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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: philv who wrote (18099)	4/26/2003 4:08:09 PM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 80994

Phil, I think we have been some way down this road before. Message 18858140 And my response Message 18858607 > The US is good, most of the rest of the world is evil. From this righteous perspective, the manifest US destiny to finally "clean up" the world is cheered by all Just like in the movies. Those days it was "Cowboys and Indians" now it's "Cowboys and Muslims". Sometime in the future it will be "Cowboys and Chinese" and then "Cowboys and Frenchies" and so on. What a mind-set to believe one has to keep making war and dominate others so as to fulfill one's God-given destiny. (Or was it Hollywood's?) > the US has no appetite for nay sayers after a string of victories all over the world Like Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea. As I see it, the hang-up with the US is that, despite all its power, nuclear weapons, massive military expenditure etc there are no military victories to speak of. Only in the movies. > It started with the breakup and fall of the USSR, leaving the US as the world's only super power. That's true but now the US is unhappy there's no-one around to scrap with so it's challenging anyone to take it on. Why? There's nothing the US military-industrial complex likes more than an arms race. Why? Simple. The US is the biggest arms seller in the world. > The US is in no mood to pretend to share power, either with the Europeans or the United Nations. The US can and does please itself. The UN, like the League of Nations before it, was largely the brainchild of the US. So, if the US now wants to break it up, then so be it. I imagine the UN will be replaced by the Coalition of the Willing --- also known by the acronym "COW" --- which is, after all, the whole reason for it --- it is to provide for its maker as a cow does for the bull. > It looks like US diplomacy will become even more strident in the future. The US has certainly not been particularly amenable in the recent past, either. There are many examples of recent US intransigence but Kyoto and the International Court come to mind immediately. > It seems to be evolving into an empire greater than any other before, an empire able to dominate the world. The question of the "American Empire" has been addressed by people far cleverer than I am and it would appear, from the study of past empires eg Roman, Spanish, British, that the US would be far better off not going that route. But, of course, GWB hasn't read a history book so he wouldn't know. And the only history his advisors know about is the history of Israel --- which didn't exist for 4000 years. > That is why the French, not known for their bowing and scrapping, are so utterly out of touch and "arrogant" And, it is not only the US undisputed military superiority, but also her economic power they fear. Doesn't seem Chirac is too concerned about US power. As I see it, he's still giving the US the "finger". He definitely needs to be taught respect. arabicnews.com In the circumstances, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a "regime change" in France very soon. In fact, I believe an army comprised of French expats from Louisiana is being trained at this very moment to take over the government of France under the banner of the recently-created French National Congress. > It seems to be evolving into an empire greater than any other before, an empire able to dominate the world. That's probably the dream. And why not, as long as it makes them happy..............And then they can snort some more crack! >Are there events that could occur to set back this trend, or to cause the defeat/downfall of the US? I can think of some I can't believe there are any. To me, the US is at the pinnacle of power --- the absolute zenith --- and, just like its stockmarket, will become even stronger and go from strength to strength. > in the meantime, watching this giant stomping around the world, feeding and growing ever larger will be an awesome sight Yes, indeed. I believe the phenomenon was first described by Charles Darwin and is known as the "survival of the fattest"!

To: philv who wrote (18099)	4/28/2003 8:42:06 AM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 80994

Phil > France or Germany. Russia and China (the only nations who could offer resistance to US policy) are strangely mute Still waters run deep. timesonline.co.uk >>>Paris and Berlin prepare alliance to rival Nato At a meeting in Brussels with the Prime Ministers of Belgium and Luxembourg, President Chirac and Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, want to clear the way for a common European defence system that would start with a core of volunteer states. Although the Germans have qualms about a confrontation with Nato, the French are not hiding their aim to achieve their long-standing goal of unhitching the United States from European defence. This has become more pressing with the reported plans of the US to punish France for its stand on the war in Iraq by excluding it from Nato decision-making. Extending the defence concept over the weekend, Michele Alliot-Marie, the French Defence Minister who was visiting Moscow, sought to involve Russia, the ally of France and Germany in the anti-war front over Iraq, saying that “Russia should be associated with the planning work that we are carrying out”. <<<