Imperial Delusions

[Clara T]

Imperial delusions
By Devlin Buckley
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Feb 11, 2006, 11:44

“The United States is a nation engaged in what will be a long war.” –2006 Quadrennial Defense Review

“Long wars are usually strategic disasters . . ." –The Long War, William Sturgiss Lind

The Department of Defense’s recently updated Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) -- adapted from a neoconservative fairy tail -- illustrates the treacherously defective reasoning of an empire in denial. Using the threat of terrorism as a pretext for imperial mobilization, the 113-page 20-year defense strategy is designed to fail.

The preface of the document opens with the following:
The United States is a nation engaged in what will be a long war.

<snip>

In the language of publicly-released foreign policy, “defending our interests around the globe” -- a phrase repeated in several ways throughout the QDR -- usually translates to: securing America’s global dominance by force.

Similar language, although sometimes far more straightforward, has often been used by members of the Bush administration as well as influential policy groups and think tanks, such as the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). The infamous PNAC document, Rebuilding America’s Defenses, for instance, states:
The Defense Policy Guidance (DPG) drafted in the early months of 1992 provided a blueprint for maintaining U.S. preeminence, precluding the rise of a great power rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests.

Many links here:
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_500.shtml

[applegrove]

1. Thanks for the post!