PDF Island of Shame The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia David Vine 0884851274021 Books

Download As PDF : Island of Shame The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia David Vine 0884851274021 Books

The American military base on the island of Diego Garcia is one of the most strategically important and secretive U.S. military installations outside the United States. Located near the remote center of the Indian Ocean and accessible only by military transport, the little-known base has been instrumental in American military operations from the Cold War to the war on terror and may house a top-secret CIA prison where terror suspects are interrogated and tortured. But Diego Garcia harbors another dirty secret, one that has been kept from most of the world--until now.

Island of Shame is the first major book to reveal the shocking truth of how the United States conspired with Britain to forcibly expel Diego Garcia's indigenous people--the Chagossians--and deport them to slums in Mauritius and the Seychelles, where most live in dire poverty to this day. Drawing on interviews with Washington insiders, military strategists, and exiled islanders, as well as hundreds of declassified documents, David Vine exposes the secret history of Diego Garcia. He chronicles the Chagossians' dramatic, unfolding story as they struggle to survive in exile and fight to return to their homeland. Tracing U.S. foreign policy from the Cold War to the war on terror, Vine shows how the United States has forged a new and pervasive kind of empire that is quietly dominating the planet with hundreds of overseas military bases.

Island of Shame is an unforgettable exposé of the human costs of empire and a must-read for anyone concerned about U.S. foreign policy and its consequences. The author will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Chagossians.

PDF Island of Shame The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia David Vine 0884851274021 Books

"This book details the tyranny of our "deep state", and that of the United Kingdom, as "we" kidnapped an indigenous people from their home in the eastern Indian Ocean in order to establish a military base for the purpose of defending against communist expansion in Southeast Asia. The real tragedy is the way these people were treated: simply dumped in a foreign country with no compensation or assistance from the receiving country. Absolutely shameful!"

Product details Paperback 288 pages Publisher Princeton University Press; Revised ed. edition (January 23, 2011) Language English ISBN-10 0691149836

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Island of Shame The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia David Vine 0884851274021 Books Reviews :

Island of Shame The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia David Vine 0884851274021 Books Reviews

• This book exposes a hidden component/strategy behind US militarism - the "strategic island concept". In addition, it also shines a light on America's expansionist agenda which puts it on the same level as colonial empires. Both concepts have a sort of gag order placed on them, which explains why no one knows about them!
  
  I applaud Mr. Vine's work on the inhabitants of this island, the Chagosians. Too often, such displacement has been associated with ancient empires, but to hear of this occurring in the twentieth century should make us all pay more attention to the world around us.
  
  I particularly appreciated the extensive research. Wow, packed with so many examples, intertwining impressions and interpretations of this complex web ... fantastic. This is a great edition to anyone's history collection, or advanced studies in colonial policies.
• This book details the tyranny of our "deep state", and that of the United Kingdom, as "we" kidnapped an indigenous people from their home in the eastern Indian Ocean in order to establish a military base for the purpose of defending against communist expansion in Southeast Asia. The real tragedy is the way these people were treated simply dumped in a foreign country with no compensation or assistance from the receiving country. Absolutely shameful!
• Albeit that a most restricted number of global people are, in fact, aware of the Diego Garcia saga and its top strategic existence, the book is consequently a must read for people interested in the United States Armed Forces activities which are deemed super secret and which exist around the globe. The book describes how the Super Powers may and have, in this case, completely abuse the lives of theresidents/ indigents as is the subject matter of the book, an island in an archipelago in the middle of the Indian ocean. The story is of a flagrant displacement and abuse of some 2000 humans and animals carried out by the British at the absolute order of the United States Government.The island inhabitants were rudely transported and disembarked a thousand mile away on an absolutely unfamiliar location, that of Mauricius Island.A resultant multi decades long litigation has never brought any acceptable closure and the B-52 top secret airport thrives as one of many such around the globe for the USA/USAF/USN. The news reports for the site are non ever. This is an excellent reading for those interrested in global military knowledge.
• The true history of what and how the island was acquired by the British and given to the US. Now, why would the US have an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean miles from nowhere? Interesting.
  However, I agree that the US must at all times be wary of its enemies, no matter what form they take.
• A great book about an extensive research. Not only about the specific incident - but also very illustrative of how thing happen inside military and government offices. A very interesting perspective if you want to understant how these operations and the people that run them think (or rather, don't think, just act, in fact). A little too much details about things past and consequences that no-one can do anything about anymore (chapters regarding a bit too much detail on the suffering of the islanders - about what, decades after, no one could change anymore) made me skip little bits here and there. But the insider view on militar and covert operations is most valuable and is described in a richness of detail that makes this book worth the 4-star rating.
• Least favorite book I have purchased. It was boring.
• Anthropologist David Vine spent years researching and writing "Island of Shame", and the meticulousness with which he approached his subject matter shows. For this reader, the book provided important nuances beyond the time constraints of John Pilger's moving television documentary on the deportation of the Chagossians, especially with regard to the type and level of compensation doled out to the evicted Cold War residents of Diego Garcia. (About the only thing missing from "Island of Shame" available within Pilger's first-rate program was the extremely telling on-camera interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, who became visibly irritated, and questioned Pilger's motives.)
  
  Like Pilger, Vine gets up close and personal with some of the deported Chagossians, explains the caste system at play in their new "home", and makes no bones about displaying sympathy for their plight. Likewise, he does a thorough job examining the development of the U.S. government's Strategic Island Concept, and fully chronicles the interplay between Washington and London in formulating the coverup of the handoff of Diego that persisted for decades. And the Epilogue poignantly demonstrates how geopolitical decisions, once made, can pose enduring moral tribulations for those who become cogs in the public policy machine.
  
  Despite this book's painstaking research on a subject of moral significance, Vine's final chapter on the creation of a "Humanpolitik" descends into a broad-based polemic against military installations and American "empire", with precious little analysis of the pros and cons of the Strategic Island Concept and the use of American beach heads (although his discussion of the Bikinians is directly on-point). Tempering the emotions of this laudable work might have taken the wind out of Vine's sails, but the final chapter of his book, as written, also seems too big a subject to cover seriously in a mere 17 pages.
  
  Despite this shortcoming, "Island of Shame" is well worth reading, slowly and carefully. It expands on John Pilger's admirable work, provides yet another illustration of America's far-reaching hand of power (captured magnificently in Stephen Kinzer's "Overthrow"), and should keep us ever-alert to the actions of government - any government.
  
  Postscript Soon after the release of this book, the current U.S. Administration released a small group of Chinese Muslims no longer deemed to be "enemy combatants" from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Bermuda. The British Government protested publicly, stating categorically that they had never been consulted by Washington on the matter. One must ask despite the legitimacy of the release of these individuals, is this another example of London dancing to Washington's tune and engaging in "plausible deniability"?