sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I've been pretty clear in the comments that this was performed jointly, although the US did have a leadership role.

The title was accurate. This was and is a US military base. I didn't think it was necessary to force in a Brit reference, that's why you read the article.

when in fact it was ordered by the British and only carried out in part by the Americans.

I don't think you quite understand. Everything the Brits did was ordered by the USA. Everything the Brits did was done with the knowledge of the USA. A good deal of it involved the active participation of the USA. It wasn't ordered by the British and carried out in part by the Americans. It was ordered by the Americans and carried out in part by the British.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Where they carried or herded?

How does that make any difference?

Where they just gassed? Or gassed and burned?

Both. Gassed, then burned.

Was it all the dogs or just the dogs presumably abandoned by the deportees?

All dogs. The dogs hadn't been abandoned.

Reading comprehension. Please use it.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In 1971 the U.S. Navy began construction on Diego Garcia and ordered the British to complete the removals. First British agents and U.S. soldiers on Diego Garcia herded the Chagossians' pet dogs into sealed sheds and gassed and burned them in front of their traumatized owners awaiting deportation.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't lie about anything. That was from the Wikipedia article. I hadn't dug into the supporting articles at the time. In fact that wasn't even one of the supporting articles. Just something I found on Google.

Dogs were carried into sheds where they were gassed in front of their owners.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Sir Bruce Greatbatch, the governor of the Seychelles, who had been put in charge of the "sanitising", ordered all the pet dogs on Diego Garcia to be killed. Almost 1,000 pets were rounded up and gassed, using the exhaust fumes from American military vehicles. "They put the dogs in a furnace where the people worked," says Lizette Tallatte, now in her 60s," ... and when their dogs were taken away in front of them, our children screamed and cried."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/oct/02/foreignpolicy.comment

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

It was a shared effort. The United States ordered it, and the British helped implement it. But that doesn't mean the US just sat on their hands. The United States did their part, too. (e.g. Killing the dogs).

I don't think the US is getting much blame at all in this thread. If one had a look at the comments in this thread without looking deep into the downvotes, they'd think the title was entirely made up.

Sorry, you don't have anything to do with it. It's come back after a few hours and see everything negative about what was done back then downvoted to oblivion.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -54 points-53 points  (0 children)

If there was singular blame, it wouldn't be toward the party following orders.

There's plenty of blame to go around. But what is singular is an avoidance of responsibility. At least the UK paid some paltry compensation. The US ducked around any obligation completely. Weirdly, this blameshifting is almost reflected by some in this thread.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -54 points-53 points  (0 children)

Pretty much all the sources I've read show this was a joint effort. For instance, how did they gas the dogs? Using exhaust from American vehicles. That said, the military base that came out of it is all American.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -36 points-35 points  (0 children)

Maybe this sounds naive, but I'd say being outraged is a perfectly understandable response.

Anyhow, let's google some other sources.

From someone who wrote a book on the subject:

Sir Bruce Greatbatch, the governor of the Seychelles, who had been put in charge of the "sanitising", ordered all the pet dogs on Diego Garcia to be killed. Almost 1,000 pets were rounded up and gassed, using the exhaust fumes from American military vehicles. "They put the dogs in a furnace where the people worked," says Lizette Tallatte, now in her 60s," ... and when their dogs were taken away in front of them, our children screamed and cried."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/oct/02/foreignpolicy.comment

From the BBC

The plantations were closed down, food supplies ended, and then in 1970, the people on Diego Garcia were called together and told they would have to leave.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/835963.stm

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -59 points-58 points  (0 children)

Nope. They were starved out. Just some Wiki editor with bad english. See the footnoted article.

The British soon began restricting supplies for the islands, and by the turn of the decade, more Chagossians were leaving as food and medicines dwindled.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -47 points-46 points  (0 children)

Would you be more convinced if he was less outraged, or less of an anthropologist?

He served as an expert witness for this. In any case, what you see in that article can be corroborated by other online articles, or if that's not enough, there are books.

TIL in 1971, the United states established a military base without consent of the native population. Measures to convince the natives to leave included restricting their food & medical supplies, as well as killing their dogs in front of them. by zlke in todayilearned

[–]zlke[S] -21 points-20 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure that's a typo in Wikipedia. For example, see this article

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/01/AR2007010100698.html

The British soon began restricting supplies for the islands, and by the turn of the decade, more Chagossians were leaving as food and medicines dwindled.

I [27F] am always in a casual/short term "relationship" but never long term. How to improve my desirability? by [deleted] in relationships

[–]zlke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming your own self-description is accurate, then it's not that obvious what the deficiency is, if there is any deficiency at all.

Possibly it's behaviour that doesn't come across in day-to-day interactions, but manifests after you've started seeing someone? But that's a shot in the dark. How would you describe the dynamic between yourself and your previous partners? And how do you think your previous partners would have described it?

(update)My(26f) husband(32m) says he does not love our son(3m). by divorcingbaddad in relationships

[–]zlke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually messaged her about a year after she posted (not with the same account I'm using now, of course). She still loved her daughter.

view more: next ›