Why Be a US Ally?

Henry Kissinger once said that "being a US ally is often more dangerous than being its enemy." This is obviously true. 

Qadhafi no doubt felt that way as he lay in a ditch in Tripoli dying.  He had given up his anti-US stance and became an "ally." Do you think I am wrong on this? Look at this mini article from 2009 about John McCain's trip to Libya. 

Sen. John McCain, visiting Libya this past week, praised Muammar Gaddafi for his peacemaking efforts in Africa. In addition, McCain called for the U.S. Congress to expand ties with Gaddafi's government, according to Libya's state news agency. 

McCain had a face-to-face meeting with Gaddafi, which he detailed on his Twitter page with the following message:

Late evening with Col. Qadhafi at his "ranch" in Libya -- interesting meeting with an interesting man. 

After once being designated a state sponsor of terrorism in the wake of the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, Libya has seen its diplomatic ties fully restored under the Bush Administration in return for dismantling its nascent nuclear program. Since then, Libya has been instrumental in securing peace deals between warring factions in Africa.

McCain is the poster boy for the military industrial complex. Third World politicians would have to be brain dead not to get the picture. 

Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, according to former VP DIck Cheney, was a good friend of the US. He is in prison right now, held by the US' new best buddy, the Moslem Brotherhood. Vice President Biden called him a good friend as well. 

These two examples have to give a moment’s pause to leaders who might support the US in its fight against terrorism. 

US support of terrorists in Syria is another example. While Syria and the US are not best buddies, Syrian support in the war on terror was well known. Here is an example of this I talked about before. Except for Lebanon, this was the Syrian government policy, no doubt based on the old philosophy that the enemy of my enemy was my friend. Why would anyone ever help the US again? 

Al Qaida in Syria, the rebels the US supports, recently used chemical weapons. The idea was to frame the Assad government and force US intervention. I am not sure if the US government’s repetition of this is stupidity or just another lie. The US has used this type of operation before in the Spanish American War. I blogged about it before. BTW this is my second most popular blog post. 

But ultimately it does not matter. Just as the bread (food stamps), circuses (TV), and the legions of Rome (Or the huge US Navy) led to its downfall, so the same will happen to the US. 

Yes, the crisis I see coming in 3 to 7 years will not be pretty. But I still am guardedly pessimistic, and I think that the US empire will continue for decades as the US, as bad a shape as it is in, has the cleanest dirty shirt around—even China may be in worse shape. 

Prepare as best you can.