Thread by @DanielDumbrill

Albert Ettinger's Battleground TIBET.

Highlights and notes thread.

I'll slowly add to this over the next few weeks, so keep checking back.

Ettinger was driven to research This topic after recognizing his school lessons on Tibet were taught from a one-sided & manipulative Tibetan Exile point of view. Seeing the "Free Tibet" crowd protest China's human rights abuses by assaulting 2008 Olympic torch bearers added irony

This part was particularly interesting because when you see people tweet parts of Tibetan history that conflicts with their understanding of reality/lifetime of manipulation, this is exactly the reaction we've seen.

The Dalai Lama has been so romanticized that actual historians not only require no actual evidence to support his claims, but the even having parts of his story rely on folks descending from the heavens and returning after death becomes unchallenged supporting evidence.

Credit to the profession where credit is due, there are other historians who did try to delicately point out factual issues in a way where they wouldn't experience a backlash of emotion, but most EU delegates failed to recognize they were simply sitting through "story time".

Other than the geopolitical interests coming from the countries pushing the Dalai Lama's version of history, this is an important point to keep in mind when it comes to the democraphics of Tibet watchers. A very small % of their papers dealt with actual Tibetan politics/economics

Some of the earliest influences of Buddhism entered Tibetan from China, not from India. Buddhism was of course later misused as a tool of oppression in what became a highly fudealistic society.

A report from the first British traveller in Tibet to the British Governor General of Bengal on Tibet as a semi-autonamous region of China in the 1700s.

There is a certain irony when activists try to marginalize parts of China's history that involves anyone of power other than the Han Chinese. Tibet being a part of China in the 1200 is obviously something of great importance to marginalize one way or another.

The golden urn process to determine Lama incarnations was introduced in 1792 to avoid manipulation by aristocrats. Exceptions have been made with prior central gov't approval, but it's obvious why the current Panchen Lama followed the golden urn and not a CIA funded selection.

It's important to note, the identity of the original Panchen Lama is being protected, but Tibetan activists like to say that he's kidnapped & even possibly killed. The last Washington DC talk was in August and they never mention what the Dalai Lama said:

The 14th Dalai Lama was not selected via the Golden Urn progress, however prior approval was saught from the Chinese central government, who not only approved it, but also supplied 400k in funds for the enthronment process/inauguration.

Presumptuousness, brazenness & ridiculousness are pretty good ways to describe a lot of America's foreign policy hot takes.

"We really must remember: neither the League of Nations, nor the UN, nor individual countries such as the USA, Great Britain or India ever officially aknowledged Tibet as an independent state."

People like to empathise with the underdog, China certainly isn't one anymore, but it's hard not to be impressed by where they are today when you really consider what they had to recover from.

I also read about this in a museum in Lhasa. One of the most brutal incidents was when the British army, knowing they'd have difficulties fighting at high altitudes, called for a "friendly" meeting with Tibetan soldiers, only to ambush and massacre them to avoid issues later on.

Much like the 14th Dalai Lama, the 13th also fled to India at one point, but instead of being a tool for the Americans, the 13th was a tool for the British. It appears to be a tradition of sorts.

An important look into how people holding the Dalai Lama title ruled Tibet when they had the opportunity. There were of course warlords all over China throughout history, but this might be a surprise for folks who have a romantic idea of what being a Dalai Lama means.

Tibetan liberation, Dalai Lama style.

Some of the famous cruel and unusual punishment we hear about in pre-50's Tibet which has been confirmed by even Dali Lama friendly publications.

An excerpt on what the father of the 14th Dalai Lama was like.

A bit of more information about the 14th Dalai Lama, born in the Qinghai region of China, and his "humble" beginnings.

After the "living Buddha" Geda, who was sent on a peaceful negotiation mission by the central government was captured and murdered in Chamdo, the PLA entered with strict rules and systems in place with the protection of the local populations in mind.

Before the PLA actually entered, despite the existence of local support for the CPC, the powers at be began to align and build themselves up with foreign imperial powers.

Jumping forward, the book talks about the 17 point agreement between the Dalai Lama and the central government. For this I'll revert to an old tweet where I posted the actual full agreement.

The CPC used an interesting strategy in Tibet that would have had long term negative consequences for the local elites - allow ordinary people to see and compare the difference in leadership/governance styles for themselves.

Even the Dalai Lama's own associates corroborate that this building/developing/improving approach is in fact the approach that the CPC took.

I got a chance to visit a public school in Tibet and was particularly interested in seeing the Tibetan cultural classes (Dance, music, calligraphy, etc), so it's interesting to read about the beginnings of these programs.

A poem written by the 14th Dalai Lama for Chairman Mao.

An interesting thought, comparing the same mechanisms at play with the KKK in regards to the underlying reasons for some of the violence. The loss of slaves and liberation of society at the expense of its privledged class.

The DL CIA relationship started to ramp up in 1951, but a lot of what happened relied on deceit & manipulation by the people surrounding him. In recent years the DL said Tibet should remain a part of China and what he's asking for looks a lot like the original 17-point agreement.

"incredibly brazen misuse of the expression 'genocide' is a first-class political obscenity"

It's a first-class political obscenity that remains a favorite of Anti-China American propaganda shills even today.

Even after the Dalai Lama's close contact with anti-Chinese conspirators, the CPC still made efforts to work together with the Dalai Lama, address his concerns, and self-reflect/improve the CPC itself.

The Khampa fighters were an important tool for the CIA to create death destruction and social unrest in China. The benefits from funding those fighters remains a powerful tool even today, as the photos of the PLA fighting back can be used without context for propaganda purposes.

In 1957 CIA trained terrorists and weapons were air dropped into Tibet with a goal to begin mass killings.

One of the factors that lead to the CIA's failure in Tibet is that the US and their "freedom fighters" did not actually have widespread support from the local Tibetan population.

Originally trained to fight in Tibet, some of these Tibetan fighters eventually ended up being used as a tool elsewhere, in a fight against Pakistan, with the blessings of the apostle of peace no less, the 14th Dalai Lama himself.