blatham wrote:Well george...as it is a bit difficult to go back in time and repair the faults of others long ago, there is naught else but to avoid big screwing up in the present. Unless, of course, one is just seeking to avoid all blame and responsibility. Every political figure, and every state, arrives in a positition of power and a situation which has been determined by events preceding.
Have you read Forster's Passage To India? That British attitude of superiority and entitlement to empire, and its assumptions that the bad things in the world were the consequence of other folks' failings which would be righted only by the further spread of Britishness, are all reflected in your comments on America's role in the world.
There was much that was good in the British Empire, and the attitudes that Forster expressed were as often focused on that (such as the elimmination of the slave trade) as they were on its failings. No doubt that mixture of foolishness and wisdom persists today.
However in the present instance our European "allies" (Brits excepted) are too often choosing to lay low, harvesting the benefit of the actions of others, but taking none of the risks. I doubt very much that the international legal structures they prize so much will protect them from the distemper of their Islamist neighbors. Appeasing bullies is generally not a wise strategy.
This alone wouldn't so exorcise me, however, to, in addition, endure the carping, back biting, and criticism that goes with their self-serving rationalizations is a bit much.
