\"A War like no other\"; by Victor Davis Hanson

[Ghostmojo]

It is interesting to read so many inciteful responses from our American contributors regarding current and recent international affairs. This forum is great for intellectual debate without the usual flag-waving you get elsewhere. I go on quite a few websites that are music-based and one which is science-fiction based, and almost without exception the US contributors (who in some cases are in the majority) are right wing, rabid, America-can-do-no-wrongsters, if you will forgive my sloppy English. It is refreshing that here, I believe we (largely) leave our nationality at the door and discuss things with sensible detachment. I can talk about the British doing this and that throughout the centuries without necessarily needing to remember I am a Brit. Nor do I feel the need to justify and perhaps defend any actions of my homeland, for which I have no direct connection - nor indeed necessarily would have agreed with anyway.

When it comes to American adventuring around the globe, which in recent decades has been almost entirely selfish by nature IMHO, I think ancient Rome is always going to be a far better model than the squabbling minor Greek states. Of course the medium-sized European powers are not squeaky clean in this respect, but it is what America does that has counted. In future this is likely to be China instead. Future conflicts are going to be resource driven and the good old USA has long recognised that. Pathetically we often cling to its coat-tails in the hopes of some scraps. The charades of Iraq and Afghanistan are adventures funded by US taxpayers to enrich US corporations like Haliburton and keep the huge US war machine occupied and exercised on a regular basis.

9/11 as Fred said was a pretext for all of this. I get disgusted when I think how that foul act has been utilised for all manner of equally disagreeable activities. Just how many people have died in Iraq since 2003? More than ever suffered under Saddam regardless of how wicked his regime was. And his regime was supported (and traded with) by the west for decades. We only toppled him because he departed from reading the script we had provided and went off adventuring himself. I remember all those fawning politicians like Rumsfeld virtually prostrating themselves in front of this evil man when we needed his money, his support, his markets...