Wikileaks Shenanigans

[Repugnant Abomination]

+ 1 to Beebs!

First of all, it's called hegemony. The US is the lone superpower and biggest proponent of liberal democracy, and even though we fuck up a lot it's still better than the autocratic alternative. We do our best to hold the international order together - if you think that because we try to increase our dominant position while doing so makes us the "police of the world" then you're retarded. As long as there are nation states there will be geo-politics. The great game is back in full swing and the stakes are very high.

Second, while I don't like the way Iraq happened, I support the reasons behind it (not the ones given by Bush at the time). They are as follows:

There are four conditions a nation can break to lose its sovereignty. Iraq broke all four.

1. It violated the genocide convention, attempting to destroy an ethnic group (Kurds).

2. It harbored known and wanted international terrorists.

3. Aggression against a neighboring country (Kuwait).

4. It violated the non proliferation treaty (nuclear, biological).

Thirdly, are you really arguing that Saddam, a dictator who attempted genocide against the Kurds and tortured, slaughtered and imprisoned his own people, should still be in power? Do you know how fucking terrible he was? The only reason we don't do the same shit to Kim Jong in North Korea, Putin in Russia, Chavez in Venezuela (etc...) is because the geo-politics are too complicated and there is too much risk. We had an opening to take Saddam out and the world is a better place for it. You can argue we're nation building or it costs too much and I'd grant it merit, but this whole "policemen of the world" bullshit has to stop. Iraq continually gave the United Nations the finger. At what point does an international body act before losing credibility? Sadly the UN has proved to be severely limited - Iraq called its bluff, and the US had to act "alone" (never mind 40+ NATO countries were/are there too).

In an increasingly globalized world where international rules and bodies matter, the idea of isolationism is backwards looking - there is no going back. The values of liberty and democracy are universal no matter how much China tries to deny it. The US is in the unique and special position to try and spread these universal values (and yes, often to our own benefit) and that's a good thing.

Wikileaks wants to undermine the US, purely because the US is the dominant power. People don't understand that some government secrecy is good, because it allows our people to do their job more safely.