Moral Imperialism

From The United States and Mexico by Howard F Cline:

By early 1914 President Woodrow Wilson had lost his patience with Mexico, and an incident in Tampico on April 9 furnished an excuse to move against Huerta.Strung along the Panuco river were foreign-owned oil installations...chiefly British. From a dock that everyone had been forbidden by Huerta's Federalists to use,Americans had been loading gasoline into a whaleboat flying the American flag and were arrested. Admiral Mayo received an apology but demanded that the Mexicans "hoist the American flag and salute it with twenty one guns".

The Mexicans refused and on April 13 Wilson spent the whole day studying what he ought to do.He had convinced himself that Huerta was deliberately launching a campaign to lower the dignity of the U.S...The whole Atlantic fleet was then ordered to Tampico. Huertas Minister of Affairs informed the American Charge' de Affaires that Huerta would fire the salute if the U.S. would guarantee to return it immediately...Wilson brushed it aside and requested that Congress approve his use of armed force.At 11:30 am on April 21 the United States Navy took the principle port of Veracruz.

This was a lesson for the Iranians and Iraqis and Venezuelans and anybody else who thought that " the nations sub-soil wealth belongs to the state." This arcane provision only applies to the U.S.and client states.Nicaragua, the Philipines and other Central American and Caribbean nations got similar demonstrations.

So the logic of the capitalist state is pretty straightforward but what is surprising is some of the morons they get to run the ship itself.Bill Moyers played the recorded phone conversations of Lyndon Johnson as he was deciding how to prosecute the Vietnam War. He calls friends and advisors, even Bobby Kennedy, hoping somebody can tell him how to unravel himself from the "damn mess" he has been handed and what is most shocking is the level of discussion, it's banal, instrumental, pathetically shallow quality.

We all know the kinds of arguments Obama is hearing as he deliberates the same deathly question: How many more should be sacrificed? Strategic goals, political ramifications , moral questions and above all else , economic factors: how will it look to our competitors if we bail? What will we do with all these soldiers and "defence" industries if we don't have our war on?