In all the paeans to American greatness this election season, most people don’t have a clue as to what actually made America great. from David Raeburn Finn at antiwar.com:
America’s “exceptionalism” is alive and well. It’s resurfaced wearing a wig in current presidential politics.
Clinton speaks about America the “indispensable” nation. It’s high sounding fluff. What does it mean? Shall we take a stab? A crutch might be “indispensable” for a crippled man. Does Hillary Clinton have a cripple in mind? Who’s crippled?
A random guess says its the rest of the world. It needs to be straightened out. No other nation can do it. America is the crutch. “Look at them, down in the mud without a crutch. I’m Hillary. Here’s my message: I’ll keep you out of the mud.”
A confession: I offer a lament. It’s a lament about the confusions of politicians, especially Hillary Clinton’s. It’s a lament for an exceptional America, for a nation whose core of strength is fading but has yet to vanish. Clinton’s confusion, widely shared, is that a “muscular” application of America’s considerable powers, economic, military and political, is in America’s interests in that it will perpetuate its world leadership. Muscle for Russia, muscle for Syria, Iran, China. So much muscle.
Hillary is confused. Many pine for a great American nation. It simply isn’t the America Hillary would lead. She is as confused about what the nation’s great powers have accomplished as she is about what those powers can accomplish. She’s confused about what lies at the basis of America’s claim to greatness. Hillary is a greatness-through-power advocate.
Two things are obvious. Power advocates think America is losing its grip. Hence, for example, Dan Twining’s “A blueprint for restoring American exceptionalism” (FP, March 7, 2013) an abject précis of the extravagantly entitled “Setting Priorities for American Leadership – A New National Security Strategy for the United States” (PUSA, March 2013). Of course, restoration isn’t necessary unless American greatness is going, going, gone. Hillary has the answer: “Just watch. We’re going to be indispensable again.”
The confusion of power advocates is this: America’s greatness isn’t eroding because its great powers are diminishing. It’s great powers are diminishing because its greatness is ignored and is being lost.
Illusions of Military Power, Past and Present
America was held in check by peasants and foot soldiers in Korea and defeated in Vietnam and Afghanistan. It was saved from similar defeat in Iraq only by the intervention of Iran, which counseled the Iraqis to deny at the last moment a SOFA to America’s military. In each country America’s politicians and military leaders confused the national resistance of a people for something else.
Today air superiority over China and Russia is doubtful. Russian defensive and offensive missile technology as well as its electronic warfare capacities are superior. Insofar as the US banks on drones, robots, Boeing’s phantom eye “game changer,” the weaponized carrier based X47B, the RQ-180, unmanned subs and tanks, they are matched and possibly surpassed by counterpart Russian and Chinese advances. To suppose America’s potential foes cannot or will not match US military powers amounts either to an estimate fueled by hallucinogenic vegetables or results from simple lame brained racism. Add to this that defense production in both major potential adversaries is guaranteed to be more cost effective than that of the US. US military power, effective against Grenada and Panama, evidently doesn’t cow China, Russia, North Korea or Iran.
To continue reading: Lament for an Indispensable America
