From: "Keith Willshaw"

Not to mention the Phillipines,

Extensively discussed in the thread

Puerto Rico

Discussed

Wake,

Ceded to the US by Spain as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War,
which has been discussed

Guam,

Discussed

Kwajalein, Eniwetok etc

Spanish possessions sold to Germany, seized by Japan, seized by the US.
Already discussed.

panama canal zone

Mentioned, not discussed

Then there's the little matter of US forces intervening
in various central and south american nations
to protect US economic interests, Nicaragua in
1933 comes to mind.

Protecting economic interests, even with limited use of military force to
ensure order and the maintenance of friendly governments is not the same thing
as imperialism, although the more radical left (and libertarian right) loves to
obscure the difference. Lumping US actions in Central America into the same
box with what the US did with Puerto Rico or the Philippines is to make a false
comparison.

The fact is the US went through a colonial period
too.

No one has disputed that. The proposition is that the US flirtation with
"classic" imperialism was brief in duration and limited in extent, largely due
to domestic opposition.


Chris Mark