America:
Sacrificing more for others that any nation in history.
Al Seyassah, Kuwait
America's Rare
Spirit of 'Courageous Intrusion'
"America's great generosity
and sacrifice, both in money and in lives, is well-known. No nation in history
has offered its sons to death and drained its coffers for the sake of others
the way the United States of America has."
Out of the ruins of the Soviet
Union, which collapsed along with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, emerged
the "uni-polar" era characterized by complete American supremacy over
global politics. Many believe that today, as a new global system forms, China,
Brazil, India, Russia and China have an undeniable role to play.
The tremendous economic
growth of these powers does come along with political influence, in addition to
national pride and honor." (Sarkis Abu Zayd, Who will inherit America's
throne of Global Leadership? in Al-Kuwait, July 25, 2008). There is
no doubt that the era of globalization has witnessed the rise of new economic
powers, especially in Asia and the Far East, which are now capable of competing
economically with the United States of America. And with France's influence,
the European Union has also emerged as a political competitor that cannot be
ignored by the policies of the United States.
THE
AMERICAN SOLDIER: A Welcomed Sight for Many in Distress.
But can we expect these
countries to exercise the role that the United States of America plays at the
global level, or in clearer words: Do these countries possess the audacity to
forcefully intrude on international affairs, like the United States does?
Former U.S. Secretary of
State Colin Power was once asked, "Why does America want to be the world's
policeman?" He replied simply: "Because all of you call us whenever
you confront a crisis." This is an answer that carries a lot of shameful
and embarrassing connotations for other global powers. The Americans have a
tendency, both politically and militarily, (I'll leave aside the economic
aspect), toward what can be called "courageous intrusion."
Let's ask ourselves the following
questions:
-- 1. Who saved Europe from
the threat of Nazism? Answer: The United States.
-- 2. .Who took
down Yugoslav forces after NATO failed to confront Serbian barbarity? Answer:
The United States.
-- 3. Who faced-off against
the Soviet Union for seventy years, until the hour of its collapse and the end
of communism? Answer: The United States.
-- 4. Who provided
the Afghans with rockets and weapons to defeat the occupier? Answer: The United
States
-- 5. Who intervened to save Africa
after the horrific massacres in Rwanda? Answer: The United States.
-- 6. Who saved
the Far East from the terrorism of the Japanese army? Answer: The United
States.
-- 7. Who saved Kuwaiti
Muslims from Iraqi occupation? Answer: The United States.
-- 8. Who
liberated Iraq from tyranny and the rule of the Baathists? Answer: The United
States.
-- 9. Who highlighted the
tragedy of Darfur to the world? Answer: The United States.
Many Arabs say that the
United States has done these things merely to serve its strategic interests,
especially with regard to oil, which is a shame because it is shown to be
patently untrue by the fact that the U.S. buys Arab oil at market prices - it
doesn't receive it free from Kuwait or Iraq. Moreover, there is no oil in the Balkans
or Rwanda. America's great generosity and sacrifice, both in money and in
lives, is well-known. No nation in history has offered its sons to death and
drained its coffers for the sake of others the way the United States of America
has.
"Courageous intrusion"
requires a spirit that stands apart from industrial growth or agricultural
development (incidentally, America is the world's greatest source of wheat,
without which many in the poorest countries would have perished from
starvation). Today's newly-industrial states don't presently have this spirit,
nor will they have it in the future. Because such a spirit requires so much
money and so many souls that if any of these nations had such courage, its
coffers would quickly be emptied and its economy would collapse, never to rise
again.
After the September 11
attacks on New York, the losses to the American economy amounted to about $300
billion, America has spent over a trillion dollars in Iraq, and the American dollar
is still the currency of choice in many countries now considered capable of
competing with the United States of America!
