Yogi, that's just the way of the world. The Italians at one time controlled much of the known world.
Don't you think possibly the Chinese might be afraid of America ? here is an interesting take on American policy from Stratfor, hardly a wacko group.. investorshub.com
Geopolitical Diary: Thursday, March 4, 2004
Stratfor uses the following examples to show that American foreign policy generally transcends political affiliations... My purpose is to provide a context by which America's neighbours and the world might view her..
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The critical issue is one of place, not personality.
As a geographically isolated continental power, the United States has far more wiggle room in its geographic straitjacket than do most countries, but what Washington does is -- to a large degree -- dictated by where the United States is.
Five themes -- irrespective of political ideology -- dominate U.S. strategy.
1. Consolidate control over North America.
Until the original 13 colonies expanded westward to the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri River valleys, the United States was little more than a series of small, isolated and largely agricultural communities. But after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the United States immediately attained the potential to become a global power. In the years after, the United States secured major population centers on three coasts (Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf), which ultimately led to a unified political, economic and cultural system that is a prerequisite for power projection. The European Union has yet to achieve this basic but not simple step -- nor will it.
2. Secure strategic depth for the continental United States.
It is one thing to be in control of New Orleans, the center of gravity of the United States; it is another to be able to hold it. In its first century, the United States fought and won two wars to ensure that it would never face a rival on the North American continent. The first, the War of 1812, made it clear to (then British) Canada that it could exist as an "independent" power only so long as it harbored no strategic ambitions of its own -- a state of affairs that lasts to the present day.
The second, the Mexican War of 1846-1848, destroyed any hope of Mexico's emerging as a major power and, more to the point, added Texas to the Union -- pushing Mexican forces roughly 1,000 miles away from New Orleans. Put another way, this second theme could be phrased to say that Washington cannot allow any western hemispheric force ever to challenge the United States. The Monroe Doctrine, the Panamanian Revolution of 1903 and pretty much everything that Theodore Roosevelt ever did are examples of how crucial this theme was to the not-so-recent years of U.S. development.
3. Control sea approaches to the North American continent.
Alaska was not an accidental purchase; Cuba and Haiti have not figured into U.S. plans as afterthoughts; Washington did not play hardball with the British over swapping ancient destroyers for naval bases in the Western Hemisphere in the early days of World War II for fun; Iceland is not an idle ally; the Sandwich Islands did not become the state of Hawaii because the United States wanted more beachfront property.
The British blockade during the War of 1812, and to a lesser degree the incomplete Union blockade of the South during the U.S. Civil War, proved that the United States could secure itself from outside intervention only if it could physically prevent others from reaching its shores. That requires cleverly positioned real estate acquisitions.
4. Dominate the oceans.
The United States' alliances with Britain and Australia are not simply about cultural affinity and mutual back-scratching, they are about place. Darwin, Diego Garcia, Gibraltar, Britain, Cyprus and Singapore are perfect complements to U.S. assets in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Micronesia, Guam and -- until recently -- Panama and the Philippines. Norway, Denmark, Japan and Turkey not only share regional political goals with the United States, but also they served to drastically limit the Soviet Union's maritime options. With this combined network, there is no place on the waters that the United States cannot reach or affect, nor is there a fleet that the United States cannot find, monitor and ultimately sink.
5. Keep Eurasia divided.
Far and away, the most critical theme is preventing a single power from dominating the Eurasian landmass. Only a continental power can truly challenge another continental power, and so U.S. strategic thinkers were pleased when the Europeans battled each other in two "world" wars and when it became apparent in 2003 that a "common" European foreign policy was not worth the paper its press releases were written on. The Cold War saw the United States keep Western Europe split from Russia, and lingering sentiments to that end are not historical artifacts. China's rise has been echoed by American support for a return of Japanese militancy and the sponsoring of an informal Indian hegemony in South Asia. For every power, the United States seeks to assist one -- or better yet, three -- counterpowers to keep potential rivals boxed in. So long as Eurasia is divided and fighting with itself, it cannot contemplate targeting the United States.
This is the reality of U.S. foreign policy. Throughout the blunders and differing agendas of dozens of presidents -- from Ulysses Grant to Teddy Roosevelt to George W. Bush -- it has endured. It will survive anything that a President Kerry can throw at it, even if that means assembling an international coalition to reform everything from NATO to the special education programs in Omaha's suburban districts.
The process may be rather messy, but it does keep the mess at bay from the perspective of the U.S. mainland. The United States' sense of place and the hard logic of geography lead Washington to keep Latin America, Europe and Asia shattered as political entities, and encourages it to develop strong relationships with despotic governments in the name of influence and preservation.
Some call it cold, Machiavellian, even malign. Stratfor has a simpler term: geopolitics.
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Take this excerpt from the above text ... Despite all the jibber jabber stateside about Canada not keeping up its military how do you think the US would react if we decided we wanted tactical nukes... think about it.... carefully... ... Maybe lookup the Avro Arrow affair and cancellation thereof while you are at it..
The first, the War of 1812, made it clear to (then British) Canada that it could exist as an "independent" power only so long as it harbored no strategic ambitions of its own
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