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From 1956 to 1971, there were 2,218 COINTEL- PRO-related operations, 2,305 illegal wiretaps, and 57,646 pieces of mail opened. Of the 295 operations conducted against African American organizations, 233 targeted the Black Panther Party. A memo from the FBI director states:“ The purpose of the Counter Intelligence action is to disrupt the BPP, and it is irrelevant whether there are facts to support the accusations.” Wikipedia In Chicago, a special unit led by an FBI informant launches a night raid on the apartment of Fred Hampton, a charismatic 21-year-old leader. After drugging Hampton without his knowledge, law enforcement officers fired nearly 80 bullets into the apartment. Hampton was executed in his bed. The message was clear: any leader capable of uniting Black, Latino, and poor white people would be eliminated. Wikipedia Fred Hampton was 21 years old. The lesson is relentless: even within the United States, socialism— even reduced to free breakfasts and clinics for the poor— is treated as an existential threat deserving of political assassination.
The Baath Party, Syria, Iraq: Arab socialism, a shared destiny
To understand what is happening in the Middle East, one must understand what the Baath Party was before American bombs reduced its capitals to ashes. Baath— Hizb al-Ba’ ath al-’ Arabi al-Ishtiraki— literally means“ Arab Socialist Resurrection Party.” Its official motto is unity, freedom, socialism. Founded in the 1940s in Damascus, the Baathist movement had a plan for the radical modernization of the Arab world: nationalization of resources, universal education, women’ s emancipation, and secularism of the state. In Iraq, when the Baath Party took power, Saddam Hussein nationalized foreign oil companies on June 1, 1972. Iraq then experienced unprecedented industrial and social development. Le Temps Oil revenues jumped from 219 million dinars in 1972 to 8.9 billion in 1980. From 1970 to 1980, the Iraqi economy grew by 11.7 %. Iraq industrialized rapidly and became one of the Arab countries with the highest standard of living, with the emergence of a genuine middle class.
Flashmag! Edition 170 Mars 2026
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