…head spook
In American slang, a “spook” is a ghost…a spectre who scares people. Like in, “I was really spooked when I saw Linda Blair’s head rotate in The Exorcist!” You’ll have an inkling how Americans view spies, ‘cause when the CIA – called Office of Strategic Services – were formed during WWII – they were dubbed “spooks”! They operated invisibly, like ghosts, behind the scenes; were never seen, but you knew they were there when all sorts of damage were inflicted on the enemy!!
In the Cold War that followed, the CIA became a formidable force, as they took on the Ruskies and their allies with “Cold” techniques that changed the nature of war forever. We, in Mudland, appeared in their sight after 1961, when US President JFK decided Jagan was about to take our Mudland – then called British Guiana (BG) – into the Ruskies’ camp. That Castro had done just that in Cuba, and the invasion to remove him had failed spectacularly, made JFK rather testy – as everyone but Jagan could imagine!! At that time, the head spook was a fella named John A. McCone, who served from 1961 to 1965 during some of the most tumultuous events in American international history: the Bay of Pigs invasion; the Cuban missile crisis that almost led to a nuclear war between the Yanks and the Ruskies; and last but not least, the beginning of the Vietnam War!!
In fact, things got so hot that, in most American accounts of the era, the CIA’s ouster of Jagan from government by fostering race riots is hardly mentioned – and then only in footnotes!! Even though JFK personally was involved and was briefed by McCone. Our ouster was a small operation that cost just US$3.5M, and only Guyanese lives – 180 – were snuffed out. At that time, the CIA used US labour unions and their local lackeys to do the dirty. Well, since then, a lot of water has flowed under THAT bridge, especially after the Ruskies threw in the towel in 1989 and the Cold War ended. It was the same Yanks who facilitated free and fair elections that returned Jagan into Government.
Now, ever since then, it’s an open secret that the CIA had spooks posted in all US embassies – with all sorts of “covers”, like cultural attaches etc. Recently, with increased American interest in Maduro – or, more likely, his 300 billion barrels of oil – there’s gotta be more spooks here covering American interests. So, the news that CIA Head Spook – William Burns – is visiting shouldn’t be too surprising. The official line is he’s on his way to Qatar – but you don’t have to be an international jet setter to know that Guyana ain’t on no way to Qatar!!
Any guesses??
…retaliation
While we’ve been making nice with Mad Maduro – to show the world we’re the good guys in the border controversy the Venezies unleashed on us since 1962? – the tyrant seems determined to bring down American retribution. The Yanks have publicly declared that democracy’s the line they’ve drawn to intervene in this hemisphere. Your Eyewitness ain’t getting into the whys and wherefores – the elephant is always allowed to sit anywhere it damn well pleases!
So here it is, that Mad Maduro has just put out arrest warrants for nine of his major opposition figure Maria Machado’s allies. This is on top of banning her from even participating in the July 12th elections!! Now, as if that weren’t enough, he just followed up with his last December declaration annexation of our Essequibo by now approving a law creating the new state – called Guayana Esequiba. He insists this will come into force as soon as it’s published in the official gazette.
This Mad Man needs to be mannersed – and quickly!!
…consensus
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has allowed that while he expects to be revoted as PNC leader at the upcoming Congress, he’ll accept a consensus candidate – if that’s what the delegates want.
So, he’ll go quietly into the night?? Naaah!!
