US Military Expansion and Intervention
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| Rice Fields in Indonesia Picture Credit: travel.wallpapers.tr |
Articles
Kipling, the "White Man's Burden," and US Imperialism (November 2003)
The article revisits the brutal conquest of the Philippines by the US following the Spanish-American War of 1898, and the response of anti-imperialists such as Mark Twain. It concludes by drawing historical and present-day links between capitalist societies and "the three-fold threat of militarism, imperialism, and racism." (Monthly Review)
Peddling Democracy the US Way (May 4, 2006)
Author Chalmers Johnson analyzes US efforts to impose its political and economic system on other countries. While the US has justified many military interventions in the name of promoting democracy, Johnson argues that none of the over 200 interventions since World War II produced a democratic government. Focusing on East Asia, Johnson further argues that the region reached economic prosperity by completely ignoring US preaching of free trade and liberalization, while pursuing protectionism and government regulation of the economy. (TomDispatch)
US Vietnam Intelligence 'Flawed' (December 2, 2005)
Declassified US National Security Agency documents reveal that Washington declared war on Vietnam based on “flimsy evidence.� According to these documents there was no attack on US destroyers on August 4, 1964. The Vietnam War that lasted for over a decade, resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 US soldiers and three million Vietnamese. Some government officials worry that the release of these documents might lead to comparisons with Washington's “handling of Iraq.� (BBC)
Explaining Vietnam 30 Years Later: Asian Dominoes or US Dominance? (May 6, 2005)
This article refutes the idea that the “domino theory� – which held that if South Vietnam was lost to communism and the Soviet Union, other countries in the region would follow – was the real reason behind the US intervention in Vietnam. “Washington knew that the Soviet Union lacked even a minimum nuclear deterrent before the latter half of the 1960s.� Instead, ambitions to extend US influence over Southeast Asia guided Washington’s intervention in the country. (Foreign Policy In Focus)
Feels Like the Third Time (June 11, 2004)
The publication of graphic photographs showing US soldiers torturing Iraqis caused a scandal, but the torture itself was nothing new. The US used torture in Vietnam, and the US Army School of the Americas trained genocidal dictators and death squad leaders from Latin America in brutal interrogation techniques. (American Prospect)
The Case Against Henry Kissinger - The Making of a War Criminal (February 2001)
Christopher Hitchens argues that this former US Secretary of State should be indicted for war crimes from his complicity and involvement in numerous atrocities commited against humanity. (Harper's Magazine)
