by Sandy » Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:12 am
Let's put this in perspective. The poll that Keith cited is not confirmation that the United States is the greatest threat to world peace, but that there is a perception around the world that the US is the greatest threat to world peace. That's not a manufactured perception. Our military position, and the capability that is provided to it by the industrial complex that is capable of supporting it, along with our nuclear arsenal, puts our finger on the biggest trigger in the world, and that has a tendency to create the impression that we, as a nation, have fewer restraints on our will to use it. Our repeated role as the "world policeman" is not necessarily accepted around the world in the way that we perceive it. I think the biggest damage ever done to our image and to the perception of the US was the Iraq war. The US attacked, invaded and occupied a sovereign nation without provocation or reason, because the President at the time didn't like its leader, and directed the fear, anger and grief from 9-11 into public opinion to justify the attack. Those actions speak louder than words.
I wouldn't put us in the category of "Rogue" nation along the lines of North Korea, or Iran, but when the US diplomats start talking about "protecting US interests" there are a lot of people who think those are code words to stick our nose into a place where it doesn't belong.