Reinventing the Empire, Washington-Style
by Nebojsa Malic
The new year has hardly had time to properly start, but the Washington Post has already set the tone for things to come. In the January 2, 2008 issue, on page A13 (opinion), the Post carries an abridged article by Moisés Naím, titled “A Hunger for America.”
Never mind the current disaffection with the United States throughout the world, Naím says; in reality, people around the world want to be ruled by an American Empire, so long as its hegemony is benevolent. Not only that, but an American hegemony is a necessity:
“Few want to see the world’s stage led by autocratic regimes such as those in Russia or China. An ineffectual Europe does not offer much in the way of leadership. And short of these options, there are few possibilities besides living in an anarchic vacuum.”If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard it before – from Madeleine Albright, Dick Holbrooke, and Bill Clinton. Indeed, the paper edition of the Post (not the online edition, though) featured a sub-heading with Albright’s infamous phrase, “indispensable nation.”
About the Author
Naím’s sparse Wikipedia biography reveals that he was born in Libya, and was a major “reformer” in Venezuela – presumably before Hugo Chávez came to power. He also worked at the World Bank, and there is a cryptic note suggesting he was involved with the NED as well. Now he is editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an interventionist think-tank in Washington, DC.
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/?articleid=12150