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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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 Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:55 pm Post subject: Republic or Empire -- Post cold War America |
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Chalmers Johnson, not a leftist lightweight but a former govt official, has written a provocative article titled, "Republic or Empire - A National Intelligence Estimate on the United States.". He writes his estimate, like he did for other countries so long ago, while working in the office of National Estimates (O.N.E.) with the CIA. The U.S. does not write an estimate on itself so he provides one. Audio and script here....in pdf
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16189.htm
His thesis is two fold. That the U.S. has forsaken the path of a Republic and become an Empire. 750 bases in 130 countries, enormous expenditures into military production/maintenance.
Secondly that it needs military expansion to avoid domestic economic collapse given the state of investment in military infrastructure/contracting and the financing of the economy from tax dollars to foreign lenders to military production....
Interesting read. Also this interview. Here is a snippet.
http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/dissing-the-republic-to-save-it/1556/
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Indeed, your thesis is that since September 11, the U.S. ceased to be a republic and has become an empire.
It�s an extremely open question if we have crossed our Rubicon and there is no going back. Easily the most important right in our Constitution, according to James Madison, who wrote much of the document, is the one giving the right to go to war exclusively to the elected representatives of the people, to the Congress. Never, Madison continued, should that right be given to a single man. But in October 2002, our Congress gave that power to a single man, to exercise whenever he wanted, and with nuclear weapons if he so chose. And the following March, without any international consultation or legitimacy, he exercised that power by staging a unilateral attack on Iraq.
The Bill of Rights � articles 4 and 6 � are now open to question. Do people really have the right to habeas corpus? Are they still secure in their homes from illegal seizures? The answer for the moment is no. We have to wait and see what the Supreme Court will rule as to the powers of this government that it appointed. |
But his arguement is tight and please read his estimate....
DD |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| Easily the most important right in our Constitution, according to James Madison, who wrote much of the document, is the one giving the right to go to war exclusively to the elected representatives of the people, to the Congress. |
However, historically speaking, it has almost never worked that way, especially in the decades following WWII.
The irony is that this time Congress didn't need to do it. During the Cold War it was plain that the president of necessity had the right/power to defend the country from nuclear attack without the consent of Congress. The window between the Soviets launching their nukes and the moment of impact 20 minutes later made it a moot point.
The important point, in my opinion, is that the Republican-controlled Congress was not overly committed to the traditional conception of the Constitution. Not only were they quite willing to hand over the decision to make war to the president, they were willing to scrap the right of habeas corpus, etc, as noted. The GOP of late, has been a radical party with a very different conception of America. The best illustration of many Republicans' view of the Constitution was a statement by either Attorney General John Mitchell or Edward Meese: The First Amendment? It's just another amendment. One of the biggest distinctions between the parties is their conflicting attitude toward government's role in our private lives. Republicans want the government to deregulate business but invade the most personal aspects of our lives--tell us when we can die (Terri Schiavo), what we can do with our bodies.
I've said several times here that I believe the two parties have flipped positions. The Republicans are now the radical party and the Democrats are now the conservative party. |
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