interesting: that implies that the US has been "imperial," contrary what other establishmentarian folks have been telling us for decades.
On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 7:28 PM, ken hanly <[email protected]> wrote: > > Al Jazeera likes to have variety! Apparently Obama is envisioning a > post-imperial U.S. > > http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/20114573424979413.html > > t seems to me that the time has come to give the president credit where credit > is due. Obama’s speech of last Monday concerning Libya, even if not as > rhetorically shimmering as some others, was nonetheless a masterful address. > It was thoughtful, it was nuanced and, most importantly, it provided a > compelling rationale for the limited programme of action which the president > has > established for the US in that North African country. The speech was yet more > important, however, for reasons having little to do with Libya per se. > For in the president’s words last week we can begin to see the outlines of a > much broader program for the future use of American power. A president who > clearly sees himself as a transformational figure is beginning to lay out the > template for a post-imperial America. > For most of the last century, the United States has been an imperial power - > imperial not in the sense of the colonial powers of the 19th and early 20th > centuries, but in the “best” sense of the word: that is, as a power which > sees > its national interests in broad, and not narrow terms. > > The author:Robert Grenier is a retired, 27-year veteran of the CIA’s > Clandestine > Service. He was Director of the CIA’s Counter-Terrorism Centre from 2004 to > 2006. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
