Truth or Justice, the American Way

The primary reason the world isn't predominantly Fascist or Communist is due to fact America, representative democracy, is the most powerful country in the world. It destroyed its enemies in unconditional war and then re-built them as democratic governments.

Hitler might have been overthrown by his military as was Mussolini if not for the unconditional surrender doctrine. Roosevelt impulsively arrived at the doctrine at the Casablanca Conference in 1942. As in World War I war was being waged against an ideology, not at nation.

The American Democracy was able to summon resources of the society unlike monarchies and once summoned they won't countenance half messages. The First World War wasn't to preserve the British Empire's standing in the world, it was told, but to make the world safe for democracy which it did the former but not the latter. Just the opposite.

In six weeks French Republic fell like a house of cards, barely fighting for itself in the face of the Panzers' Blitzkrieg. Hilter viewed the vitality of democracies in this light and the light of the weak Weimar Republic so unsure of itself. And so he viewed the USA with its 20th largest army in the world at the time. Much to his chagrin the American Republic still confident and self assured mustered a vast military machine unlike any in history.

Now America views itself as a hotbed of racism and bigotry and land grabbing/theft from the native peoples, after Vietnam it began to question itself like a drunk after a binge. Democracies are incapable of running an empire. And left wing attestations or rather illusions that America is running one are wrong headed and silly.

To project our foreign policy we think to subdue a country and transform it into a mirror of America. Iran with the Shah, pro American and Western, we shrank from support deeming it oppressive and non democratic. The alternative is Radical fundamentalist revolution just as authoritarian and instead of pro-American virulently opposed to the Great Satan America, and we are left with an enemy not a friend. The idea seems to view each diplomatic situation with a mind to the transformation of Japan and Germany into democracies, after World War II.

And Iraq, highly authoritarian and repressive, nonetheless the most modern state in that part of the region, where Christians were free from attack and women were granted rights not given under Islamic Sharia, we destroy militarily and now we are left to clean up at the tune of $900 billion.

In our wisdom to build a Democracy in Iraq the ancient Christian community has been lost after 2,000 years of being present in Iraq. According to the Economist magazine, not that I hang on each word it says, unemployment is higher than 40%, some 30,000 have lost their lives in internecine violence (primarily Shia vs Sunni) since the invasion. Iraq is a mess it sounds like. A government hasn't been formed since the inconclusive election of May 2010. This is the result of our efforts of nearly ten years of nation building. Yes, we seem to have an ally but at what cost.

If Sadam Hussein was the problem, why didn't we just promote his overthrow. Well, Jimmy Carter, President 1977-81, another "imperialist", decided not to support the western leaning, Shah of Iran and so America was left to support Sadam, later, since he was the only counter weight to the Iranians, implacably opposed to the Great Satan, America.

Maybe America could dial back the far reaching diplomacy, hide behind its nuclear weapons and extensive navy and sit back and let someone else run the world.... probably not,but what a dream.