Afghanistan and Haiti: The Xtreme Hurdle

Nation-building with the US military in control. If the US can truly construct the infrastructure of nations, it can realize itself over and over again in the global theater. That is to say, its values and culture will spread across the globe in dramatic fashion!

What marks the US's contemporary surge toward nation building is the added know-how of getting people from divergent backgrounds to live together peaceably,e.g., Bosnia and Iraq.
But the US nation building has--let's face it--a real goal. It wants a nation friendly that supplies its natural resources to the US and its Allies.

Afghanistan has well-known natural resources; and Haiti has apparently natural gas reserves (just found). The English (in India), the Russians, etc. all have attempted nation building with the same goal in mind: to establish through "occupation" (Chavez is right in this claim, but he doesn't see that powerful nations have been doing this for centuries!) stable governments in third-world countries. The point is, infrastructure and a stable society is what is offered in return; and the world becomes ever safer for democracy. So, these countries benefit (really?) and so does the US!

Signifiicance of US bases in 150 Countries

Last fall, the McLaughlin Group reported over PBS that the US military has over 700 bases and installations in some 150 countries.

Consensus of the participants seemed favorably inclined, pointing out that this activity supports the war on terror.

But to my mind, the move also is a step towards promoting peace and ending war. If I recall correctly, there is less war today than at any time in the recorded history of mankind.

President Obama accepted the Nobel prize as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. For I believe the presence of US troops globally goes far to develop a peaceful ambience for us all.