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NorthernGent -> RE: The current middle eastern crisis is Israels fault... (7/31/2014 3:10:19 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Zonie63
Still, we're talking about the methods by which the US is allegedly seeking control over these parts of the world. As you probably already know, the US started out as an expansionist power seeking to control much of the North American continent, which we gained mostly through force. To me, the moral implications of greed, expansionism, and imposing our will on other nations are basically the same, whether done through war, subterfuge, or diplomatic intrigue.
The primary difference is whether we want to control a territory directly under our own laws and enforcement mechanisms - or through non-American proxies and mercenaries to whom we would have to give up part of our control to. It's a risk, and we've seen numerous times where the policy has failed to maintain US control. To the best of my knowledge, the US has never lost any of its own territory to war, insurrection, or revolution. But we have lost territories where we attempted to control by proxy, such as in Iran, Cuba, and South Vietnam. So, in terms of the US taking one path or the other, the covert rule-by-proxy approach has demonstrated a higher rate of failure. Hell, we've had to invade Iraq twice in the past quarter century due to wanting to keep up appearances and make the world think that we respect Iraqi sovereignty and independence. Yet, we still don't have them under any positive control and we might have to invade again.
So, either the US government doesn't actually want control over the region, or our policies have been engineered by complete twits who have led us to a failed foreign policy and a crumbling economy here at home.
The other countries of the world have more than just the two options you outlined above. There are other major powers in this world which, if they chose to, could seriously give the US a run for its money in terms of world domination. The US is not the only game in town. And, because we've wasted so much of our resources and capital on failed policies, we're now in an overall weaker position in terms of our reputation and ability to influence the world than we were at the end of WW2. Looking at the results of how it's affected America, the policy you're referring to has already shown itself to be a failure.
And there's still no end in sight.
Back in England now from Scandinavia. I knew the place was expensive but who would have thought question marks and apostrophes are scarce resources over there? Will be able to string a sentence together from here on in.
I think we'd probably have to define what exactly we're talking about when we say 'control'; I've a feeling we're not quite talking about the same thing.
Ultimately, we're still in the age of Imperialism; there are different players in the game but same political manoeuvring, empire building, alliances/pacts. But, the means to the end will differ from nation to nation. The British Empire controlled nations through very few armed forces, but rather through ideas and trade; and the United States does something very similar. Other nations, for example Germany in years gone by, and Russia today, have a tendency towards brute force. If I were you I wouldn't underestimate the power of the United States to influence the world through its culture because while many people from foreign lands will say they don't like Americans, those same people are wearing American clothes and listening to American music and have quite happily been surrounded by one big massive Starbucks.
The United States' foreign policies have only failed if you are an 'isolationist', which I suppose in laymen's terms means you value the sovereignty of other nations. Otherwise, they've done pretty well considering the other competitor has had their borders pushed back right the way to the Ukraine, which is some achievement when you consider the state of Europe in 1945.
I would reply to the rest of your post but the words I can see go right the way across the screen so that I'm scrolling backwards and forwards trying to work out what's been posted and it's taken me half an hour just to get this far. So, apologies for that.
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