>>Now that was a silly and uninformed statement. :o) I was stationed in Germany for 3 years, Panama for a couple, ( and a lot of other places I won't mention). Is Germany part of the American empire? Is Panama? Why were American forces in Germany? Do you even know? Every service member stationed there had to know. Why are American service members in South Korea? Why were American service members sent to the Sinai? There are American service member in many places and in most cases it is by invitation of the host government. Why are there American bases in England or British territories?
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>I think Panama is an excellent example to show what Nick is saying, as there would be no Panama if it were not for the US interests for a strategic location.
Quite true. I would be part of Columbia, have no canal and probably very little else. (except perhaps malaria ) Imperialism does have an up-side for the Imperialized. Suez Canal, Panama Canal, India's rail system and government etc. English and American colonies didn't do badly and for the most part didn't have to do a whole lot to throw us out. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Belgian, German, Dutch ... not so much.
( and in many cases - the non-Moguls in India for example - having a big power find it in their interests to play you off against the other side can turn out to your benefit. )
Of course we do it to protect American interests. That is the point. The only question is, does it also benefit the local people. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It is not the work of angels. But smart people know the best - and only sustainable - deals are win-win. Creating zero-sum games leads to instability and ultimately failure.
When I agreed to play the game all they promised me was I wouldn't get bored and I'd be on the side of the angels "more often than not" <s>
Charles Hankey
Though a good deal is too strange to be believed, nothing is too strange to have happened.
- Thomas Hardy
Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm-- but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
-- T. S. Eliot
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.
- Ben Franklin
Pardon him, Theodotus. He is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.