Patience and Reward

© MMIX V.1.0.9

There was no bigger fan of the United States of America than I was before 9/11. I was still a fan until the real George W. Bush emerged from the shadows to declare war on "Al-Qaeda", the imaginary enemy that threatens all from the shadow world of Islam. Remember Mullah Omar and the "shoe-bomber"? They were terrifying. Ooooh.

Where is Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda? Nobody has seen or heard from him for years. Many say he died in hospital long ago. Periodically, the media broadcasts a statement from "Osama" that terrifies the yokels and encourages them to have their sons and daughters sign up to fight for our freedom.

Like many, I owe George W. Bush a big thank you for opening my eyes and waking me up. Thanks too for the Internet — which was created by the U.S. military. The Internet made possible my subsequent education.

One never knows who one will have to thank.

Did Bush, the younger, and his neocons turn the United States into something it was not before?

It is certainly true that the U.S. military of the 19th century, before the Civil War, was much smaller than it has grown to be since the Second World War. But it takes time and patience to build a colossus. Napoleon was much too hasty. Most would agree that Napoleon was over-confident. Napoleon was quickly undone by the Russian winter and the British Empire. Washington was smarter.

Washington was patient. Its plan would take centuries, not years or even decades. You can believe history is all an accident if you wish and write off everything but the official history as "conspiracy theory" but the results are what they are and no one can deny that politicos make definite plans to achieve definite ends or that they conspire to achieve them.

The United States was Napoleon's ally which made sense because France had been Great Britain's perennial enemy for centuries and French assistance had been critical in winning the Revolutionary War. The United States became the somewhat junior partner of the British Empire after the War of 1812. The U.S. consolidated its continental empire in the 19th century at the expense of the Indians and Mexico. The British Empire continued colonizing the rest of the world. The United States opened the 20th century with its pal, the British Empire: The British fought the Boer War while the U.S. fought the Spanish-American War, which gave Washington global reach with a nice Pacific base in the Philippines. At the end of the Great War (WW I), almost all the old empires had been destroyed (German, Austro-Hungarian, French, Russian, Chinese, Ottoman). Only the British Empire and the U.S. Empire remained along with the small Dutch, Portuguese and Belgian empires and the Empire of Japan. The Second World War finished off everyone but the U.S.A. We should entertain the possibility that this was not an accident.

After the Great Victory of '45 we should have enjoyed peace, but peace would be bad if your business is war and your goal is total and complete world domination forever.

Fortunately for Washington, the U.S.S.R. immediately emerged as an enemy. It was soon joined by the People's Republic of China. This permitted Washington to continue building its military to defend the "free world" which was everybody but the commies. A standing army requires enemies. A military-industrial complex requires war.

The Empire of Japan was gone in 1945, along with the Third Reich. The British Empire was gone with Indian Independence in 1947. China was lost in 1949. The U.S.S.R. "fought" the Cold War and was bankrupt and gone in 1991. With Mao gone in 1976, China morphed to become the "shop floor of the world" and manufactured everything for everyone (learning from the Japanese they sell high quality goods for low, low prices).

With all of its enemies gone, the neocons felt the United States had won the long battle to become the master of the world, but the world had changed. The game was over and they didn't know it. They still don't know and the stands are empty. Everyone has gone home. How dumb is that? Will the United States go the way of all the other empires? We'll have to wait a little longer to find out, but today it looks as if it will — the United States is bankrupt and irrelevant. "We can kill everyone!" So?

Washington will likely think it is still important for decades to come. The French thought they still had an empire until Algeria won its independence in 1962. The British still think they are important with Queen Elizabeth II still living like Queen Victoria and living better than Queen Elizabeth I.

Yet time has passed them by.