Hmm...Even though I have an undergraduate degree in Physics, the word fissiparous sent me to the dictionary.
More generally though, I disagree with KOLKO’s basic premise that the US has been bent on world hegemony since the late '40s. I'm old enough to remember the late '40s. I can still remember, as a kid, listening to the grownups discussing Stalin, Czechoslovakia, the "Iron Curtain", etc. They had just been through a lot - first the Great Depression, and then WWII. The last thing they wanted to do was to take on another task. They felt like they had no choice. A force was loose, that if unchecked, would consume them. Hence, quite reluctantly, and for defensive reasons only, they shouldered the burden of "Containment".
This is why I view the handiwork of the neo-cons as being so perverted. Seduced by power, they have betrayed the trust of the American people. A lot of treasure and effort went into creating the force that succeeded in winning the Cold War. And our society paid a dear price for that victory. To now take that force, and twist it into an offensive force to establish and hold an empire, is an abomination.
lurqer |
