Michael Parenti -- Spanish American War 1/3

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR AND THE RISE OF US IMPERIALISM! Michael Parenti uses the history of the Spanish American War to answer several very intriguing questions. Who first expressed the desire to annex the island of Cuba - and when? Why was the US government concerned about Spanish repression of the rights of Cubans while the repression of African Americans within the US was ignored? Why did the US attack the Philippines when it was Cuba they supposedly wanted to rescue? Why did the US give verbal support to the Cuban liberation movements against Spain while selling weapons to Spain to fight the popular movement? The Spanish American War was an important turning point in the transition of the US to an imperial power and many of the forces at work are eerily contemporary.