Posted on 09/07/2002 8:28:52 PM PDT by What Is Ain't
>>>>>>The Saudi monarchy might hate such an emergence of democratic and representative government in its wretchedly ill-ruled region, but Washington understandably cares less and less for the concerns of a dubious ally whose nationals formed the bulk of the Sept. 11 terrorists.>>>>>>>
"The Saudis are fools and naive,you will find controlling them will not be difficult......Wipe them out,all of them.."
The United States, with the temporary exceptions of the occupation forces in Japan and Germany after World War II, has not ruled others and shows little intention of doing so.Apparently this guy has never heard of the Philippines, which we occupied from 1898 to 1946.
The other few US conquests and acquisitions -- Guam, Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico -- have all become either states or territories with US citizenship. Cuba was turned over to self-rule and independence very quickly after Spain was defeated.
Yeah, I caught that one too. Or Panama, for that matter. But what is significant about those, and for that matter about the occupation of Japan, a decidedly proto-imperial stance, is that we voluntarily returned all three to native governments, and what is even more astonishing, left even our strategic bases in the Philippines when asked. That simply is incompatible with the "imperialism" cliche we've become accustomed to.
Continental Europe has always found it easier to sit back and criticize than to step to the front. The risk of that policy is irrelevancy. It's surprising it's taken so long for that to happen, but I agree with the author, it is happening.
Good point. Compare the differnce between the American Philippines and the Belgian Congo and you'll see the difference between European and American 'imperialism.'
What they wouldn't mention is the difference between the US as a colonial power and say, France.
We have an interest in the fate of Britain, IMO.
They have the only military force of significance east of Maine. The EU is, so far, a farcical talk shop with no ability to carry out their silly, pompous threats to obstruct our freedom of action. There is no prospect (yet) that Germany, France, and Italy could or would create a military force to oppose us.
Britain is a different matter. If Britain falls to the EU, we will at best lose their fighting forces as allies-at worst, they will become enemies.
I hope so. Or they will crush him like a grape with false accusations and innuendo.
The United States, with the temporary exceptions of the occupation forces in Japan and Germany after World War II, has not ruled others and shows little intention of doing so.
Then again, maybe it's time to re-colonize the entire Arab world. Should take about 3 weeks.
5.56mm
But then the schools whould have to teach geography, and we can't have that. < /sarcasm>
Martin Walker UPI Chief International Correspondent
Martin Walker is a veteran foreign correspondent with a reputation for getting tomorrow's important international news today, which he regularly does in compiling the daily (M-F) feature "UPI Hears."
Walker, an expert on U.S. foreign policy and international affairs, spent 25 years at Britain's The Guardian newspaper, where he was Moscow bureau chief, U.S. bureau chief, European editor and assistant editor. He received Britain's "Reporter of the Year" prize in 1987.
He also is a public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington and is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute at the New School in New York City.
Walker has appeared regularly on the BBC, National Public Radio and CNN. He scripted and narrated the BBC series "Martin Walker's Russia" and the BBC Analysis special "Clintonomics."
In addition, Walker has served as vice chairman of the European Institute of Washington. He is a member of the review board of International Affairs, the journal of Chatham House and the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. He has been a guest lecturer at Columbia University, UCLA, and the universities of Toronto, New York and Pittsburgh.
Walker was a Brackenbury Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, and a Harkness fellow at Harvard University, where he also was resident tutor at Kirkland House.
He has published seven non-fiction books and three
Oh, please, please, PLEASE, let this be true!!!!
About bloody time, too!
"they forget that we do not think their track record is too good," a senior U.S. diplomat said recently in private. "The Europeans told us they could win the Balkans wars all on their own. Wrong. They told us that the Russians would never accept National Missile Defense. Wrong. They said the Russians would never swallow NATO enlargement. Wrong. They told us 20 years ago that détente was the way to deal with what we foolishly called the Evil Empire. Wrong again. They complain about our Farm Bill when they are the world's biggest subsidizers of their agriculture. The Europeans are not just wrong; they are also hypocrites. They are wrong on Kyoto, wrong on Arafat, wrong on Iraq -- so why should we take seriously a single word they say?"
HARRUMPH! Who is this diplomat, and why isn't he the senior Senator from South Dakota??!!
Try to imagine any of this true American spirit coming to the surface if 538 more FL Democrat votes had been manufactured.
Martin Walker is now on my list of favorite writers.
Let's be careful what we wish for here. I'm not against Germany remaining toothless, militarily. Japan as well.
Moreover, the Land Ordinance and Northwest Ordinance written (essentially) by Jefferson were brilliant in that they made CITIZENS out of all "colonists," forever pre-empting the type of revolution against the U.S. that we staged against England. The Civil War came not from "colonists" but from citizens afraid of losing their ownership of people.
