written out of history

Off-topic
1

I’m sure people from many nations have examples of incidents which were written out of history. That is, events which may have been relevant to a fuller understanding events which followed, but which are no longer mentioned in reference to the BIG EVENTS these hidden events contributed to. One example, when Kuwait was taking oil which disputedly belonged to Iraq, and the US ambassador April Glaspie met with Saddam Hussein about it. She can be seen as giving him the green light to invade Kuwait, which the USA later bombed Baghdad over.

I pulled this off the internet. www.whatreallyhappened.com/ARTICLE5/april.html

APRIL GLASPIE TRANSCRIPT

Yes, remember April Glaspie and her amazing stint at Middle East diplomacy?

Saddam-Glaspie meeting

Transcript of Meeting Between Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie. - July 25, 1990 (Eight days before the August 2, 1990 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait)

July 25, 1990 - Presidential Palace - Baghdad

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - I have direct instructions from President Bush to improve our relations with Iraq. We have considerable sympathy for your quest for higher oil prices, the immediate cause of your confrontation with Kuwait. (pause) As you know, I lived here for years and admire your extraordinary efforts to rebuild your country. We know you need funds. We understand that, and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. (pause) We can see that you have deployed massive numbers of troops in the south. Normally that would be none of our business, but when this happens in the context of your threat s against Kuwait, then it would be reasonable for us to be concerned. For this reason, I have received an instruction to ask you, in the spirit of friendship - not confrontation - regarding your intentions: Why are your troops massed so very close to Kuwait’s borders?

Saddam Hussein - As you know, for years now I have made every effort to reach a settlement on our dispute with Kuwait. There is to be a meeting in two days; I am prepared to give negotiations only this one more brief chance. (pause) When we (the Iraqis) meet (with the Kuwaitis) and we see there is hope, then nothing will happen. But if we are unable to find a solution, then it will be natural that Iraq will not accept death.

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - What solutions would be acceptab le?

Saddam Hussein - If we could keep the whole of the Shatt al Arab - our strategic goal in our war with Iran - we will make concessions (to the Kuwaitis). But, if we are forced to choose between keeping half of the Shatt and the whole of Iraq (i.e., in Saddam s view, including Kuwait ) then we will give up all of the Shatt to defend our claims on Kuwait to keep the whole of Iraq in the shape we wish it to be. (pause) What is the United States’ opinion on this?

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - We have no opinion on your Arab - Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary (of State James) Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960’s, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America. (Saddam smiles)

On August 2, 1990, Saddam’s massed troops invade and occupy Kuwait. _____

Baghdad, September 2, 1990, U.S. Embassy

One month later, British journalists obtain the the above tape and transcript of the Saddam - Glaspie meeting of July 29, 1990. Astounded, they confront Ms. Glaspie as she leaves the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Journalist 1 - Are the transcripts (holding them up) correct, Madam Ambassador?(Ambassador Glaspie does not respond)

Journalist 2 - You knew Saddam was going to invade (Kuwait ) but you didn’t warn him not to. You didn’t tell him America would defend Kuwait. You told him the opposite - that America was not associated with Kuwait.

Journalist 1 - You encouraged this aggression - his invasi on. What were you thinking?

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - Obviously, I didn’t think, and nobody else did, that the Iraqis were going to take all of Kuwait.

Journalist 1 - You thought he was just going to take some of it? But, how could you? Saddam told you that, if negotiations failed , he would give up his Iran (Shatt al Arab waterway) goal for the Whole of Iraq, in the shape we wish it to be. You know that includes Kuwait, which the Iraqis have always viewed as an historic part of their country!
Journalist 1 - American green-lighted the invasion. At a minimum, you admit signaling Saddam that some aggression was okay - that the U.S. would not oppose a grab of the al-Rumeilah oil field, the disputed border strip and the Gulf Islands (including Bubiyan) - the territories claimed by Iraq?

(Ambassador Glaspie says nothing as a limousine door closed behind her and the car drives off.)

To the best of our knowledge, the text on this page may be freely reproduced and distributed. Information last updated on: 02/09/96

2

Women are frequently written out of history (his story).

