Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project) Paperback – September 1, 2004

This is a significant book. One that should replace the media and be used as a permanent historical reference work. The masks applied to the media, the masses, those diverted into activities that consume smaller issues and cloud judgment on objectivity are very much in affect. This book "needs" to be out there more than reading some opinionated account. Only in years of time, when the dust settles and emotional detachment of the nationalist and patriot is attained, only then can this be seen as objective history by the majority. This book is on the top of my list of high significance.Some of the thoughts contained: Two superpowers: the U.S. government and masses of public opinion. Two enemies: the domestic and the foreign. The domestic masses and the Wilsonian ideal that the "good" only exists in the hands of few responsible decision makers who know what's best for everyone else and the need to protect them; to subdue public opinion, the "wild beast," with propaganda and information control. And today with the new laws on terrorism, censorship without warrants, wiretapping and donating to the wrong Muslim or other organization can get you arrested and deported. And in the foreign policy, the transforming global order in domination as seen in from the recent past in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Central America with U.S. backed dictatorships of terror, in power for their support of U.S. economic interests, who employ the most deadly murderous and genocidal regimes. A great comparison is given from John Stuart Mill's British imperialism against India. and in approval of France's imperialism against Algeria.Critics result to name calling in unfairly labeling all those who love America but do not approve of its imperialistic actions as "Anti-American," who "hate America, a common tactic used in the past by fascist and Soviet authoritarianism. And the rhetoric used over and over again by aggressors such as Hitler in "preserving the peace of the German and Czechoslovakian people," esteeming his hostile take over. Apparently all political actions are accompanied by a noble intent.A new form of U.S. imperial strategy that overrides all U.N. Security counsel, that is now preemptive, evidence or not, Iraq the new Petri dish of experiment and NATO the new instrument of power which acts on its own discords. While the WTO and IMF enforce the neoliberalization of privatizing the third world into U.S. raw materials, populations thrown into the poverty of production commodities for the developed countries luxuries, NATO is enforcing U.S. interests through one party power, contradictorily allowing some countries to violate treaties, laws and own nuclear weapons and others attacked for the same, as can be seen in the repeated bombing of Serbia and its civilian targets. The rule of law rests in the U.S. alone, unilaterally, WMD or not, or what ever reason sees fit at the time of questioning. Punishments and rewards, intimidative domination of leverage are applied to other countries on votes in the U.N. security counsel, and even then, action will take place regardless. A new domestic policy of "terrorist activities" applied to citizens who now are legally refused the right of a lawyer and civil liberties has gone into affect.Today, U.S. citizens are not as submissive as they were when Kennedy attacked Viet Nam as can be seen by protests and around the world. What worries people globally is not the threat of Saddam Hussein, Iraq or North Korea, but that of U.S. hegemony and world domination through force.U.S. view of underdeveloped countries as "children" that must be disciplined and shown who is in charge: Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela, Mexico and Iran dared to attempt to control its own sources. An excellent objective view of the declassified documents and close call in the Cuban missile crises.The real threat of the cold war was not Soviet aggression but the idea that resistance to U.S. economic interests would spread as the post WWII peace was in reality from the threat of U.S. might.Thoughts on NATO and Iraq, on Turkey and U.S. support of its killings of Kurds. Not until their resistance in the Iraq war did it come out in the papers - U.S. backing is much more than simply "tolerance," as the media claims. Also the NATO bombings with lack of evidence of the Serb genocides and without UN Security Counsel permissions. The U.S. Drug policy equals U.S. economic interests. And suppression in Columbia; crimes are privatized in accord with neoliberal practice with private militias and private companies hired for fumigation which eradicate personal responsibilities. We can learn by history of the 19th century colonialism as insight in this.More thoughts are: the similar cowboy aggressive attributes between JFK and GW Bush II; Guatemala democratic peoples government destroyed by U.S., Castro has the majority of support, but U.S. knows what's best for the Cuban people; Kennedy's Operation Mongoose against Cuba is more with severe deception with false accusations and set ups against Cuba; haphazard raids against Cuba killing innocent civilians including an airliner of 73 passengers; Jeb Bush pardons the terrorists, while Bush I hardened the embargo, refusing hurricane aid, food and medicine; U.S. murder of Latin American Priests and a housemaid and her daughter who dared speak out for self rule and economic interests; U.S. support for Algerian torture; bombing Libya without evidence of so called drugs while pushing tobacco on others; undoing the "new deal" and privatization for the rich only; the answer to domestic unpopularity - raise up nationalism with the enemy to destroy and U.S. has made it clear - no UN security counsel needed, they, and the rest of the world, must "catch up" - Collin Powell; Washington's refusal to attend UN discussions on post war reconstruction; the Panama and Afghanistan invasions; the sanctions has already destroyed Iraq before the war; how the world court and the UN Security Counsel condemned the U.S. killings in Nicaragua - only the U.S. and Israel vetoed. If a country harbors so called terrorists than they are the same according to Bush and the U.S. harbors the same. Also the human rights abuses of Israel/And the claim of Washington and the media that "Old Europe" is paranoid anti-American and undemocratic really means: "Strong governments disregard their populations and "accept the role," assigned to them by the global ruler (U.S.); weak governments succumb to the will of 95 percent of their population." P. 136Much more book for this review. Highly recommend this book.And so will the other superpower, the masses of the public, succeed despite it all?

