Word: moynihan
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...course the purpose of the threatened aid cut-offs, like the rest of Moynihan's gestures, has little to do with American foreign policy--these rhetorical proposals will almost certainly never be implemented. The proposals are really designed for domestic consumption, to advance the image of an America standing up for her national pride and democratic heritage, defending her self-image with force if necessary, as in the Mayaguez incident. This policy is identical in substance with that of Ford and Kissinger; Moynihan was merely indiscreet enough to say publicly what the exigencies of detente forbid the administration from expressing...
DANIEL PATRICK Moynihan's courage and candor, displayed during his brief stay at the U.N., represents a small victory not only for the people of this country, but also for the hungry, oppressed third world peoples whose dreams of freedom and prosperity are continually throttled by the dictators who head the regimes of most of their nations...
...interests of both Americans and third world citizens were truly represented, for example, when Moynihan authored a resolution calling for worldwide amnesty for all political prisoners. Unfortunately the third world's benevolent despots, the stability of their own regimes depending on the incarceration of the opposition, killed it. Or when the credentials committee charged that the Chilean delegation represented a military dictatorship, and not the Chilean people, Moynihan added, "We have here a list of 45 military governments and 35 others installed by military coup. Let's look into them all." The committee responded by voting to drop the matter...
Even more importantly Moynihan has challenged the attempt by third world dictators to blame their domestic problems on the American people--a key strategy by which these despots seek to maintain power. In the past thirty years, third world left-wing dictatorships, often secured by military coup, have established heavily collectivized economies, made torture, censorship, and political oppression a part of everyday life, and virtually banished democracy and respect for individual rights. One result of this has been failing economies crushed under the weight of totalitarian socialism. Another has been political unrest generated by economic disaster and political oppression...
Ambassador Moynihan, by valiantly defending the U.S. against the absurd charges of third world dictators, has done much to foil their attempts to draw attention from their own disastrous civil and economic policies, providing a great service to both Americans and third world citizens. Furthermore, by weakening the self-serving attempts of dictators to create antagonisms between the peoples of the U.S. and the third world, Moynihan has performed a truly reconciliatory role in the relations between these peoples. It is, in any case, absurd to claim that Moynihan's statements at the U.N. were leading to antagonistic relations with...