Editor,
I was interested in the comments on KUNM made by UNM Political Science Professor Gregory Gleason telling of his first hand experience in areas around Afghanistan. However, when he asserted that the United States has "never occupied" foreign lands for purposes of economic profit, I was astounded at his lack of historical perspective.
Ask any Native American whose ancestors were killed or removed so U.S. citizens could have access to their land and resources. Or any Chicano who knows the shameful outcome of the Mexican War. Or anyone aware of events in Cuba, Guatemala or the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.
True, since the end of World War II, old style colonialism has been replaced by indirect means of controlling strategic locations and valuable resources. This is usually accomplished by financing undemocratic governments from Iran to Chile to the Congo, regimes that welcome U.S. investors and corporations without threat of nationalization.
Can you say "neocolonialism"?
But the unintended consequences of these and other policies will haunt this century, just as the overthrow of colonial regimes dominated recent history. Oil, gas and precious metals have been the principal resources that major nations have tried to dominate.
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Today we may add genes from medicinal plants known to native people.
Is it a coincidence that Afghanistan is said to contain the largest deposits of rare metals known today?
I detest the policies of the Taliban and of all terrorists and occupiers, but I hope our horror at their deeds and our desire for security will not lead to a less democratic "homeland" or to a more chaotic world.
Philip K. Bock
Anthropology professor emeritus
