Replies

It is a self-serving urban legend that authentic reforms must be home grown and not imposed by an outside power. It has no basis in history. In fact, there is much reason to question the wisdom of self-determination we have followed since WWI. There may not be enough political talent in the world to have 250 countries. India and Israel are about the only ones which have been able to implement self-government. Most have declined into brutal dictatorships and there are about 30 wars going on at any given time.

On the other hand, Germany, Japan, and South Korea have developed strong governments and economies under our tutelage. The history of the world shows much progress under empires. In fact, the only long period of peace was the Pax Romana. If the truth were told, we would stop wringing our hands about why AlQaeda hates us. We would realize that Washington is teaming with delegations from all over the world that are begging us to come in and remake their countries in our image. That is what the West Africans and the North Koreans wanted. Why not? We have shown that we can turn heaps of rubble into world leaders and then we leave.