Jack - You said that "There is no doubt that the USSR would have pushed into Western Europe had they been allow(ed)" (during the 50 years following WWII).

Yeah. Uh-huh. What is never stated in the sacrosanct West, however, is this:

There is no doubt that the West (primarily the USA and the UK at the helm, with their allies of convenience) would have pushed into Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia had they been allowed! The Soviets and the Chinese did not allow them to.

They would have pushed in by economic means, political means, or military force, if necessary (upon some excuse)...whatever worked.

There have been 2 (no, make that 3...) great empires of power trying to dominate the World since 1945 by "all means necessary" (to quote one of George Bush's favourite terms). They were the capitalist corporate West, the Soviets, and the Communist Chinese.

They used the following methods:

1. a barrage of political propaganda

2. a barrage of arms sales to interested parties everywhere

3. the encouragement of regional conflicts in disputed areas

4. the fomenting of revolutions and civil wars in small countries

5. the overthrow of regimes by a variety of methods

6. assassinations of uncooperative leaders (at home and abroad)

7. massive marketing of consumer goods (primarily on the part of the capitalist West, but now also on the part of China, which seems to be taking over that effort as an apparently handy surrogate of the corporate machine)

8. threats of all-out war (terrorism, in other words, since the intent IS to terrorize people into compliance)

9. economic warfare of many types

10. the militarization of space

11. the constant development of more and more deadly weapons, including biological, nuclear, chemical, and other weapons.

Most of the above, in fact, is terrorism.

The empire least successful in these efforts, ultimately, was the Soviets, as they effectively went bankrupt both economically and politically speaking, by the late 80's. The empire most successful (so far) has been the USA/UK/West. That may change fairly soon, since their credibility is almost completely shot at this point.

All 3 empires have falsely depicted themselves as the defender and hope of humanity, when they are anything but! They are the tripartite oppressors of humanity.

To support any one of them naively against the others is to miss the point.

Now I return to my 3rd paragraph:

There is no doubt that the West would have pushed into Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia had they been allowed! The Soviets and the Chinese did not allow them to.

The West did try to push into Vietnam and Cambodia, but failed. They tried to push into a variety of places in the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa....sometimes with success, sometimes not. The Soviets tried to do the same thing, with similar results. Each served as a counterbalance to the other, which was actually helpful in maintaining a certain level of stability in the World.

Now....since the Soviets fell in '89, the West (USA/UK) has indeed been enthusiastically pushing into areas that they were formerly not allowed to by the presence, strength, and influence of the Soviets...and this has resulted in:

1. The complete breakup and ruination of the former Yugoslavia, and a whole series of terrible wars there.

2. The loss to Russia of most of its Eastern and Southern border areas, most particularly the vital oil region of the Caspian!

3. The invasion and occupying of Afghanistan by Western forces in a war which was being planned long before Sep 11, and which has allowed the West to start building its cherished oil pipline from the Caspian, and to resume growing the Afghan opium crop for export to the World.

4. A first Gulf War on Iraq in '91, and a follow-up finishing stroke any day now if Bush gets his way.

5. The destabilization of many other societies, especially in the Middle East.

6. The constant and increasing erosion of the social safety net in North America, and the increasing abrogation of our civil rights.

What you had in Europe at the end of World War II was Al Capone on one side of the Line and Lucky Luciano on the other. Now you may prefer Luciano to Capone, but watch what happens to your little neighborhood store when the rival gang collapses and Capone takes over the whole city.

Not good. Those guys play for keeps.

And yes, I'd far rather have lived in the West than under Stalin, but I fear a World with no checks and balances, and I fear a superpower that has so little respect for World opinion that it simply ignores it and does whatever it pleases! While the Soviets stood strong, it couldn't do that.

Who will now police the renegade cop?

- LH