Above Photo: Rick/ Flickr
Note: The United States is currently a world hegemony, but the end of US empire and movement toward a multi-power world are developing rapidly. A critical task of the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice as well as peace is to push the United States to end its empire in a way that is least damaging to the world and people of the United States. The article below provides some clarity and common sense.
The right column is sadly familiar; add more recent cases.
The left column also carries an element of sadness but nothing really radical; more like common sense that could easily be translated into political practice.
And yet it does not happen, to the detriment of the parties concerned: the USA and its relations to the world. USA wants to be feared but reaps hatred with right column politics. Does it want to be loved?
A theory is something tested along its edges (Quine); what you deduce from the theory–and to me the key “edge”–is its action-consequences.
| CONFLICTS | CONSTRUCTIVE, POSITIVE | DESTRUCTIVE, NEGATIVE |
| FINANCIAL FREAL R
ECONOMY CRISIS |
Encourage local saving banksPublish M2 Check Fed Reserve
Tax speculation Drop bonuses Outlaw basic needs speculation Democratic control of central banks, state or private Mixed world currency |
More F than Real growthMore money than value
Serving loans not people Countries in debt bondage Globalization through privatized central banks US$ world reserve currency |
| TERRORISM | Identify their just goalsPublish Atta Who did 9/11? | Extra-judicial executionSOCO-Drones Covert war |
| US-ISRAEL vs ARAB-MUSLIMSTATES | Palestine recognized; andA two states solution; and
A Middle East Community MEC Israel and 5 Arab neighbors 1967 borders with revisions; and Org for Sec Coop West Asia |
Tail wagging dog:Israel wagging USA;
AIPAC wagging Congress Judeo-Christianity is anti-Islam. Danger: Extreme US anti-semitism |
| LIBYA | Self-determination for parts, Federalism with democracy | Continued anarchyUnitary state illusion |
| SYRIA | Self-determination for parts,Federalism with democracy | Attack; SCO response?split Syria, rule parts |
| IRAQ | Self-determination for parts,(Con)federalism with democracy
Kurdish autonomous communities |
Withdrawal only:no rebuilding,
no compensation |
| IRAN | Conciliation for 1953,Middle East nuclear free zone
Cooperation on non-fossil energy |
Attack, SCO response?No Iran nuclear arms
Controlling Iran oil? |
| PAKISTAN | Pashtun autonomy, drop Durand Self-determination in KashmirIndian-Pakistani-Kashmiri parts | Building a Durand fenceExtrajudicial execution
SOCO-Drones Covert war |
| AFGHANISTAN | A Central Asian CommunityFederation Local autonomies
OIC-UNSC joint peacekeeping Nonaligned, no bases |
Withdrawal only;no rebuilding,
no compensation keeping troops, bases |
| KOREA | Peace Treaty with N KoreaNormalization USA-N Korea
Korea as nuclear free zone |
Marginalizing N KoreaUS-SK military exercises
Breaking agreements |
| CHINA | Open high level dialogue,Mutual learning in economics
Civil and economic rights |
Encircling, sub-sat-navy“Reform”=neoliberalism
civil rights only |
| JAPAN | Japan in NE Asian CommunityGood relations to USA, APEC+
USA pulls out of Okinawa |
Impeding conciliationKeeping Japan as client
Subverting A9 |
| AFRICA | Welcome African UnityBuild with China E-W highway | AFRICOMMilitary intervention |
| LATIN AMERICA | Welcome CELAC integrationEquity Latin/Anglo-America
Normalization USA-Cuba |
Military interventionSupporting coups
CIA micro-management |
| WORLD | All human rights conventions,across state borders
National self-determination Dialogue of civilizations Stronger UN, with parliament |
Civil-political only,within state borders
Unitary state models Western universalism US exceptionalism |
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