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"I spent 33 years and 4 months in active service as a member of our country’s most agile military force – the Marine Corps…and during that period, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism… I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect money in. I helped in the raping of a half a dozen Central Amercan republics for the benefit of Wall Street… I helped purify Nicaragua for the the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-12. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American suger interests in 1916. I helped get Honduras “right” for American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I feel I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was operate in three city districts. We Marines operated on three continents."
Gen. Smedley Butler, USMC 2 Time Winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor
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