The U.S. Empire is the most formidable in history

[Raymond]

The U.S. Empire is the most formidable in history
Against Empire
by Michael Parenti

Chapter 3: Intervention: Whose gain? Whose pain?

Today, the United States is the foremost proponent of recolonization
and leading antagonist of revolutionary change throughout the world.:
vastly superior to any other nation, with an ability to slaughter with
impunity--as the massacre of Iraq demonstrated in 1990-91

Emerging from World War II relatively unscathed and superior to all
other industrial countries in wealth, productive capacity, and armed
might, the United States became the prime purveyor and guardian of
global capitalism. Judging by the size of its financial investments
and military force, judging by every imperialist standard except
direct colonization, the U.S. empire is the most formidable in
history, far greater than Great Britain in the nineteenth century or
Rome during antiquity. A Global Military Empire The exercise of U.S.
power is intended to preserve not only the international capitalist
system but U.S. hegemony of that system.The Pentagon's "Defense
Planning Guidance" draft (1992) urges the United States to continue to
dominate the international system by discouraging the advanced
industrialized nations from challenging our leadership or even
aspiring to a larger global or regional role." By maintaining this
dominance, the Pentagon analysts assert, the United States can insure
"a market-oriented zone of peace and prosperity that encompasses more
than two- thirds of the world's economy".


This global power is immensely costly. Today, the United States
spends more on military arms and other forms of "national security"
than the rest of the world combined. U.S. leaders preside over a
global military apparatus of a magnitude never before seen in human
history. In 1993 it included almost a half- million troops stationed
at over 395 major military bases and hundreds of minor installations
in thirty-five foreign countries, and a fleet larger in total tonnage
and firepower than all the other navies of the world combined,
consisting of missile cruisers, nuclear submarines, nuclear aircraft
carriers,
destroyers, and spy ships that sail every ocean and make port on every
continent. U.S. bomber squadrons and long-range missiles can reach any
target, carrying enough explosive force to destroy entire countries
with an overkill capacity of more than 8,000 strategic nuclear weapons
and 22,000 tactical ones. U.S. rapid deployment forces have a
firepower in conventional weaponry vastly superior to any other
nation's, with an ability to slaughter with impunity--as the massacre
of Iraq demonstrated in 1990-91

Cont'd
http://killinghope.org/bblum6/parenti.htm

[meport]

According to the History Channel, the Mongol Empire of Genghis thru Obedei
Khan was the greatest empire in history. It was the biggest empire ever, it
controlled more wealth and more centers of affluence than any other empire
ever had or has, it had a greater share of the worlds population under it's
control at the time and it was the most progressive in terms of government
and education given the relative era it existed in. Thus the US Empire is
second rate when compared to the Mongol Empire.
---
meport

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