The case against an empire

May 04, 2003

Nick Denton has an excellent article on American imperialism from a conservative perspective.

Excerpts:

"The US, by assuming the role of global guarantor, runs an analogous risk. By guaranteeing the security of Israel, it ensures that no Israeli government will make a territorial settlement with the Palestinians. By guaranteeing the global order, unilaterally, the US encourages the caprice of a country such as France. By supporting the Mubarak regime in Egypt, the US removes the pressure for democratization. With an external power guaranteeing stability, the people of Egypt and other puppet states can never take ownership of their own predicament. As bankers sometimes say, the road to hell is paved with guarantees."

"So, a therapeutic suggestion. Now is the perfect time for the United States to withdraw from the Korean peninsula. The prospect of an American imperium is on people's minds. Having demonstrated its power in Iraq, the US can abdicate without revealing weakness.

To be sure, North Korea is probably the most qualified member of the axis of evil. Kim Jong-il's tyranny is industrial rather than feudal; it is an obscenity of design rather than accident. But he has neighbours -- Russia, China, Japan and South Korea -- with both an interest in containing Kim, and the force to do it. Let someone else worry for a change. It will do them good"

Above, picture taken outside a church in Martinez California while waiting for relatives to come out from a first communion ceremony