quote unquote: John Quincy Adams

On the the search for "monsters to destroy."

"And now, friends and countrymen, if the wise and learned philosophers of the elder world, the first observers of nutation and aberration, the discoverers of maddening ether and invisible planets, the inventors of Congreve rockets and Shrapnel shells, should find their hearts disposed to enquire what has America done for the benefit of mankind? Let our answer be this: America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights of human nature, and the only lawful foundations of government. America, in the assembly of nations, since her admission among them, has invariably, though often fruitlessly, held forth to them the hand of honest friendship, of equal freedom, of generous reciprocity. She has uniformly spoken among them, though often to heedless and often to disdainful ears, the language of equal liberty, of equal justice, and of equal rights. She has, in the lapse of nearly half a century, without a single exception, respected the independence of other nations while asserting and maintaining her own. She has abstained from interference in the concerns of others,

even when conflict has been for principles to which she clings, as to the last vital drop that visits the heart. She has seen that probably for centuries to come, all the contests of that Aceldama the European world, will be contests of inveterate power, and emerging right. Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example. She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force.... She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit....

"[America's] glory is not dominion, but liberty. Her march is the march of the mind. She has a spear and a shield: but the motto upon her shield is, Freedom, Independence, Peace. This has been her Declaration: this has been, as far as her necessary intercourse with the rest of mankind would permit, her practice."

John Quincy Adams in 1821,
presciently warning against the Long War.

As Columbus Day approaches,

...it's worth giving a thought to following the example of Nicaragua by replacing celebration of European exploitation of the Americas with Indigenous Resistance Day, a national holiday commemorating the battle waged by indigenous peoples against European colonialism.

Resource: Citizens for Legitimate Government

"A multi-partisan activist group established to expose and resist US imperialism, corpora-terrorism, and the New World Order:" http://www.legitgov.org/index.html

Empire: Next stop - Yemen

Oil, you say?

Off we go on another excellent imperial adventure. The Pentagon says it notified Congress that it plans to spend $155 million on 4 Huey helicopters, upgrades to 10 Russian-made Mi-17 medium transport helicopters, and 50 Hummers (suitably armored? doesn't say), as well as night vision goggles and transport aircraft for the Yemen Army to fight al-Qaeda.  If there are fewer than 100 al-Qaeda militants in anarchic, kleptocratic Afghanistan, one wonders how many can conceal themselves in relatively orderly, republican Yemen (unlike Afghanistan, for example, Yemen actually has an army to equip).

A tip of the hat, btw, to Defense Industry Daily for keeping us up to date on the activities of our busy soldiers, whether they're hither or yon.

Talks: The Unipolar Moment and the Culture of Imperialism

Noam Chomsky delivers the 5th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture Columbia University School for International Affairs for the Heyman Center for the Humanities. After paying homage to Edward Said's stress on imperialism as central to our culture, Chomsky builds his case with telling rationalizations and denials by American leaders from the extermination of Native Americans through United States terrorism in Latin and South America -- in Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua -- and the Middle East.

Documentary: The War on Democracy

The War on Democracy is John Pilger's first film for theatrical release - in a career that has produced more than 55 television documentaries. Set in Latin America and the US, it explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with such countries as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. "The film tells a universal story," says Pilger, "analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called war on terror." Indeed it does. <http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/>