Cathy

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the phillipine-american war was written out of history

4

I’ll have to google that one, habbywall. Why do you suppose it was written out?

Yes, Cathy. I know that and YOU know that (and everyone who has taken a womens studies class knows that). But the point of this thread is to back it up, and share a SPECIFIC something interesting from history that few people are likely to know, because it’s been written out of history.

Like, though everyone knows the USA had slavery, few know this: In the South, a few (ie., mostly the plantation owners) had many slaves. In the North, many had a slave or two. [New book entitled Complicity].

Billy

5

Hmmm. Easy to say.

How many examples can we list of famous women in history? How many of women who should be taught about but aren’t? (Of course, unless we’ve made a study of them, we wouldn’t know!) Artists, sportswomen and writers included? Probably not, except Jane Austen.

Famous women in history:

Nefertiti - I could tell you nothing except her mildly amusing name and that she was Egyptian.

Helen of Troy.

Calpurnia (Caesar’s wife. Does she count?)

Phillipina (Seneca’s wife. Does she count?)

Boudica/Bodicea - one woman, at least two spellings. A bona fide war leader, and therefore proper manly history. (Irony warning.)

Joan of Arc - French but none the worse for that. A bona fide war leader and therefore proper manly history. (Irony warning.)

Elizabeth I - A major world figure of her time.

Mary Queen of Scots. A bit part actress in history.

Bloody Mary. Brutal queen; fine cocktail waitress.

Jane Seymour. Queen for only 9 days, but still gets a mention.
Lady Jane Grey. Or was it her?

Marie Antoinette - Known primarily for her recommendation of a high cake diet for paupers.

Catharine the Great. Er… just a name to me.

Marie Curie - a real scientist and a martyr to her science.

Jane Austen - inventor of the novel of manners. One of Englands’ top 5 writers ever.

Queen Victoria - Emperess of half the world, whose name is used to define the Victorian age in countries where she never reigned.

Mother Theresa - not nearly so saintly as she was presented. Did good work and bad.

Diana Princess of Wales. Give me a break!

I can think of loads more famous men than that. Of course, for much of history, women have been deprived of the opportunity to be historically important. You could be right, Cathwood.

6

i think that one of the sides had a ton of people killed

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And a horse of a different disposition.

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9

That is a myth, as in not true. Still funny though.

10

An alumni of the Madeleine Albright Scool of Acceptable Collateral Damage Foreign Policy?

11

Are you saying Glaspie was omitted because she’s a woman or did it remind you of a more general problem?

12

What, are you some time of teacher or something?
And anyway, I don’t know do I, they have been written out.

All right, all right.
I wasn’t particularly thinking about anybody heroic. Maybe it’s true to say that the ordinary man has been written out of history too.

What I was thinking about particularly are the histories of the UK in the two World Wars. Those that fought in the wars are particularly remembered but while they were away women mostly ran the country. They took over all the jobs that the men had previously done and kept the country going. They were ‘forced’ into doing this in the same way that men were forced to fight, it was in the country’s interest for them to do this. When the men came back from war they wanted thier jobs back and all of a sudden it was bad for the children for the mother to be going out to work. Women were forced back out of the workplace.

Sorry, not very dramatic, just the story of thousands of women.

Cathy

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Don’t apologise - unless you want to, of course. It’s a fair point you’re making.

In Morris dancing, the traditional village teams were kept alive throughout the war with the aid of women dancers. After the war, many of the men remained insistent that it was an all male tradition.

I think it boils down to most men being frightened of most women.

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Lucretia Borgia.

Grace Darling.

Come on, help me out with this list.

15

Sacagawea.

16

Jeanette Rankin
Rosalyn Franklin

17

Fear sounds like a strong word. If you’ve spent your entire youth constructing your myths about yourself and your gender, you don’t like it when someone starts to change the rules. I’d expect changing gender roles to cause some discomfort in both men and women, but women get new possibilities in exchange. It doesn’t seem like things are changing so fast that we should be entirely unable to cope with it.

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Marge Simpson.

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Okay Mikefule,
Now do the male list.
Cathy

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Enola Gay…er maybe not

Cleopatra

Evita

Golda Meir

Thatcher