Does Anybody Believe the Universities' Line About So-Called "American Imperialism' ?

[Deplorable Yankee]

I just saw an episode on Newsmax where a reporter was asking college students if they believe there is American imperialism. If the students answered yes (most did), they were asked to sign a petition to stop it. Quite a few signed the petition.

After signing, the students (apparently victims of heavy indoctrination) were asked to provide an example of where "American imperialism" is going on. now, or over the past 20 years. None were able to respond with a single location.

I wish I would have been that reporter. I would have asked the kids if they knew of the USA being a VICTIM of imperialism. I would have also asked them to provide a definition of "imperialism".

Here are 2 definitions >>

1.

Definition of IMPERIALISM

the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas; broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

2.

What Is Imperialism?

Imperialism is the policy or act of extending a country’s power into other territories, or gaining control over another country’s politics or economics.

www.thebalance.com

I would have loved to tell these brainwashed students that the US is the #1 VICTIM of imperialism in the world today, and has been for the last 20 years, by the way 21st century imperialism is conducted (migrant remittances).

Remittance flows worldwide in 2017

Worldwide, an estimated $625 billion (USD) was sent by migrants to individuals in their home countries in 2017, a 7% increase from 2016, when the amount was $586 billion, according to economists at the World Bank. This increase follows two consecutive years of decline.

www.pewresearch.org

If you told these students that the USA is the victim of "imperialism", they'd laugh in your face, because you're an idiot.

I just saw an episode on Newsmax where a reporter was asking college students if they believe there is American imperialism. If the students answered yes (most did), they were asked to sign a petition to stop it. Quite a few signed the petition.

After signing, the students (apparently victims of heavy indoctrination) were asked to provide an example of where "American imperialism" is going on. now, or over the past 20 years. None were able to respond with a single location.

I wish I would have been that reporter. I would have asked the kids if they knew of the USA being a VICTIM of imperialism. I would have also asked them to provide a definition of "imperialism".

Here are 2 definitions >>

1.

Definition of IMPERIALISM

the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas; broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

2.

What Is Imperialism?

Imperialism is the policy or act of extending a country’s power into other territories, or gaining control over another country’s politics or economics.

www.thebalance.com

I would have loved to tell these brainwashed students that the US is the #1 VICTIM of imperialism in the world today, and has been for the last 20 years, by the way 21st century imperialism is conducted (migrant remittances).

Remittance flows worldwide in 2017

Worldwide, an estimated $625 billion (USD) was sent by migrants to individuals in their home countries in 2017, a 7% increase from 2016, when the amount was $586 billion, according to economists at the World Bank. This increase follows two consecutive years of decline.

www.pewresearch.org

No doubt the US made mistakes along the way, but we did not slaughter millions in the name of communism or Nazism.

No, you slaughtered them in the name of "land acquisition". When white Europeans arrived in the Americas, there were estimated to be 10 million Native Americans living here. By 1900, it was estimated there were 300,000 left alive. The Aztecs, the Incas and the Mayans - once great prosperous civilizations, were wiped out in the European greed for gold and precious stones.

There were the Indian Wars, and the Trail of Tears in the USA:

Genocide Of Indigenous Peoples - Holocaust Museum Houston

When European settlers arrived in the Americas, historians estimate there were over 10 million Native Americans living there. By 1900, their estimated

hmh.org

 

[protectionist]

She should be voted Woman of the Year. She displayed common sense, articulation, courage, heroism.

 

[protectionist]

Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. were left wing authoritarian dictators. Hilter, Marcos, Noriega, are right wing authoritarian dictators. The are the flips sides of the same coin.

Authoritarianism can only survive by the oppression of all opposition. That’s true of authoritarians on either side of the political spectrum.

It’s why Donald Trump spent his entire term trying and failing to “trump” up charges against Clinton, Obama, Biden, and to jail Democratic Party leadership, and attack the MSM which continued to criticize him.

The MSM got criticism from Trump because they DESERVED to get it. Same thing with Hillary, Obama, Brennan, Comey, and all the rest of the criminal rat pack. That also includes Biden, however his criticism is now coming from US federal courts, which are shooting down his racist ARP left and right.

And Kamala Harris' criticism is now humorously coming from Guatemala and Mexico, who flatly told her to go jump, as the problem of the US border is HER negligence, and her and Biden's fault, not theirs.

