Beneath the United States By Lars Schoultz

In this sweeping history of United States policy toward Latin America, Lars Schoultz shows that the United States has always perceived Latin America as a fundamentally inferior neighbor, unable to manage its affairs and stubbornly underdeveloped.

This perception of inferiority was apparent from the beginning. John Quincy Adams, who first established diplomatic relations with Latin America, believed that Hispanics were "lazy, dirty, nasty...a parcel of hogs." In the early nineteenth century, ex-President John Adams declared that any effort to implant democracy in Latin America was "as absurd as similar plans would be to establish democracies among the birds, beasts, and fishes."

Drawing on extraordinarily rich archival sources, Schoultz, one of the country's foremost Latin America scholars, shows how these core beliefs have not changed for two centuries. We have combined self-interest with a "civilizing mission"--a self-abnegating effort by a superior people to help a substandard civilization overcome its defects. William Howard Taft felt the way to accomplish this task was "to knock their heads together until they should maintain peace," while in 1959 CIA Director Allen Dulles warned that "the new Cuban officials had to be treated more or less like children." Schoultz shows that the policies pursued reflected these deeply held convictions.

While political correctness censors the expression of such sentiments today, the actions of the United States continue to assume the political and cultural inferiority of Latin America. Schoultz demonstrates that not until the United States perceives its southern neighbors as equals can it anticipate a constructive hemispheric alliance.

Imperial overreach and financial indiscipline

Is this the beginning of the end for Pax Americana?

The financial and economic crash of 2008, the worst in over 75 years, is a major geopolitical setback for the United States and Europe. Over the medium term, Washington and European governments will have neither the resources nor the economic credibility to play the role in global affairs that they otherwise would have played. These weaknesses will eventually be repaired, but in the interim, they will accelerate trends that are shifting the world's center of gravity away from the United States...

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20090101faessay88101/roger-c-altman/the-great-crash-2008.html

The Omid satellite launch confirms that Iranian scientists have mastered the separation of payload from missile in space and placing a payload into the right orbit, both useful skills for an ICBM. It does not imply Iran is on the brink of targeting Washington with a nuclear warhead.

The Russian government had said that in return for Obama's change in tone it would review its own plans to put tactical missiles in its western enclave of Kaliningrad. The diplomatic thaw, which is only a week old, generated hopes of a more productive bilateral relationship. All that is now under greater threat as a result of the Omid satellite launch by Iran, if it pushes the missile defence argument back in favour of the hawks.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/03/iran-satellite-julian-borger-analysis

Russia influences Kyrgyzstan to close key U.S. airbase

Last month, the Kremlin said it would open transportation lines through Russia to Afghanistan to help U.S. forces circumvent the violence-plagued route across the Pakistani border.
Although he didn't cite the base closing, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a point of saying in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan and Russia "are open to coordinated action" with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan.
Analyst Felgenhauer said the message from the two actions was clear: The Kremlin is willing to help the American military in Afghanistan, but only on the condition that the U.S. recognizes its authority in central Asia.

http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/1016230.html

NATO UNDER ATTACK

image credit: Paul Ferguson
Nato officials have told the BBC their computers are under constant attack from organisations and individuals bent on trying to hack into their secrets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7851292.stm

History of the internet-watch video

"History of the internet" is an animated documentary explaining the inventions from time-sharing to filesharing, from Arpanet to Internet.

Only in America?

The wrongheaded American belief that Barack Obama could only happen here. Americans, indulging this month in our national pastime of unparalleled exceptionalism, need to rejoin the reality-based community. Pride is one thing. But telling ourselves that the Obama story could only happen in our country, in our time? That's hooey.

http://www.slate.com/id/2204822/