Tag: empire

Winners and Losers From a Pharaoh’s Fall

Among the biggest losers of the Egyptian uprising are, first, the Mubaraks, who are finished, and, next, the United States and Israel. Hosni Mubarak will be out by year’s end, if not the end of this month, or week. He will not run again and will not be succeeded by son Gamal, whom he had … Continue reading “Winners and Losers From a Pharaoh’s Fall”

All Bases Covered?

India, a rising power, almost had one (but the Tajiks said no). China, which last year became the world’s second largest economy as well as the planet’s leading energy consumer, and is expanding abroad like mad (largely via trade and the power of the purse), still has none. The Russians have a few (in Central … Continue reading “All Bases Covered?”

Taking Down America

Trying to play down the significance of an ongoing WikiLeaks dump of more than 250,000 State Department documents, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently offered the following bit of Washington wisdom: “The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it’s in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, … Continue reading “Taking Down America”

A ‘Sustainable’ Empire?

If only people were chaining themselves to the White House fence to protest our outrageously extravagant military budget instead of demanding the right to join the armed forces of a country that spends more on “defense” than all other nations of the world combined. Ah well. We live in a highly imperfect world, a Bizarro … Continue reading “A ‘Sustainable’ Empire?”

Off-Base America

Last year, it was Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq. This year, it’s Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Next year, it could easily be Afghanistan, Pakistan, Diego Garcia, Bahrain, and Turkey. Or of course they could choose to play in Japan (with a special stop in Okinawa), South Korea, Colombia, and for a … Continue reading “Off-Base America”

American Warscapes

The other day, at the invitation of economics professor Marty Melkonian, I took a rare jaunt out of my hometown to Hofstra University on Long Island and gave a talk in that college’s lecture series, The International Scene, to a group of lively young students. It was filmed and will soon appear on C-SPAN’s Book … Continue reading “American Warscapes”

A New Season in Military Fashions

President Barack Obama has promised a fundamental review of American policy towards Afghanistan this December. In the meantime, his decision seems compromised by the continuing military and civilian “surge” to Afghanistan  ordered soon after Obama took office in 2008. The Pentagon is constructing bases for the new arrivals on a giant scale with all the … Continue reading “A New Season in Military Fashions”

No Tears Needed Over the Demise of the US Empire

In a recent column, Thomas Friedman, probably the most influential “internationalist” – read: proponent of U.S. interventionism in faraway places – has finally discovered that the United States must soon turn inward and put domestic economic growth first because of its massive public debt, huge federal budget deficit, and looming fiscal crisis caused by a … Continue reading “No Tears Needed Over the Demise of the US Empire”