 

[Mac-7]

It was US economic sanctions that caused Iraqi oil to not be able to reach the market in a consistent manner,

It was UN sanctions tied yo chem bio and nuclear weapons, but otherwise that is a fair point.

So I dont think oil was our motivation

With or without WMDs (which we did not fond) it was a mistake to invade and remove Saddam even though he was a monster

 

[protectionist]

Yes the US did declare martial law in Iraq and illegally took control over all of Iraq's oil, forcing all sales of Iraqi oil to go through US private companies.

Iraq invasion was about oil | Nafeez Ahmed

Maximising Persian Gulf oil flows to avert a potential global energy crisis motivated Iraq War planners - not WMD or democracy

www.theguardian.com

{...
Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of the 2003 Iraq War - yet to this day, few media reflections on the conflict accurately explore the extent to which opening up Persian Gulf energy resources to the world economy was a prime driver behind the Anglo-American invasion.

The overwhelming narrative has been one of incompetence and failure in an otherwise noble, if ill-conceived and badly managed endeavour to free Iraqis from tyranny. To be sure, the conduct of the war was indeed replete with incompetence at a colossal scale - but this doesn't erase the very real mendacity of the cold, strategic logic that motivated the war's US and British planners in the first place.

According to the infamous Project for a New American Century (PNAC) document endorsed by senior Bush administration officials as far back as 1997, "While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification" for the US "to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security," "the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."

So Saddam's WMD was not really the issue - and neither was Saddam himself.

The real issue is candidly described in a 2001 report on "energy security" - commissioned by then US Vice-President Dick Cheney - published by the Council on Foreign Relations and the James Baker Institute for Public Policy. It warned of an impending global energy crisis that would increase "US and global vulnerability to disruption", and leave the US facing "unprecedented energy price volatility."

The main source of disruption, the report observed, is "Middle East tension", in particular, the threat posed by Iraq. Critically, the documented illustrated that US officials had lost all faith in Saddam due his erratic and unpredictable energy export policies. In 2000, Iraq had "effectively become a swing producer, turning its taps on and off when it has felt such action was in its strategic interest to do so." There is a "possibility that Saddam Hussein may remove Iraqi oil from the market for an extended period of time" in order to damage prices:
...}

As to the actual smoking gun, you then have to look at the Development Fund for Iraq, for the missing cash.

{...

Lack of transparency​

The Development Fund for Iraq receives 95 per cent of the government proceeds from Iraqi oil sales. The 2003 budget also noted that the Development Fund will provide $1.2 billion for the budget. However, the relationship between the DFI and the budget has not been made clear—the budget anticipated oil revenues of $3.4 billion—much greater than the amount in the DFI then. Moreover, only the Provisional Authority Administrator could authorise spending from the DFI. Little information has been made public about the DFI. The Coalition Provisional Authority excluded information on its web site about any transfer of assets into and out of the DFI.[7]
...}

Development Fund for Iraq - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Some of this may be true, but from your lack of focus of the US as a victim of imperialism in the migrant remittance scenario, I am now reluctant to take too much of what you say too seriously. You diminish what might be a good platform, by not dealing fully with another one.

And I still remember Trump saying "Why didn't we get the oil ?"

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Does Anybody Believe the Universities' Line About So-Called "American Imperialism' ?​

Yes

 

[theHawk]

"During World War II, Japanese forces invaded Vietnam."

"The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians. "

"Both sides wanted the same thing: a unified Vietnam. But while Ho and his supporters wanted a nation modeled after other communist countries, Bao and many others wanted a Vietnam with close economic and cultural ties to the West."

"With training and equipment from American military and the CIA, Diem’s security forces cracked down on Viet Minh sympathizers in the south, whom he derisively called Viet Cong (or Vietnamese Communist), arresting some 100,000 people, many of whom were brutally tortured and executed."

"A team sent by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to report on conditions in South Vietnam advised a build-up of American military, economic and technical aid in order to help Diem confront the Viet Cong threat."

"A team sent by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to report on conditions in South Vietnam advised a build-up of American military, economic and technical aid in order to help Diem confront the Viet Cong threat."

Vietnam War: Causes, Facts & Impact

The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

www.history.com

What was that definition of imperialism?

"1: the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas"

That sounds a lot like imperialism.

I don't see that the definition of "imperialism" has anything to do with the socio-economic or political structure of the country.

