the CIA's declassified documents and records, some of the most feared mobsters in Tehran were hired by the CIA to stage pro-Shah riots on the 19th. Other CIA-paid men were brought into Tehran in buses and trucks, and took over the streets of the city. Mosaddegh was arrested, tried and convicted of treason by the Shah's military court. On December 21, 1953, he was sentenced to three years in jail, then placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. Mosaddegh's supporters were rounded up, imprisoned, tortured or executed.

More on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iranian People's Struggle for Freedom: The 1953 MI6 - CIA, COUP in Iran

Cheney 'silenced CIA over spy plan'

Dick Cheney, the former US vice-president, deliberately withheld details of a secret CIA spy programme from the US congress for eight years, a newspaper has reported.

Cheney, who was vice-president to George Bush between 2001 and January this year, ordered the CIA not to tell congress of a new "counter-terrorism" programme, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The details of the intelligence programme, launched after the attacks on the US in September 2001, remain secret.

According to the Time's sources, Cheney's role in stifling the information was revealed by Leon Panetta, who now heads the CIA and who ordered the programme to be stopped in June.

Al Jazeera