The U.S. has arrived at the end of the road we have travelled since 1945 and
we must take a new direction to survive. For some 65 years we have successfully played the role of world hegemon and chief of police for a tumultuous
world, and played it well most times. But in recent years, with the Iraq and
Afghanistan invasions, areas of which we had little knowledge, we went beyond
our capabilities and are mired in quicksand. In the process we destroyed our
economy and our international stature. The rest of the free world is content to
let us play the role of leader of the gang and bearer of the largest burdens but
as the Libya operation shows, they retain control of their own forces
Being the world leader is heady stuff and made us feel it will be thus forever.
But empires are not permanent and ours is coming to its end. This is not
a development to be lamented. It is time for us to devote our efforts to getting our economic house in order. Our military will for some time remain the
world's most powerful, capable of inflicting immense damage on an enormous scale, but that also will change as we reduce our military funding.
Now we must revert to the traditional "can do" spirit which made us world
leader and apply ourselves to the difficult tasks of living within our means and
paying our debts.
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3 comments:
I fear your prediction will play itself out very soon, now.
The political benefit of officially handing off control of our actions to NATO was lost when the Pentagon decided to escalate the matter by sending more advanced weaponry.
These multi-million dollar munitions will not be purchased by another nation; we own them and are still paying for them. Those weapons also will not be available to support our troops already struggling in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Those weapons also will not be available when we go into Syria, Jordan and Yemen, almost certainly our next missions.
The first rule of war is to know the enemy but our history has consistently demonstrated we have never understood or wanted to learn about tribal cultures. We don't like the idea that feudalism still exists in many places and will long after we turn to dust.
We cannot assume the role of "Chicken Little" but school yard lessons should not be forgotten, either; if you have a "glass jaw" don't stick your face in the bully's.
I am not as pessimistic to say “ The U.S. has arrived at the end of the road” but I quite agree when you write: “ Being the world leader is heady stuff…. empires are not permanent”.
We are a great empire and wont be replaced that soon and easily . So we still can say “Damn the NATO and the UNO, full speed ahead!”
Jacquesmaxx
Sorry Max, but we are not an empire even though our actions send the distinct message that we wish to be empirical.
If you and I lived anywhere else we would be convinced U.S. actions are intended for only selfish purposes but how can long can out-of-work U.S. tax payers support such empty ambitions?
The U.S. can no longer afford to assume the role of "sugar daddy" or policeman of the world.
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