But, just to be clear, before the Vietnam War, the country was under the control of the Empire of Japan. Then when they left, two factions fought over control of Vietnam, one wanting ties to the Russian sphere of influence, and the other wanting economic ties to the West. Two imperialist countries, Russian and the United States projected their power into Vietnam, resulting in 3 million deaths, of which half a million were civilians.

After the war, Vietnam became a Communist country.

The politics of Vietnam are defined by a single-party socialist republic framework that "traces its direct lineage back to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) "

Hanoi looks like this.

View attachment 500683

It has a GDP of 261.9 billion USD and a growth rate of 7%, according to the World Bank. 68.7% of the population are internet users.

I would agree that the Vietnam War was at least partially imperialistic (but mostly delusionally defensive), and I opposed it vigorously, after I got out of the US military.

However, the subject TOPIC of the thread (from the OP) still remains >> "provide an example of where "American imperialism" is going on now, or over the past 20 years."

How can anyone say the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the forced regime change in Libya, Egypt, and Syria are not US imperialism?
They were not defensive, were illegal, and murdered foreign civilians without any defensive purpose.
Even the economic sanctions imposed on Iran and Russia are illegal, imperialist, and a form of economic terrorism, which is a war crime according to the Geneva Conventions.

Yea, we had a guy committed to not starting new wars, and you lefties lost your mind over him.

 

[protectionist]

It was UN sanctions tied yo chem bio and nuclear weapons, but otherwise that is a fair point.

So I dont think oil was our motivation

With or without WMDs (which we did not fond) it was a mistake to invade and remove Saddam even though he was a monster

Iraq, like Afghanistan, was generally, a defensive posture related to Muslim terrorism, in this case Al Zarqawi and Al Qaeda in Iraq (forerunner of ISIS). Anything can be seen as a component, but oil was really a side issue for Iraq, that just happened to be there along with everything else. To call Iraq, after 2001 "imperialism" based on oil, no, just wasn't that, and sanctions from whomever doesn't relate to imperialism either.

We are all remembering the TOPIC question of the OP here, right ?

 

[protectionist]

​

Yes

So answer the OP's question then. Where is the alleged imperialism taking place ?

 

[sartre play]

The world is run by humans, humans make mistakes. Rather than pointing out the wrong choices we have made in the past & will make in the future, wouldn't it be smarter to admit we have made them, learn from them & move on too trying to make less of them.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

​

Yes

So answer the OP's question then. Where is the alleged imperialism taking place ?

Currently Iraq and Afghanistan. In the past, take your pick: Iran, Central America, South America, northern Africa, Vietnam.

 

[protectionist]

How can anyone say the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the forced regime change in Libya, Egypt, and Syria are not US imperialism?
They were not defensive, were illegal, and murdered foreign civilians without any defensive purpose.
Even the economic sanctions imposed on Iran and Russia are illegal, imperialist, and a form of economic terrorism, which is a war crime according to the Geneva Conventions.

BULLSHIT! The movement of troops into Iraq and Afghanistan were not "invasions" nor were they "imperialism". YES, they were defensive, to stop Al Qaeda from using the areas for training compounds, and places to make bombs, which broke apart with the presence of the US troops.

As for Iran, with all the hostile talk from them + their work building a nuclear bomb capability, in a purely defensive manner, their nuclear facilities should be attacked and destroyed, and that should be happening right now, but it won't because the White House is currently occupied by 2 dangerously inept clowns, who are embedded in stupidity and confusion, and may result in getting us all killed.

What regime changes do you say occured in Libya, Egypt, and Syria ? Can you be more specific ? As I recall, it was Mubark who was forced out by Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood lunatics, with the blessing of the Obama administration. You might have an example there.

Also, another reason for the presence of US troops in Afghanistan (not imperialism) is the security of nuclear warheads in Pakistan. There are over 100 of these, and there possession is a fragile thing that correlates with the fragility of the Pakistani government, which has gone to extreme measures to secure these warheads, which have been attacked numerous times by ISIS and other jihadist groups, all of whom would love to get their hands on them.

The Pakistani govt has taken to driving these warheads around in inconspicuous cargo vans to keep them out of the hands of terrorists. There is a valid purpose for US troops to be in position to quickly move into Pakistan, to secure these warheads, in the event that the Pakistani govt were to fall. ..and then move them to a more secure location.

