Who's the Evil Empire? You are!
October 16th 2007 10:10
Who you calling Evil?
American writers detail for the first time the nature and extent of the “American Empire”. “Nemesis” is the third work of Chalmers Johnson’s great Trilogy, the so-called centrepiece of the American Empire Project. Now, for the first time Johnson has been joined by luminaries Zbigniew Brzezinski and Dennis Ross, senior Middle East envoy both for the older Bush and Clinton, in pointing out the disastrous direction taken by the American Administration within the world(1).
It must seem remarkable to the inhabitants of the United States of America that the rest of the world has come to see them as something akin to the Death Star that floats menacingly around the virtual set of Star Wars. But that is exactly what has come to pass. Cited below are the findings of a survey carried out on Australian citizens recently. Australia has been without exception America’s foremost ally, involving herself in more wars on the side of the US than that other keen English speaking nation, Great Britain.
The telephone survey of 1,213 Australians by the Australian government-funded U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney on defence, foreign and economic issues revealed a string of negative statistics about views on the United States, including that most people don't like President George W. Bush...... The survey found 64 per cent of respondents oppose Australia's involvement in Iraq, compared with 33 per cent who support it and three per cent who are undecided.(2)
Chalmers Johnson compares America with that other great Empire, that of the Romans. He notes that like the Romans the Americans prefer to exercise their power through friendly regimes and, if regimes are not friendly to American interests, they are deposed.
There are 737 US military bases in foreign countries around the world existing in 132 of the world’s 190 member states of the United Nations. Johnson believes this number is an underestimation and that are, in reality, many more. He believes there are at least 1,000. The 38 largest military establishments around the world match Rome’s 35. There are at least 325,000 US military personnel deployed abroad. They live with their dependents and families in tiny islands of America containing Burger King, satellite television and multiplex cinemas. There are 200 military golf courses around the world and 71 learjets dedicated to flying American Generals and Admirals around the world.
The US base in Baghdad is 104 acre compound, six times the size of the UN and bigger than the Vatican City and it cost $592 million to build. It has its own electricity supply and is defended by a network of ground to air missiles.
America as empire is graphically detailed in John Pilger’s latest movie “War on Democracy.”This movie chillingly details the part that America has played around the world and especially in South America in destroying democratically elected governments and replacing them with genocidal dictatorships from Chile to Greece in the sixty years since the last World War. “War on Democracy” is now available on YouTube in all of its ten parts and makes compelling viewing. Pilger demonstrates that the “Evil Empire” of America through the CIA makes that of the Soviet Union and its instrument the KGB look like a party at Charlie Brown’s.
What do our American contributors make of all this? Orble begs to know.
(1) Freedlan J., Bush’s Amazing Achievement New York Review of Books. June 14th, 2007 pg 16-22.
(2) Really Long Link
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Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Long time no see.
Excellent post.
I can't speak for Americans but the last time this issue was raised on Oble Word Worble 3 broke out.
However how Americans see themselves, their nation and the their foriegn policies seem to be seperate issues.
The line between jingoism and patriotism seems to be non existant in some minds. Yet the ability to see the what is right and wrong exists in other minds.
There certianly a lot of anxiety about the USA from other nations who see much of its foreign policies as ruthlessly serving purely US interests of the day. Yet the consequences can last generations.
Comment by spain01
Juan Carlos
spain again
While your'e about it
Viva l'difference
Fire News Blog
Cities dying of thirst.