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Old April 6th 04, 08:16 PM
GuiltyBystander9
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S. Harding wrote:

no American blood or treasure to keep
some government in power or feeling secure; that means S.
Korea, Taiwan, Japan or even UK if it came to such a thing.

It means no NATO, WTF, IMF, World Bank or whatever.


UN is OK
for debating practice.

Back to good old George Washington's admonition, "no entangling
foreign alliances".


The attraction of making the US a large, economy size Sweden or Switzerland is
certainly powerful.
But you must consider that the withdrawal of the US from the world
political/military scene would leave a power vacuum. This would be filled by
another power--and not without serious disruptions and violence. A comparison
might be to what happened with the demise of Ottoman and Austria-Hungary power.
It's very likely the US would be drawn back onto the world military stage by
threats to its own security.
Right now, we are the 800 pound gorilla doing pretty much what we want to
preserve our own civilization, our leaders only worried about what we Americans
think about what they are doing. Bush worries about American voters turning
him out---not the UN or EU.
Also keep in mind the old rule that he who complains is without power. People
with power who don't like something don't bitch about it, they change it.
And remember that everybody carps about the boss.
The US is the boss of the world and has the power to change things it doesn't
like, should it choose to (remarkably, the US is such a benign boss that it
suffers quite a bit it doesn't like and could change--the US is no Soviet
Union, Nazi Germany, or even British Empire).
It's a nuisance being the top dog, endlessly having to go out and fight wolves
and coyotes to keep the sheep safe. But it's a lot better than being the cur
hiding under the porch and barking at every noise it hears, worrying that the
top dog is antagonizing monsters but also terrified that the top dog might get
sick of the whole business and leave it in charge, a responsibility it really
doen't want and can't handle.