>Does imperialism profit by its colonies or is imperialism just a control
>freak ? Why is the U.S. military in 100 countries around the world ? Is
>it just US totalitarianism ? Nietschean irrationality ? Leftover from the
>Cold War ?
Exactly the questions I'm trying to get after.
Steven Kinzer has a piece in the current American Prospect about the CIA in Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s. As he tells it, the U.S. was obsessed with Communism. The Brits wanted to overthrow Mossadegh, to preserve their oil concessions, but couldn't do it without U.S. help. They figured that the oil argument wouldn't work in Washington, but the anti-Communist argument would. And it did. I don't know how true this is, but I'd love to know more.
Doug