In a moment of candor, Obama himself was asked by the actor George Clooney, "What is the one thing that keeps you awake at night ?" Obama answered >> "Pakistan."

The Pentagon s Secret Plans to Secure Pakistan s Nuclear Arsenal - NationalJournal.com

Pakistan Carts Its Nukes Around In Delivery Vans

Pakistan is taking nuclear paranoia to a horrifying new low. And it’s making the world a vastly more dangerous place in the process. Freaked out about the insecurity of its nuclear arsenal, the Pakistani military’s Strategic Plans Division has begun carting the nukes around in clandestine ways...

www.wired.com

 

[whitehall]

Not much has changed in the last 50 years on campus except that the 60's anti-American radicals are now the professors.

 

[protectionist]

​

Currently Iraq and Afghanistan. In the past, take your pick: Iran, Central America, South America, northern Africa, Vietnam.

I'll pick ONE of any of these, IF you can show how the US is engaging in imperialism there. I have already refuted the claim about Iraq and Afghanistan (see Post # 92). If have information regarding these others, that is after 2001, preferably 2021, let's hear it.

In the meantime, it may interest you to know that some of the countries you mentioned (ex. Nigeria, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Vietnam) are in the top 10 of imperialists who are conducting migrant remittance imperialism UPON THE USA, which is the # 1 VICTIM of imperialism in the world today. Don't believe it ? Click the Pew research link.

Remittance flows worldwide in 2017

Worldwide, an estimated $625 billion (USD) was sent by migrants to individuals in their home countries in 2017, a 7% increase from 2016, when the amount was $586 billion, according to economists at the World Bank. This increase follows two consecutive years of decline.

www.pewresearch.org

 

[SavannahMann]

Hmmm. Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii just to start with.

View attachment 500886

Topic is >> "provide an example of where "American imperialism" is going on now, or over the past 20 years."

Are you saying that we are not in Guam, Puerto Rico, or Hawaii?

 

[protectionist]

There are no more US bases in the Philippines. Does the U.S have military bases in the Philippines? - Quora

Thank you for posting ON Topic.

...although military bases are not really a manifestation of imperialism. Many military bases are in countries friendly to the United States, and see them as worthwhile protection from other unfriendly countries, just as was the case with WW2.

Yes military bases ARE manifestations of imperialism because if we did not have an empire, then we would not need or want US bases all over the world.
When we but nuclear missiles in Turkey, it was not to improve Turkey in any way.

FALSE! There are a number of reasons to have military bases overseas, all having nothing whatsoever to do with imperialism. Just to name a few >>
1. Protection for allied countries. (ex. Japan has no military at all. US military IS the Japanese military)
2. Military training supplied to allied countries.
3. Prevention of hostilities from previous wartime enemies (ex. still has bases inn Germany and Japan) Pro-American post-war govts have generally welcomed the bases, as economically beneficial.
4. Financial arrangements (ex. some countries buy US military equipment)
5. Host country wished to improve diplomatic relations, so they ask for the base to be there.
6. Other countries would also have overseas bases, but they cannot afford it.

 

[protectionist]

Are you saying that we are not in Guam, Puerto Rico, or Hawaii?

We are. So what ? And as much as were are in them, they are in us. All of them are part of the US. None of them are foreign countries being victims of imperialism. All of them gain from US citizenship. Before that, they were all essentially mudholes, and much poorer than today.

 

[Concerned American]

There are no more US bases in the Philippines. Does the U.S have military bases in the Philippines? - Quora

Thank you for posting ON Topic.

...although military bases are not really a manifestation of imperialism. Many military bases are in countries friendly to the United States, and see them as worthwhile protection from other unfriendly countries, just as was the case with WW2.

Yes military bases ARE manifestations of imperialism because if we did not have an empire, then we would not need or want US bases all over the world.
When we but nuclear missiles in Turkey, it was not to improve Turkey in any way.

FALSE! There are a number of reasons to have military bases overseas, all having nothing whatsoever to do with imperialism. Just to name a few >>
1. Protection for allied countries. (ex. Japan has no military at all. US military IS the Japanese military)
2. Military training supplied to allied countries.
3. Prevention of hostilities from previous wartime enemies (ex. still has bases inn Germany and Japan) Pro-American post-war govts have generally welcomed the bases, as economically beneficial.
4. Financial arrangements (ex. some countries buy US military equipment)
5. Host country wished to improve diplomatic relations, so they ask for the base to be there.
6. Other countries would also have overseas bases, but they cannot afford it.

