More on US Imperialism —rogue countries do not pose a threat, but an obstacle to Western "order"

By SJ Otto

A few days ago I wrote about the propaganda war discussed in an article on the decline of US imperialism, based largely on "Pentagon study declares American empire is ‘collapsing’," from INSURGEintelligence. This was included in my article, "As US Imperialism gets weaker, we all play a part in bringing it down." Much of the INSURGEintelligence article is based on a report the  U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) produced. The article was posed as a wake up call, outlining problems and perceived solutions. But one interesting aspect of the INSURGEintelligence article is its bluntness of the true nature of US Imperialism. For example:

"The document also sets out the real reasons that the U.S. is hostile to “revolutionary forces” like Iran and North Korea: they pose fundamental obstacles to U.S. imperial influence in those regions. They are:

“… neither the products of, nor are they satisfied with, the contemporary order… At a minimum, they intend to destroy the reach of the U.S.-led order into what they perceive to be their legitimate sphere of influence. They are also resolved to replace that order locally with a new rule set dictated by them.”

Far from insisting, as the U.S. government does officially, that Iran and North Koreapose as nuclear threats, the document instead insists they are considered problematic for the expansion of the “U.S.-led order.”

Many on the left already know this. This opinion can be found in many leftwing news sources or blogs. But this article is from a more mainstream (or at least centrist) source of news and it actually quotes a DOD document. It is like reading a confession by an actual US imperialist news source. We constantly hear President Donald Trump, members of congress and mainstream news pundits that Democratic People's Republic (North) Korea is a serious nuclear threat. The impression given is that countries such as North Korea and Iran are dangerous Rogue nations that might strike out at innocent smaller countries or even make attacks on the US itself. Barack Obama and other former presidents have claimed that North Korea refuses talk to America on ways to defuse the military tensions. And while Obama did make an agreement with Iran to stop its attempts to become a nuclear power, Trump has insisted that Iran, along with North Korea, can't be trusted and the Iran nuclear agreement is worthless.

Neither Trump, congress people or most past presidents have admitted that much of the attempts by these rogue nations to build nuclear arms are actually defensive positions to prevent being overthrown by the US Imperial "order" as the Pentagon likes to call it. For example:

"The study describes the essentially imperial nature of this order as being underpinned by American dominance, with the U.S. and its allies literally “dictating” its terms to further their own interests:

“The order and its constituent parts, first emerged from World War II, were transformed to a unipolar sys­tem with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and have by-and-large been dominated by the United States and its major Western and Asian allies since. Status quo forces collectively are comfortable with their dominant role in dictating the terms of international security outcomes and resist the emergence of rival centers of power and authority.”

While there is serious concern by the Western Imperialists about Iran, North Korea and other small so called "rogue countries," There is less concern about Russia and China. At times those super powers seem to benefit from the new "order:"

"Russia and China are described as “revisionist forces” who benefit from the U.S.-dominated international order, but who dare to “seek a new distribution of power and authority commensurate with their emergence as legitimate rivals to U.S.dominance.” Russia and China, the analysts say, “are engaged in a deliberate program to demonstrate the limits of U.S. authority, will, reach, influence, and impact.”

They are a threat, but Western Imperialists want to control their influence rather than completely eliminate them, as with smaller rivals. Another way to look at this is that it is nearly impossible for the US and its allies to overthrow Russia and China. But smaller nations can always be changed. Regime change has been a tool of US imperialism for much of US history. That is especially true in Latin America, which the US has considered it's backyard. The US is already at work trying to change the regime in Venezuela.   

So as with the last article I posted, about opposing US and Western Imperialism, we must arm ourselves with the truth. At times the pen is mightier than the sword and it is those times we must take full advantage of our use of the truth. Articles such as the one in INSURGEintelligence are extremely helpful.

Pix by Tes Teach.