If one needs a guideline to what constitutes American freedom of the press, it's demonstrated here by the no-holds barred display of the history and current status of American Foreign Policy and it's nefarious collusion of the corporate predatory agenda in the guise of "official" American global policy and behind the backs of the American public.Prof. Chomsky's strict adherence to well documented, but not so publicly displayed records of corporate/government global shenanigans is an eye-opening indictment of what's wrong with Corporate America- and thats it in a nutshell: "Corporate America" v. "America of the People, by the People, and for the people"- what part about that declaration do corporations and their political pimps not understand?Flag wavers with weak stomachs for America `exposed' need to be warned that Chomsky sets the parameters of what constitutes freedom of speech and therefore, what makes America the envy of all other nations. The right to critically analyze and question one's own government is the hallmark of American freedoms and Chomsksy does it with fortitude and courage like few others.On the back cover of this fine book is adulation from the New York Times: "Judged in terms of the power, range, novelty, and influence of his thought, Noam Chomsky is arguably the most important intellectual alive." Of course, there are many such heroes in print but certainly, Prof. Chomsky is at the top of the integrity pyramid with his profound sense of duty to truth and call for restructuring of American corporate business/government relationships. Indeed, who is the government suppose to serve, the citizens or the corporations-who have distanced themselves from over-sight and regulation and operate on a selfish anti-democratic basis?For a good example of Chomsky's expose on American foreign policy and as dictated by corporate influence, there is: [Contempt for international law and institutions was particularly flagrant in the Reagan-Bush years-the first reign of Washington's current incumbents-and their successors continued to make it clear that the U.S. reserved the right to act "unilaterally when necessary," including the "unilateral use of military power" to defend such vital interests as "ensuring access to key markets, energy supplies, and strategic resources." But the posture was not exactly new.] (p 15)And one wonders why both in the U.S. and internationally, legions of people are calling foul on the predatory "Capitalist Pigs" and the U.S. Government's unlawful and unethical enforcement of the nefarious, selfish, predatory American corporate agenda?While the good Prof. Chomsky rails on corporate influence, etc., he offers solutions and hope for this dismal history of American corporate chicanery. This can be seen all through his work and by-the-way, this is the purpose of his work, as I see it, to help America become what it purports to be, and every decent citizen wants it to be- a monument to honesty, integrity, and the democratic way. Indeed, Chomsky is not aof profit doom, rather an avatar of change for the good of all- globally all- not just America.On page 235 is a good example of hope in this book: "It would be a great error to conclude that the prospects are uniformly bleak. Far from it. One very promising development is the slow evolution of a human rights culture among the general population...that accelerated in the 1960s...heightened concern for civil and human rights, including rights of minorities, women, and future generations...environmental movement...", etc.What comes across here, above all, is the important need to revamp U.S. Foreign Policy and corporate influence. Is the government the exclusive benefactor of business or the people? We have separation of church and state (although one would never know it with the current administration)- we also need separation of state and the corporate agenda!Is capitalism inherently rotten and incompatible with a civilized society? In it's current structure and influence on government, absolutely, but as with Chomsky, and many others, they believe a redefining of priorities can straighten-out this pan of worms. In the book "Natural Capitalism" by Lovins and Hawken, is a fine demonstration of reprioritizing current corporate structure and bringing a sense of global responsibility and compatibility with civilized, interconnected consciousnesses at the helm and many examples of corporations that have seen the "light" of interconnectivity with the rest of the world, are profiting by the guidelines delineated here.Also, there is the blast-furnace expose of current corporate structure and it's deleterious side-effects on all life in the book, "The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power" by Joel Bakan. A serious indictment of current corporate structure, but again, with guidelines and ideas for an equable resolution with hope for a better world.Last, but certainly not least is Thomas Berry's, "The Great Work". This is another chastisement of current corporate structure, along with society's in general misguided and cancerous direction. However, a format for redemption is the focus of this fine book.Finally, there is the profound admonition found in the ancient Chinese Proverb: "If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed." and that is: global chaos- my assessment."What is difficult is to imagine how to get out of the situation we're in right now in a time frame that is in line with the rate of deterioration that we're seeing."- Paul Hawken.Proverb and quote from Hawken taken from Duane Elgin's book, "Promise Ahead".

A brutal expose of American atrocities in its Imperialist history.