"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Trouble abroad
David Goldman (a/k/a "Spengler") has written an interesting article on David Petraeus and our intelligence challenges worldwide (H/T to an anonymous commenter).
His criticisms of the Obama admin seem well made but I'm not sure what he is saying about the previous.
No one in the world will ever be as 'ready for democracy' as northern Europeans were in the past century. No amount of tweeking changes that. Millions died when India gained freedom. The British couldn't hold the place much longer anyway, probably. India has British institutions but probably only holds on to democracy because there's nothing else - 'least worst option'. But that sounds like all of us these days.
The US pushed for League of and United Nations, freedom, rights, all that. How far back does Goldman want to backtrack and rejig?
One thing I've never figured about US 'cons' arises from my understanding of Conservatism as Churchillian, defending the Empire.
Does that mean a true American Conservative is an isolationist only? But even then foreignintervention becomes necessary in defending US interests.
The USA can mostly be very proud of, or at least constructively wiser from (when no one knew outcomes anyway) its foreign 'bungling' and Goldman does a disservice in using the term.
That's an interesting read indeed, Paco.
ReplyDeletePainful, but interesting.
His criticisms of the Obama admin seem well made but I'm not sure what he is saying about the previous.
ReplyDeleteNo one in the world will ever be as 'ready for democracy' as northern Europeans were in the past century. No amount of tweeking changes that. Millions died when India gained freedom. The British couldn't hold the place much longer anyway, probably. India has British institutions but probably only holds on to democracy because there's nothing else - 'least worst option'. But that sounds like all of us these days.
The US pushed for League of and United Nations, freedom, rights, all that. How far back does Goldman want to backtrack and rejig?
One thing I've never figured about US 'cons' arises from my understanding of Conservatism as Churchillian, defending the Empire.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean a true American Conservative is an isolationist only? But even then foreignintervention becomes necessary in defending US interests.
The USA can mostly be very proud of, or at least constructively wiser from (when no one knew outcomes anyway) its foreign 'bungling' and Goldman does a disservice in using the term.