The advice from the Consigliere to the Paulsen gang

["Nestor Gorojovsky" <nestorgoro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lou Paulsen asks:

"What would YOU recommend if you were an imperialist strategist right
now?"

>From the context, I assume Lou P. is thinking of the American
imperialist strategists.

Visiting Stoltz's webpage for the "Defense of the SU" article has
provided me with an answer. I would most probably try to modify the
Eden-on-Dulles ("bull with built-in China shop") approach.

In fact, I think they are slowly doing it right now, or at least
_beginning to do it_ right now.

I will try to phrase it the way I would give my advice as an
imperialist "consigliere".

Fratelli Carissimi nella Onorata Società:

We have to take great decissions. Our last attempt has failed. It is
important to face facts before we try to harness them back into
reason. So that let us face it: our policy has been quite useless,
even though we managed to destroy the Soviet Union and to bring
Europe to her heels in the Balkans. We are still not hegemonic. We
have used sheer force too brutally. This Iraq quagmire (yes, let us
face it, it is boundless quagmire) has strengthened this image of a
bullyish US the world over.

The moment has come to change it, and it will all be for our
advantage.

We can resort to UN coverage, diplomatic atonement in whispers,
hushes across the Atlantic (and particularly across the English
Channel, because _that_ is where the Atlantic really ends, folks) to
appease France and Germany, some petty bargaining around Africa and
the 'Stans, some comments on the dangers that the EU might face if
they depended on Russian oil too heavily. And warn them about China,
everpresent China still recalling the 19th. Century. Those would be
the first moves. Put the European babes to sleep and make them feel
comfortable that we have changed.

A retreat? Yes. A slow, silent (or as silent as possible) retreat
because we have somewhere to get to:  at the same time, we must be
sure we shall have _free_ hands in Latin America.

Latin America has always been the most secret weapon of US world
hegemony. If we can manage things in an orderly way, we should be
able to slowly turn our backs (or at least our sides) on the Old
Continent, who have always brought us headaches and little rewards.

Let us concentrate on our old, well forged and better practised,
"democratic" plunder of Latin Americans.

Let us appease Chávez, give Argentineans some slack (never too much,
one never knows with these people), try to arrive at a friendly
arrangement with Brazil, corner Chávez while offering some minor
concessions to him, even display a gesture of hypocritical but actual
largesse towards Castro. Stop supporting paramilitaries and do
something on cocaine trade within the United States. Nothing too
important, but showy.

Thus, we may well bring Latin Americans to believe that the US have
entered a new age, that "good neighbor" politics have come back
because the US have failed in the Old Hemisphere, and--

Bring all those kids to the happy fold back again. And start sucking
them dry in peace: they will take at least a decade to realize what
has happened. In the meantime, we may well have reasserted ourselves
while putting China and Europe one against the other.

Any questions, gentlemen?

Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky
nestorgoro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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"Sí, una sola debe ser la patria de los sudamericanos".
Simón Bolívar al gobierno secesionista y disgregador de
Buenos Aires, 1822
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