Empire Or Democracy

   I have stated before that most of the 9/11 attacks were due to the foreign policy of the United states and that we really should not have been surprised when it happened.

    From Rockridge Nation

Choosing Between Empire and Democracy

Created by evan_at_rockridge (Rockridge Institute staff member) on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:52 AM

In an article published today, Chalmers Johnson, a former professor of Asian Studies and one-time consultant to the CIA, makes a persuasive argument that, "We are on the brink of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire." The language and concepts that Johnson uses reveal much that is left out of mainstream political debate and conventional news coverage. It is vital for progressives to bring these ideas before the broader public and to speak out for the values that are at risk.

Johnson's article, Empire v. Democracy: Why Nemesis Is at Our Door, outlines why the military commitments of the United States threaten our democracy and why this threat is difficult to avert. The article highlights the themes of a trilogy of Johnson's books related to this subject, which Johnson has just completed.

The first frame that Johnson introduces to make his argument is "blowback," which he referenced in the title of the first of the three books, published in 2000. The concept of blowback, which Johnson defines as "retaliation for illegal operations carried out abroad that were kept totally secret from the American public," is not new, but awareness of blowback became much more widespread after September 11, 2001. What is compelling about Johnson's discussion of blowback is that he provides a narrative showing that blowback defines a cycle. After listing a litany of covert operations, from coups and assassinations to the rigging of elections, Johnson illustrates that blowback is part of a descent into empire:

"The fact that these actions were, at least originally, secret meant that when retaliation does come -- as it did so spectacularly on September 11, 2001 -- the American public is incapable of putting the events in context. Not surprisingly, then, Americans tend to support speedy acts of revenge intended to punish the actual, or alleged, perpetrators. These moments of lashing out, of course, only prepare the ground for yet another cycle of blowback."

Entire Article

 

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