Doug - Yeah. Ha! Ha! No doubt they would. It's really hard to stop this kind of thing once it gets rolling. It's like trying to stop a runaway train thats freewheeling down a steep grade.

The USA could not just withdraw all its forces unilaterally at this point without causing destabilization. All the other empire-builders out there would have to do so as well. For instance, the Chinese ought to withdraw from Tibet...but obviously, it ain't gonna happen. I just wish it would, that's all.

Spud - Don't forget that all those empires were "the good guys" from their own perspective, and had they won would probably still be seen in that light in the history books. The victors write the history books. The survivors write the protest songs.

However, I am not implying that the USA has behaved in as irresponsible a manner as the Nazis or the Japanese or Joseph Stalin...except as regards North American Indian lands and culture.

The other empire builder that I feel is most comparable to the USA in a general moral and cultural sense is Great Britain. The British were quite sure they were doing the world a big favor by colonizing it, and they succeeded pretty well everywhere, except in the 13 colonies which became the USA.

On the other hand, the Native peoples whose land was occupied by British or American forces, did not see it as a favor.

It all depends which side of the fence you're standing on...

Let's not heat up the Cold War.

- LH