Postby Steeler [Crawler2] » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:56 am
"America was practicing Hegemonic invasion before any nonsense like terorism showed up! What was Vietnam all about?"
Vietnam was about the containment of communism. During that era, there were two competing ideologies, both vying for global domination.
However, I think what you object to is the American empire, dubbed by pundits as Pax Americana. This empire is not a traditional one, and it has both benefits and costs to those who are members. It is also an empire which will use military force to defend it's interests - economic or political. This is what the Islamists hate (they really want to replace it, as the communists did before). The poorer countries of the world also tend to view this empire as avracious (your view) and resent its power and willingness to use its power. As a result, they seek to curb Pax Americanas influence across the globe. What people like you have failed to figure out is what are the red button issues and how do you avoid pushing them. You would rather flip PAx Americana off - which NEVER works and always causes the group doing it to eventually get squashed. The way you work with this particular empire is to use what I like to call the "Asian Technique". You co-opt it.