In the Arms of Dictators: America the Great… Global Arms Dealer

Andrew Gavin Marshall

The American imperial system incorporates much more than supporting the occasional coup or undertaking the occasional war. Coups, wars, assassinations and other forms of overt and covert violence and destabilization, while relatively common and consistent for the United States – compared to other major powers – are secondary to the general maintenance of a system of imperial patronage. A “stable” system is what is desired most by strategic planners and policy-makers, but this has a technical definition. Stability means that the populations of subject nations and regions are under “control” – whether crushed by force or made passive by consent, while Western corporate and financial interests have and maintain unhindered access to the “markets” and resources of those nations and regions. Since the 19th century development of America’s overseas empire, this has been referred to as the “Open Door” policy: as in, the door opens for American and other Western economic interests to have access to and undertake exploitation of resources and labour.

As the only global imperial power, and by far the world’s largest military power, America does not merely rely upon the “goodwill” of smaller nations or the threat of force against them in order to maintain its dominance, it has established, over time, a large and complex network of imperial patronage: supplying economic aid, military aid (to allow its favoured regimes to control their own populations or engage in proxy-warfare), military and police training, among many other programs. These programs are largely coordinated by and between the Defense Department, State Department, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).


Washington Escalates War on Syria

Stephen Lendman

Ousting Assad was planned years ago. At issue is replacing him with a pro-Western puppet. After two years of conflict, he hangs on resiliently. Whether he'll survive is uncertain. Syria's military is strong and supportive. Free Syrian Army and US-recruited death squads are weak by comparison.

Reports suggest direct US intervention appears likely. NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis said he's ready to act if asked. Saying it suggests planned escalation. Two Press TV reports raise concerns. One headlined "US military has plans to bomb and send forces in Syria: Washington Post."

[Plans include] "aerial bombings to deploying troops to 'seize (chemical) weapons sites….' " Washington "sent thousands of protective suits and more than 150 military personnel to help special forces teams…."

They're in Jordan near Syria's border.

"More aggressive US military options….involve….'destroy(ing) Assad's air force to prevent it from using aerial munitions.' "

A second Press TV report said Israel established ties to militants in Golan. Doing so suggests direct intervention. Arab Media Watch chairman Sharif Kikmat Nashashibi was interviewed. He thinks Israel and Turkey will "join forces against Syria." They're preparing the ground to intervene, he said.

Chemical weapons use increases the odds. So does confirmation that Washington is arming Syrian insurgents. It's been ongoing since conflict began. Now it's public knowledge. More on that below.


President Obama’s Second Term: Selling Death and Buying Assassins In the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia

James Petras

Introduction: As President Obama enters his second term with a new Cabinet, the foreign policy legacy of the past four years weighs heavily on their strategic decisions and their empire-building efforts. Central to the analysis of the next period is an evaluation of the past policies especially in regions where Washington expended its greatest financial and military resources, namely the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.

We will proceed by examining the accomplishments and failures of the Obama-Clinton regime. We will then turn to the ongoing policy efforts to sustain the empire-building project. We will take account of the constraints and opportunities, which define the parameters resulting from imperial military ambitions, Israeli-Zionist influence in shaping policy and the ongoing anti-imperialist struggles. We will conclude by examining likely polices and outcomes resulting from current strategies.

The Clinton-Obama Imperial Legacy: The Accomplishments

The greatest success of the Obama-Clinton (OC) imperial legacy was the virtual elimination of organized domestic anti-war dissent, the demise of the peace movement and the co-optation of virtually the entire ‘progressive’ leadership in the US – while multiplying the number of proxy wars, overt and covert military operations and ‘defense’ spending. As a result, the entire political spectrum moved further to the right toward greater militarization abroad and increased police-state measures at home.

Facing mass revolts and the overthrow of long-standing client regimes in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, the Obama-Clinton (OC) Administration moved rapidly to reconfigure new client regimes while preserving the state apparatus – the military, intelligence, police, judicial and civilian bureaucracy. The empire dumped incumbent regimes in order to save the repressive state, the key guarantor of US strategic interests.


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