The Board of Trustees includes trades unionists, plutocrats and some familiar neocons such as Joshua Muravchik; Thomas Dine, who was the Executive Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and was president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Stuart Appelbaum, a prominent trade unionist; Antonia Cortese, a teacher’s union organizer; Ken Juster, a Partner and Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, formerly in government service; Andrew Nathan, who serves on the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch Asia; Richard S Williamson, former ambassador, previously mentioned as a board Member of the International Republican Institute; among others…
Among the regional programs, for the Americas the main targets of Freedom House are Cuba and Venezuela. “Freedom House seeks to strengthen the capacity of civil society activists in Cuba by providing training and education, material support, and institutional links to counterparts from abroad.”[61] In Venezuela, Freedom House supports what it terms HRDs (Human Rights Defenders),
Providing HRDs with technical assistance, advice and professional tools to monitor, document, and raise awareness on a wide range of human rights topics; Delivering training and support in coalition building and legal strategies in the prosecution of human rights violations; and Facilitating strategic alliances between Venezuelan HRDs, international human rights organizations, and regional networks.[62]
The FU focus in Eastern Europe is based on a front group, The American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus, targeting the region it regards as best for destabilizing Russia and reducing her influence.[63] The other primary area in the destabilization of Russia is in Central Asia, where Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are yet to receive the benefits of “color revolutions.” In Kyrgyzstan, FU has established an opposition press, creating the Media Support Center Foundation.[64]
In Egypt FU strategy is the same as that of other similar organizations in targeting youthful “activists” especially with the use of the new technology.
A new generation of young Egyptian citizens is dedicated to expanding political and civil rights in their country. Referred to as the “YouTube Generation,” many of these courageous men and women are supported by Freedom House to enhance their outreach, advocacy and effectiveness.
Freedom House’s effort to empower a new generation of advocates has yielded tangible results and the New Generation program in Egypt has gained prominence both locally and internationally. Egyptian visiting fellows from all civil society groups received unprecedented attention and recognition, including meetings in Washington with US Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, and prominent members of Congress. In the words of Condoleezza Rice, the fellows represent the “hope for the future of Egypt.”[65]
FU records that in 2009 “16 Egyptian activists” met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “at the end of a two-month fellowship organized by Freedom House’s New Generation program.”[66]
The financial sponsorship for FU comes from the same sources as those that provide for IRI and the others: NED, US State Dept., USAID. Other sponsors include Citigroup, Open Society Institute, Dow Jones Foundation, Bank of America…
Conclusion
Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto predicted that capitalism in its last stage would become international or what is today called globalization. He wrote that “the need for a constantly expanding market” would see the “bourgeois” “nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connexions everywhere,” “over the whole surface of the globe.” This was giving a “cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country.”[67] The “world market,” free trade and “uniformity in the mode of production” was diminishing national boundaries[68] So far from deploring this incipient globalization, Marx welcomed it as a stage in the dialectical process that would lead to communism by destroying traditional craft, proletarianizing the former artisans and peasants and eventually even much of the “bourgeois” and paving the way for a global – communist – order. The enemy of this process were the “Reactionists,” whom Marx condemns in part three of The Communist Manifesto as advocating “reactionary socialism,” in opposing the free market globalizing process.[69]
Marx stated in 1847, “the protectionist system today is conservative, whereas the Free Trade system has a destructive effect… precipitating the social revolution. And only in this revolutionary sense do I vote for Free Trade.”[70]
While Marx predicted the globalizing tendency of capitalism, Spengler was a more acute analyst and stated in response to Marxism:
“Capitalism” and “Socialism” are both of an age, intimately related, produced by the same outlook[71] and burdened with the same tendencies. Socialism is nothing but the capitalism of the lower classes. The Manchester Free Trade doctrine of Cobden and the Communist system of Marx were both born in 1840. Marx even welcomed free-trade capitalism.[72]
Marx thought that dialectically capitalism would pave the way to socialism. Rather, it could be contended dialectically that socialism paved the way for international monopoly capitalism, by serving as a transition in destroying tradition-oriented societies. Zbigniew Brzezinksi, speaking for the globalists, suggests as much in his Between Two Ages, writing that Marxism was “a further vital and creative stage in the maturing of man’s universal vision,” [73] so this hypothesis does not entirely come from left field.
Marxism became passé and has metamorphosed into sundry forms of other pseudo-revolt, culminating in the present phenomena of the “color revolutions.” Carefully planned for over a decade, the “spontaneous revolts” (sic) have been wreaking havoc on the ex-Soviet bloc states, and lately have put one of the last bastions of tradition, the Arab world, into turmoil, again as part of a dialectical process of capitalism. It remains to be seen whether the “revolution” will backfire on the plutocrats.
Dr. Bolton clearly does not understand IRI or NDI’s work, but one wonders if he really even wants to. IRI and NDI do not export a version of democracy, they support reformers who are trying to strengthen or establish democracy in their own country. Why does Dr. Bolton find supporting those who want to be free so objectionable?
Freedom to do what – produce – consume – borrow, and get bombed if you don’t like it.
“…Support reformers…” – I thought the “revolts” were supposed to be “spontaneous”?
Most regimes say they want “democracy” including North Korea. The junk that vomits forth from the USA in the name of “democracy” is not something to emulate.
The essay has already been read and received an enthusiastic response from individuals who are very well placed to “understand” what’s going on.
Take taxpayer dollars and deploy them in Venezuela to help prepare a coup against Chavez. That’s exactly what these organization did prior to (and for all we are allowed to know) after April 2002.
Good article. Many of the old leftists-progressives-libs-Marxists-Socialists-Leninists-Stalinists-Trotskyites-Maoists moved over into the environmentalist movements and are now some of the loudest voices in the Global Warming Alarmist crowd. Their ultimate desire appears to be the imposition of a Global Carbon Tax which will be paid in to the UN, World Bank, or IMF.
Professor Bolton excellently interprets the current Arab revolt not as from “traditional Christian and Muslim Arabs” revolting against Americanization, but rather from bourgeois secular youth under the long-term influence and training of American globalists. I must now credit Professor Bolton’s cynical reference to “spontaneous revolt,” while now strongly suspecting that the globalists have lost control of what has become an actually spontaneous popular nationalist AND STILL UNCOORDIANATED uprising against the American proxy. If this is so, might the maze of coordinated interest groups jostling for advantage have been radically confused and forced to compromise? But what a brilliant survey. It ends, “It remains to be seen whether the “revolution” will backfire on the plutocrats.”
Excellent analysis Dr. Bolton; unfortunately I truly feel the movements/revolts that pose obstacles to the Globalist agenda will be easily mitigated.
The efforts by Egypt’s opposition front – most notably the Muslim Brotherhood will be hindered by conventional concerns of instability in the region (Israel) with Mubarak’s swift departure .
Perhaps the IRI and NDI should attempt to support the reformers in the U.S., who strive to be governed by the principles that were laid forth in the Constitution.
The nationalization of the Fed should be the foremost priority of the IRI et al, as governance by this xenophobic Central Bank that is hell bent on the demise of the American economy through the utilization of fiat currency traverses the spirit of democratic rule.
Rule One in Writing: Omit needless words.