Another fact he didn't note is that the US PAYS these countries to have our bases there as is the case with why we don't have bases in the Philippines anymore--they wanted too much money. Most, if not All, US bases are in place due to mutual defense agreements as with SEATO and NATO. The Japanese have only the Japanese Self Defense Force (National Guard) by edict from their own diet after WWII.

 

[Concerned American]

Hmmm. Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii just to start with.

View attachment 500886

Topic is >> "provide an example of where "American imperialism" is going on now, or over the past 20 years."

Are you saying that we are not in Guam, Puerto Rico, or Hawaii?

Hawaii is a STATE, Moron. Guam and Puerto Rico are US territories and the people there are very happy with the relationship.

 

[Dragonlady]

Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. were left wing authoritarian dictators. Hilter, Marcos, Noriega, are right wing authoritarian dictators. The are the flips sides of the same coin.

Authoritarianism can only survive by the oppression of all opposition. That’s true of authoritarians on either side of the political spectrum.

It’s why Donald Trump spent his entire term trying and failing to “trump” up charges against Clinton, Obama, Biden, and to jail Democratic Party leadership, and attack the MSM which continued to criticize him.

The MSM got criticism from Trump because they DESERVED to get it. Same thing with Hillary, Obama, Brennan, Comey, and all the rest of the criminal rat pack. That also includes Biden, however his criticism is now coming from US federal courts, which are shooting down his racist ARP left and right.

And Kamala Harris' criticism is now humorously coming from Guatemala and Mexico, who flatly told her to go jump, as the problem of the US border is HER negligence, and her and Biden's fault, not theirs.

The universities believe that apple pie is a racist colonial power.

So, by your reckoning, 95% of the US Congress have been indoctrinated by these evil bastions of advanced education?

The Congressional Research Service notes that the vast majority of Members (95 percent) had an academic degree:

• 168 Representatives and 57 Senators had a law degree. Of these, five (three Representative and two Senators) also hold a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree.
• 83 Representatives and 16 Senators earned a master's degree – often a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) – as their highest educational degree
• 27 Representatives and one Senator (Mark Begich)[18] have no educational degree beyond a high school diploma.
• 23 Representatives, & one Senator (Kyrsten Sinema) have a PhD
• 17 Representatives and three Senators have a medical degree (this number includes one Senator with a veterinary medicine degree and one Representative with a dental degree).
• Five Representatives (but no Senators) have an associate's degree as their highest degree. One House Member has a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) degree.

Three Representatives (John Shimkus, Geoff Davis, Brett Guthrie) and one Senator (Jack Reed) are graduates of the United States Military Academy, while two Senators (John McCain, Jim Webb) and one Representative (Joe Sestak) are graduates of the United States Naval Academy. Three Senators (including Russ Feingold and Richard Lugar) and two Representatives (Jim Cooper and Jim Himes) were Rhodes Scholars, three Representatives (Tom Cole and Gabby Giffords) were Fulbright Scholars, and one Representative (John Spratt) was a Marshall Scholar. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is widely considered to be the most educated member of congress with a Bachelor's degree, a Master of Social Work, a Master of Business Administration, a law degree, & a PhD


I take it you don't have a college degree.

Yes, but some, like myself and my family are wise enough to think for ourselves and avoid the indoctrination. Most aren’t.

Aren’t you the clever one. Instead of voting for human rights and a balanced economy, you used your education and voted for the party that crashed the economy three times in 40 years. Furthermore you’d vote for them again tomorrow if you have a chance.

The republican party in Texas can’t even keep the lights on. Good governance is about ensuring that people and corporations have what they need to succeed.

Republicans believe “good government” is cutting taxes. Period. End of story.

Donald Trump passed two pieces of legislation in the four years of his administration: a tax cut 80% of which went to millionaires; and prison reform.. And the only reason he did prison reform was because Jared Kushner’s father went to prison. Jared did the work.

You voted for an authoritarian conman. You used your education and your ability to elect a white nationalist authoritarian, who killed half a million people and crashed your economy.

You voted for the party which has crashed the economy three times in the last 40 years. Whatever you paid for your education, it was a waste of money.