That's what 100 Western Civ and Technology & War students at the University of Dayton, in my classes, learn EVERY SEMESTER. I figure in four years I get close to 1000 student contacts.
LOL.
Not nearly as shaky as some people's grasp of the concept of "empire".
Yes, you are correct.
Protectorate, in international law, a relationship in which one state surrenders part of its sovereignty to another. The subordinate state is called a protectorate. The term covers a great variety of relations, but typically the protected state gives up all or part of its control over foreign affairs while retaining a large measure of independence in internal matters. The relation may originate when the dominant power threatens or uses force or when the subordinate sees advantages (usually military protection) in the arrangement.A protectorate is distinguishable from the relation of home country and colony, for the protected state retains its sovereignty (though often only nominally), its territory remains distinct from that of the protector, and its citizens do not become nationals of the protecting state. Initially, in most cases, the extent to which the dominant state may interfere in local affairs is governed by treaty; but since a protected state usually has no access to diplomatic channels, it is in a poor position to resist attempts at increased control.
Protectorates in connection with large empires probably have existed from earliest times, and there are known instances in Greek and Roman history. In World War I, Great Britain made Egypt a protectorate. Before the abrogation (1934) of the Platt Amendment, Cuba was essentially a protectorate of the United States.
InfoPlease
Semantics, perhaps but those that hate to see American troops in a country always deem them Colonial patsies there to enforce american rule, instead of defenders.
But we were there to enfore American rule.
Initially, American forces were greeted as liberators by Filipinos glad to be rid of Spanish occupation. Soon however, it became clear that many in the US did not see the Filipinos as being fit for self-rule. The comments of Indiana Senator Albert Beveridge reflected an opinion held by some in the US who believed that God "has made us the master organizers of the world...that we may administer...among savages and senile peoples."Despite the vocal objections of those who deplored such imperialistic notions as running counter to the tenets of American democracy, President McKinley ended up siding with those who felt the Philippines were too strategically important to the US to be governed by the Filipino people. McKinley declared his intention to "educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them," and mobilized 20,000 US troops to get the job done.
What was predicted to be a quick and relatively bloodless pacification of a backward people quickly escalated into a prolonged war. Filipinos, led by Emiliano Aguinaldo, having declared themselves a sovereign republic in 1898, employed the tactics of guerrilla warfare that confounded the American forces. The US was finally able to defeat the Filipino forces in 1902. But it had required the efforts of 70,000 troops, over 5,000 of whom were killed. More than 8,000 Filipinos died in the conflict.
The American Experience
Here is the 'broad' definition from InfoPlease.
Imperialism, broadly, the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over another.
Thanks for doing that. We need more professors like you.
Also true, though Cuba did not gain real independence until 1934, with the abrogation of the Platt Amendment. Until that time, it was clearly a protectorate.
The road to Cuban self-determination was prepared under United States guidance. In 1900 a new electoral law was passed that established a limited franchise for Cubans to elect officials at the municipal level. A constituent assembly convened and drafted a constitution that provided for universal suffrage, a directly elected president, a bicameral legislature, and the separation of church and state. The United States conditioned its approval of the constitution on the acceptance of a series of clauses that would preserve its upper hand in future dealings with "independent" Cuba.These clauses, which were to be appended to the draft of the constitution, were prepared by United States secretary of war Elihu Root and attached to the arms appropriation bill of 1901; they became known as the Platt Amendment. It provided that Cuba should not sign any treaties that could impair its sovereignty or contract any debts that could not be repaid by normal revenues. In addition, Cuba had to accept the legitimacy of all acts of the military government, permit the United States to purchase or lease lands for coaling and naval stations, and give the United states special privileges to intervene at any time to preserve Cuban independence or to support a government capable of protecting life, property, and individual liberties.
The Platt Amendment represented a permanent restriction upon Cuban self-determination. Cuba's constituent assembly modified the terms of the amendment and presented it to the United States only to be turned down. The United States-imposed amendment was a tremendous humiliation to all Cubans, whose political life would be plagued by continual debates over the issue until its repeal in 1934. On June 12, 1901, Cuba ratified the amendment as a permanent addendum to the Cuban constitution of 1901 and the only alternative to permanent military occupation by the United States.
History of Cuba
I should hasten to add that although the US fought long and hard to subdue the Philippines, it also fought longer and harder to defend and later liberate the nation from Japanese domination forty years later.
Though as Americans we certainly cherish the principle of democratic home rule, America's protectorate of the Philippines could not have been more benign.
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