Reply #10: Yeah, right. Send more troops to the far-flung outposts of empire... [View All]

[laststeamtrain]

that's 'progressive' (whatever that means anymore).

You're living in a dream world.

If nothing else, consider the premise of Chalmers Johnson's recent trilogy:

"Johnson believes the enforcement of American hegemony over the world constitutes a new form of global empire. Whereas traditional empires maintained control over subject peoples via colonies, since World War II the US has developed a vast system of hundreds of military bases around the world where it has strategic interests. A long-time Cold Warrior, Johnson experienced a political awakening after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, noting that instead of demobilizing its armed forces, the US accelerated its reliance on military solutions to problems both economic and political. The result of this militarism (as distinct from actual domestic defense) is more terrorism against the US and its allies, the loss of core democratic values at home, and an eventual disaster for the American economy."

The books of the trilogy are:

* Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire
* The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic
* Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.
*
Republic or empire:
A National Intelligence Estimate on the United States

By Chalmers A. Johnson
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/01/0081346
*

And quit telling me what I think. I know what I think.

If you enjoy mental masturbation where you take both sides of an argument & you always win, fine. It's a DU tradition.
I don't accept the shame you keep trying to cast upon me. I'm real sorry I'm not good on your 'pet' issues.

My issue is a big one: End The Empire before it ends us.