Sometimes I wonder why the USA-----

Sometimes I wonder why the USA gets itself into these stupid overseas ‘adventures.’ You know the ones I mean--- like, Vietnam in the 60’s and early 70’s and the current escapade in Afghanistan. Of course they are not alone--- they have dragged in quite a few ‘friend’s, including the Eurozone countries and the ANZACS.

To be blunt, I guess we do it curry favour, for trade and possibly some imagined future protection; we think we will need at some stage. Long gone are the days when we could call on Mother England and I doubt that our burgeoning relationship with China is going to deliver in that area.

So why is it that the good old USA acts as the world’s ‘policeman?’ Who gains? We all know the military/industrial sector gains, purely from a financial perspective and that is a mainstay of the American economy. We also understand that access to oil has long been a driving force for foreign policy. But is there something else?

The USA has been influential on the world stage for many decades, possibly even before WW2, and for a while after the demise of the Cold War and the dissolution of the old Soviet Union, it has had the stage to itself. Now, however, it watches the rear view mirror as China slowly but surely gains ground. Then there are a raft of emerging nations (Brazil, India) playing catch-up, at the expense of the old colonial European-zone nations.

But the USA still sees itself as the dominant nation. My question is--- who pays for this self-delusion? The answer is simple--- not the banks, or the other big companies, because you can be sure that they will have ‘hedged’ themselves against huge losses.

It is of course the common and should I say it--- the ordinary citizen. To stretch the point a little further, it is the young guys and women who make up the vast majority of the armed forces, who face being bombed, shot at, vilified and God knows what else, who hold the torch for the politicians and the untouchable wealthy. We have seen it all before in the 19^th Century, when the arms manufacturers, managed to make huge profits, no matter which country they hailed from.

I would like to think, that at some stage, the USA will get the message and start looking after its wonderful people in a very different way, and stop trying to fight unwinnable wars. I’m not saying that a return to ‘Isolationism’ is the answer--- but take a hard look at yourself USA--- and get out and vote so that you don’t have presidents who only represent about a third of the eligible voters. Would the world fall apart if you pulled back a bit? Who says that you have to ‘contain the Taliban’ because you are standing up for human rights or some other spurious excuse?

I am sure many of you will say that my little tirade is nothing more than the naive words of someone who doesn’t see the whole picture. Perhaps I just don’t see a scorpion under every rock. I do however see too many graves with the USA military insignia proudly displayed--- for what?  You decide.

Perhaps I am also saying---‘go well--- go in peace’ and maybe, ‘let the buggers sort out their own problems,’ because unless the likes of China, India, and Russia are behind you, you are on a hiding to nothing.