Balkans vs. Iraq

[oscarmitre]

DC speaking for myself I would never deny that the US has done great things for the world. To deny that is to deny the evidence of history.

But the US has done some bad things too. In this the US is no better and no worse than any other country. The whole of human history is littered with examples.

It's just that there has never been in the hstory of the world, a country with such influence. You don't have an Empire, despite your internal critics who like to label the PNAC as Imperialists. Your country doesn't need to have an Empire. Empires exist to ensure favourable trade conditions. US corporations dominate the world's economy, hence no need for an Empire. This is not a value statement - it is an observation.

But I was listening to a radio programm about Afghanistan this morning. It was about how the fundamentalists are imposing a repressive regime that has much the same characteristics as the Taliban and is reversing some of the freedoms that flowed after the downfall of the Taliban. I have to say that it is a regional thing and is not in Kabul or anywhere the US still has influence. But the US can't stay in Afghanistan for ever. When the US has gone it will revert. Same thing happened with the British under Queen Victoria and of course the USSR.


Trust me you don't need an Empire, the damn things are unmanageable. Just ask the Romans.