US needs to have presence in the region to control it and noone wants it without US paying a lot or by military. simple as that. US can survive just FINE at home but its got so much business interests abroad that it basically needs to be global to protect it, otherwise the Chinese and Russians will start to play.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Geopolitics. I think they nailed very well why US does what it does and I have nothing more to add.
Put it another way - it DOESN'T matter who comes to power in US 2012 elections - country is efficient enough to run by itself. Being a European, US is a country I'd bank on any day compared to the socialism in Europe, Nationalism in Russia and that hybrid of capitalism/theft economy China has going on.
I think US fundamentally has things right, even though its population is poor overall and politicians are just talking heads. Americans deep down seem to have a sort of compass that's pointing correctly. I'm afraid in Europe it's messed up too much lately (well, not in Nordics and Germany but the rest) and Russia is fast sliding to nationalism - Let's hope Putin holds them back (I kid you not, he's way more liberal than views of average russians are).
|