The CIA has and continues to control the governments of many third world countries in order to take advantage of their natural resources.

Sometimes it actually put a CIA trained, U.S.-friendly leader into power. Other times, it simply funded rebel factions on all fronts in order to prevent any stability in the country.

In Mexico, the CIA is currently supporting the terrorists slaughtering groups of indigenous farmers.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army was formed to protect the rights of the native people of that region.

Historically, the vast majority of the farmland in Mexico has been maintained by subsistence farmers. But since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, the United States has been putting pressure on Mexico to convert more of its land for commercial use.

Since the political pressure wasn’t working fast enough, the CIA began providing guns and money to bands of mercenaries in the area. How else can someone explain the recent outbreak of violence in what had been a peaceful part of Mexico?

When it comes to our government, the rule of thumb is this: financial gains are worth civilian bloodshed.

Another prime example is in Chile, where the U.S. government proved that it is more interested in its own financial interests than in the freedom and well-being of the citizens.

The Chilean people were forced to live in horrifying poverty while their country was used as a platform for U.S. business.

After a democratic election produced a socialist government, international businesses were no longer afforded their fringe benefits. The new Chilean government was simply trying to increase the quality of life for its own people.

The U.S. government would have none of it. It wasn’t about to let the lives of Chilean citizens get in the way of American dollars. It secretly provided funding for Augusto Pinochet’s military regime under the understanding that he would make Chile friendly to international business again.

Pinochet took power, and over the next 17 years, he tortured and murdered his own people in horrifying numbers.

These are just a few examples of our government’s manipulation of the internal affairs of third world nations. I mention these because they are fairly well-known and well-documented examples of this process.

Although many people are aware of these examples, few people realize the way our government is manipulating world events currently in Iraq.

Why does Saddam Hussein continue to rule in that country? He doesn’t, and he hasn’t since the Gulf War.

If past trends are currently in effect, U.S. troops captured or assassinated Hussein and the CIA began running the Iraqi government itself. The continuing conflict gives the CIA the ability to manipulate world oil prices.

Remember how much the price of gas went up during the Gulf War? Now the CIA can replicate that increase any time it wants by manufacturing some type of crisis, like the one going on right now.

Money is the name of the game on the world stage, and nothing spells money like oil. For too many years, the U.S. government was not a major player in the oil industry. Thanks to the Gulf War that has all changed, and now the CIA is calling the shots in the Middle East.

Why else would the United States have become involved in the conflict in the first place? It saw a minor border scuffle between Kuwait and Iraq as the perfect front. It told the American people it was protecting the freedom of the Kuwaiti people.

Sure, just like it did in Chile.

Meanwhile, the strike on Iraq provided a way into the oil game with relatively low risk.

It seems rather convenient that Hussein has been “in hiding” ever since the Gulf War.

Hussein was a product of the U.S. government all along. The entire time he was in power in Iraq, he was merely a puppet. And the CIA was holding the strings.

Hussein probably never realized that the U.S. funding his war with Iran was just the first step in its plan to take control in the Middle East.

This is not a radical theory. These actions are no more ridiculous than the documented actions of the CIA in Mexico, Chile and many other places.

Realize that we have been categorically lied to every step of the way during this “Gulf Crisis.”

Remember how long it took for the government to admit that American troops had been exposed to chemical weapons? Remember when it came out that there was no documented evidence that the “Patriot” missile actually worked?

All we know of what is going on is what it is willing to show us. And it has been showing us whatever will keep us calm and keep us from asking questions.

As long as the government retains that kind of control over what we hear and see, the CIA will continue to manipulate the governments of the world for its own financial gain.

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6079 Smith is a senior in aerospace engineering from Poplar Bluff, Mo. He enjoys reading graphic novels, trips to the dentist and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” marathons.