Diego Garcia’s sordid tale (Chagos Islands) – Latha Jishnu

Island of Shame is not just a gut-wrenching account of how a tropical paradise of powder-white beaches and palm fronds was turned into a massive launch pad for America’s military expansionist programme. A large chunk of the book is devoted to how the Chagossians came to build their complex but happy society in the islands and the resulting tragedy of their displacement. Above all, Vine is a top flight researcher. He manages to trace the story to Stuart Barber, a US Navy planner behind America’s plan to set up bases in remote islands as part of, what he calls, its Strategic Island Concept.