The Jakarta Method: A history of U.S. intervention and mass murder

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The Jakarta Method: A history of U.S. intervention and mass murderMembers of the youth wing of the Indonesian Communist Party are watched by soldiers as they are taken to prison in Jakarta on Oct. 30, 1965, following a crackdown on communists in the country. (Members of the youth wing of the Indonesian Communist Party are watched by soldiers as they are taken to prison in Jakarta on Oct. 30, 1965, following a crackdown on communists in the country. (PHOTO: AP)

GUEST: Vincent Bevins, an American journalist and author of The Jakarta Method: Washington’s Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World.

The United States history of anti-communism – and intervention in foreign nations – has had a deadly impact from Asia to Latin America and beyond.

Around the world, in pursuit of political – and economic – interests, the U.S. has liberated many from anti-democratic governments. But in many places, such as Indonesia, Brazil, and elsewhere, U.S. intervention has given rise to brutal dictatorships and left millions dead.

Has the U.S. learned anything from past interventions? To what lengths does it still interfere with the sovereign rights of other countries?

And who pays the price when a nation as powerful as the U.S. pursues its own interests over the self determination of another nation – and its people.

A new book gives us fresh insights into U.S. interventionism. Vincent Bevins, an American journalist and author has recently published The Jakarta Method: Washington’s Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World.

More on the topic

Vincent Bevins on how ‘Jakarta’ became codeword for US-backed mass killing (NY Review)
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/05/18/how-jakarta-became-the-codeword-for-us-backed-mass-killing/

Files reveal details of U.S. support for Indonesian massacre (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/a14d23b403804c548b3c6da3428827fa