Harvard Prof Calls on US to Plan All-Out "Imperial Wars"

[Chris Brady <cdbrady@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A remarkably candid essay that must be noted by Marxists: "The Future of
War and the American Military," an article in the May/June issue of
Harvard Magazine that openly calls on the U.S. to plan for "imperial
wars." Written by Stephen Peter Rosen, a former NSC and Defense
Department staffer who now has an endowed full professorship and heads
the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies in Harvard's Department of
Government, this astonishing piece reads in relevant part:

 "It can be difficult for the United States to see itself accurately and
to state its goals objectively. Let us start with some basics. The
United States has no rival. We are militarily dominant around the world.
Our military spending exceeds that of the next six or seven powers
combined, and we have a monopoly on many advanced and not so advanced
military technologies. We, and only we, form and lead military
coalitions into war. We use our military dominance to intervene in the
internal affairs of other countries....

 A political unit that has overwhelming superiority in military power,
and uses that power to influence the internal behavior of other states
is called an empire. Because the United States does not seek to control
territory or govern the overseas citizens of the empire, we are an
indirect empire, to be sure, but an empire nonetheless. If this is
correct, our goal is not combatting a rival, but maintaining our
imperial position, and maintaining imperial order.

 Planning for imperial wars is different than planning for conventional
wars. In dealing with the Soviet Union, war had to be avoided: small
wars could not be allowed to escalate, or to divert us from the core
task of defending Europe and Japan. As a result, military power was
applied incrementally. Imperial wars to restore order are not so
restrained. The maximum amount of force can and should be used as
quickly as possible for psychological impact--to demonstrate that the
empire cannot be challenged with impunity. During the Cold War, we did
not try very hard to bring down communist governments. Now we are in the
business of bringing down hostile governments and creating governments
favorable to us. Conventional international wars end and troops are
brought back home. Imperial wars end, but imperial garrisons must be
left in place for decades to ensure order and stability...."

 The full article is available online at:

 http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/050218.html

{thanks to the tipster if she sees this.}



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