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In reply to the discussion: Diego Garcia is a small island in the Indian Ocean [View all]Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)80. some info
Reporting by John Pilger on the history of the island:
Video at link:
http://johnpilger.com/videos/stealing-a-nation
'Stealing A Nation' (2004) is an extraordinary film about the plight of the Chagos Islands, whose indigenous population was secretly and brutally expelled by British Governments in the late 1960s and early 1970s to make way for an American military base. The tragedy, which falls within the remit of the International Criminal Court as "a crime against humanity", is told by Islanders who were dumped in the slums of Mauritius and by British officials who left behind a damning trail of Foreign Office documents.
Before the Americans came, more than 2,000 people lived on the islands in the Indian Ocean, many with roots back to the late 18th century. There were thriving villages, a school, a hospital, a church, a railway and an undisturbed way of life. The islands were, and still are, a British crown colony. In the 1960s, the government of Harold Wilson struck a secret deal with the United States to hand over the main island of Diego Garcia. The Americans demanded that the surrounding islands be "swept" and "sanitized". Unknown to Parliament and to the US Congress and in breach of the United Nations Charter, the British Government plotted with Washington to expel the entire population.
MUCH MORE AT LINK ABOVE
Before the Americans came, more than 2,000 people lived on the islands in the Indian Ocean, many with roots back to the late 18th century. There were thriving villages, a school, a hospital, a church, a railway and an undisturbed way of life. The islands were, and still are, a British crown colony. In the 1960s, the government of Harold Wilson struck a secret deal with the United States to hand over the main island of Diego Garcia. The Americans demanded that the surrounding islands be "swept" and "sanitized". Unknown to Parliament and to the US Congress and in breach of the United Nations Charter, the British Government plotted with Washington to expel the entire population.
And a book by David Vine:
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8885.html
Island of Shame:
The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia
David Vine
The American military base on the island of Diego Garcia is one of the most strategically important and secretive U.S. military installations outside the United States. Located near the remote center of the Indian Ocean and accessible only by military transport, the base was a little-known launch pad for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and may house a top-secret CIA prison where terror suspects are interrogated and tortured. But Diego Garcia harbors another dirty secret, one that has been kept from most of the world--until now.
Island of Shame is the first major book to reveal the shocking truth of how the United States conspired with Britain to forcibly expel Diego Garcia's indigenous people--the Chagossians--and deport them to slums in Mauritius and the Seychelles, where most live in dire poverty to this day. Drawing on interviews with Washington insiders, military strategists, and exiled islanders, as well as hundreds of declassified documents, David Vine exposes the secret history of Diego Garcia. He chronicles the Chagossians' dramatic, unfolding story as they struggle to survive in exile and fight to return to their homeland. Tracing U.S. foreign policy from the Cold War to the war on terror, Vine shows how the United States has forged a new and pervasive kind of empire that is quietly dominating the planet with hundreds of overseas military bases.
Island of Shame is an unforgettable exposé of the human costs of empire and a must-read for anyone concerned about U.S. foreign policy and its consequences.The author will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Chagossians.
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Then why don't you make sure, before posting an incredibly dumb OP?
muriel_volestrangler
Mar 2014
#39
The black President and his NSA hombres are about to pull off the deal of the century
BlueStreak
Mar 2014
#76
It's tragic what they did to the people from Diego Garcia who last I read, are still trying
sabrina 1
Mar 2014
#91
I would imagine that a person would have at the very least, the courage of their own implication...
LanternWaste
Mar 2014
#101
There's an American naval presence there for refueling, it's unlikely they would have landed
okaawhatever
Mar 2014
#4
Didn't they find a fuel spill about 2-miles wide that was consistent with jet fuel?
R B Garr
Mar 2014
#17
Thanks for the info! It's made me realize how much I trusted the media reports without question
R B Garr
Mar 2014
#25
Diego Garcia, because of the British and US presence there, would likely have radar
No Vested Interest
Mar 2014
#12
That's where with the Brits help we screwed the Chagossian people out of their home...
Agony
Mar 2014
#18
one more reason that we have no lock on the moral authority to tell others what to do
Agony
Mar 2014
#129
That's why the Queen of the Moon, still angry about NASA bombing her, issued her famous edict
Warren DeMontague
Mar 2014
#32
That would be like trying to hide a stolen Ferrari by parking it in the middle of Times Square.
Gravitycollapse
Mar 2014
#28
Well, if we did want to steal a commercial airliner, that would be the place to hide it.
bluedigger
Mar 2014
#35
... diverted to an undisclosed location 'with the intention of using it later for another purpose'.
jakeXT
Mar 2014
#37
You may have set the bar for mistaking teasing and humor for crankiness. nt
pinboy3niner
Mar 2014
#85
Forgot to mention that my older brother did 4 years, 3 months in the Marines just before Vietnam
pinboy3niner
Mar 2014
#131
Diego Garcia is a British principality. It serves as a refueling point for long range bombers. nt
bluestate10
Mar 2014
#122