John, the prime model is Britain in the 18th and 19th century.

>>Hi Walter,
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>>Actually, the US Navy was first on the scene for a lot of the tsunami victims and the federal government came in shortly thereafter. I dunno if you remember, but former Presidents Bush and Clinton joined up and spearheaded a monster relief effort. Furthermore, the USGS spent millions upgrading warning systems and helping Pacific Rim nations improve their reponsiveness.
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>>Imperialism? Uh, hello, what? This must be a definition of imperialism new to me. Do you want to compare America's role in the development of the Phillipines with ... sayyy ... the Dutch East Indies, oh, I'm sorry, Indonesia. Or Dutch Guiana ... whoops again ... Suriname.
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>>I'll grant you Katrina. That was a mess at all levels of government. The Dutch (and others) helped out because they are our allies and offered.
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>Yep, we have a weird sense of Imperialism. Defeat a country, then rebuild them and let them have elections to run their own country. Of course, there is the Russian model, where they roll in with tanks, kill people, rape the women, then force the people into servitude.