Saturday 3 December 2005

American empire (not) in denial


"We have about 60 per cent of the world's wealth but only 6.3 per cent of its population. Our real task in the coming period (will be) to maintain this position of disparity. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford the luxury of altruism and world benefaction ... the day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are hampered then by idealistic slogans the better."
~ George Kennan, head of U.S. State Department Planning, Feb 24, 1948.

"Everyone has the right to be like Americans, it would seem. Now that they're like Rome, the Americans would be doing as the Romans did. America may be like Rome, but many Americans are not like Romans. And Bush himself is more cowboy than Caesar."
~ commondreams.org

"...if you look at what the US has long tried to do - expand the global reach of free markets and ultimately representative government - it bears an uncanny resemblance to what he characterises as the project of Victorian Imperialism."
~ BBC News

1 comment:

Emz said...

Great quotes. I agree with them...