Disquieted American

Chalmers Johnson’s Blowback: The Cost and Consequences of American Empire really burned my brain a year or so ago and got me on my own fact-finding mission to see and find out what I wasn’t being told about recent American history. He reaches past administrations, past political parties, past mere pop politics and mucksrakes the slime that dare not speak it’s name. All with impeccable scholarship. Plus, he comes from a military and intel background so he has done the soul-searching and researching that have led him to his views.

I believe they [the current leadership] erroneously concluded that we had won the Cold War. We simply didn’t lose it as quickly or badly as the Soviet Union did because we were inherently richer. But I personally believe that we are today afflicted by many of the same problems that brought down the Soviet Union. Given the pace of events, I think there’s a good chance I’ll live to see the end of the American empire.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

One response to “Disquieted American”

  1. Christian Avatar

    Good article, and he makes many valid points. I’m not convinced of his conclusions, but it makes you think.

    Here’s a thought though: isn’t it the American way to give ourselves whiplash by backpedaling so quickly, without always considering the effect? Timidity isn’t the solution either, in these dangerous times. We need to find the balancing point somewhere between over-extension and complete withdrawal.

    COMMENT:
    Yeah – I’m thinking of the evacuation of Saigon and leaving that region to implode into civil war. I’d say backpedaling is a very apt term here – but so is rushing (overpedaling?). From my point of view it seemed there was a rush to war in Iraq because once we were enmeshed and committed there would be no way we could just up and leave (good God if we do that we are leaving that country to be torn apart by civil war). Either way – Johnson’s book is a very good read (especially with his dissection of post-WWII Japan).

    (great discussion Christian – thnx!)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *