Given the fact  that words have meanings, Thanks DOC for pointing this out.

Phillipines, Puerto Rico, California, the general SW, Hawaii.  With the exception of the latter, they are no so much imperialism (we did not conquer a country, we obtained part of their possessions) as they are just stripping an imperial power of some of its far flung possessions.  And in almost all cases, the "conquered" areas were given the option of independence or statehood.

They were not made colonies.

 Think what you will ...

         Now as much as people profess their desire to gift and spread democracy to all, you CANNOT take your belief system (no matter how moralistic) and impose gift it to a Nation of billions who have lived for thousands of years under harsh totalitarian domination (last 30 years under an American subsidized dictator) and expect good results. If for no other reason, there society is made up of magnitudes more people who would wrest this gift from them … because their culture will not allow freedom as we understand it at this point in time.

         Egypt does not have a high probability (that ok?) of coming out of this turmoil with anything that we would call a Democracy … but that does not mean that this could not be another step on their march for their own freedom …

PS-Lulu, my statement was not in quotation marks and went EXACTLY like this:

As I see it, what is transpiring in Egypt is a direct result of American Imperialism as we have a nasty history of backing dictators around the world.

Nice try … and for that matter what significance would that have made anyway … you amaze me still.

I agree.

Could be, but I'm rather pessimistic about Egypt's future.

As a German born and raised I resent your statement.

I assume the Japanese would feel similarly that their post-war society has indeed brought good results.

(And a "nation of billions"? Really?)

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I know the Mid East is a giant mental institution and that we should probably wait for a while to see what shakes out, but the fall of Ghaddafi in Tripoli and the potential toppling of the Iranian Mullahs leads me to reconsider whether I should totally give up on Bush's policy. If Ghaddafi and the Iranian Mullahs fall and are replaced with pro western regimes, or at least non threatening ones, then kicking in Saddam's door and creating an example of democracy has been a good thing for the region and world.

Leaki, that is nice ... resent to your heart’s content (I am blond and blue eyed like most). I certainly meant nothing cryptic or accusatory or demeaning  ... but it was nice of you to apply it to you and Japan. I Think there might be a few more examples to site first though, don't you?

If you had asked me about that reference, I could have told you I was doing a lot of research on India (population 1,028,610,328) instead in Egypt (population 76,699,427) but since you didn't ask ... I am not going to tell you. Try being nice as opposed to quick for a change and try not to be so easily offended. German, right.

Anthony;

Kicking down Saddam WAS a good thing even if not done for the right reasons (IMO). I think we SHOULD probably wait for a while to see what shakes out because it is just one of the most unstable areas on Earth. This is the hard part: “If Ghaddafi and the Iranian Mullahs fall and are replaced with pro-western regimes, or at least non-threatening ones” just contains too much speculation for me is all.

Leauki:

What I said

Leauki what you said

[quote]As a German born and raised I resent your statement. I assume the Japanese would feel similarly that their post-war society has indeed brought good results. (And a "nation of billions"? Really?)[/quote]

What I said

Leauki, not sure how you got here but it had nothing to do with communication (IMO).

[quote]Actually these are the prime examples for imposing a belief system. So your point is that you make a claim but the most prominent examples that disprove the claim cannot be used because they disprove the claim?[/quote]

[quote]So the "nation of billions who have lived for thousands of years under harsh totalitarian domination (last 30 years under an American subsidized dictator)" were the Indians? Thanks for clearing that up. I can see how the Indians could be describes as a "nation of billions" (actually they are a nation of one billion), but I am looking for the dictator of the last 30 years... don't tell me it's Mubarak.[/quote]

Now how you got from my first statement (you quoted it) and through my next statement (you quoted it) … and not at least come up with some of the mystifying answers that seem to be plaguing you? I am not responsible for your inability to organize your thoughts nor am I responsible for your inability to do anything besides fight. The only way you could not see the truth is that you do not want to … attack … attack … attack, go figure

And as a matter of fact, neither Germany nor Japan wanted our cozy form of government at all … it was forced on them by the winners (guess who) … gifted to them so to speak. I made no claims past that point because I have not researched it in this light … So don’t get mad any more … just get gone .. oops ,not my article sorry. Go find someone who actually wants to fight and then you can be happy too. You are too much, go figure.

So who are the "nation of billions"?

You got me there Leauke, I have done gone and confused myself so I guess you will just have to sharpen your mind and figure out all this confussion all on your own ... how cool is that, you amptly show what is so important to you ... I will try and use smaller numbers in the future

I don't know. Maybe you made a good point. I just didn't understand any of it. Why are you using words and terms that confuse you? How would I be able to figure out what you meant to say?

Let's make this simple: Do you or do you not believe that it is possible, with good results, to impose a belief system on another nation of any size?

If yes, why shouldn't we do it?

If no, what happened in Germany and Japan (and Iraq to a great extent)?

Leauki:

Much better! Certainly I do … we just never got to this point before is all? I am sorry if my language and highlights seem confusing, the words come naturally (mostly anyway) and the highlights allow me to emphasize things using fewer words is all. My source is only a normal dictionary which also provides much leeway (many definitions) and in the cases I have experienced, people are want to attack the words as opposed to clarifying them or concentrating on the theme. This (my problem) I am just not capable of doing well; branching astray I mean because I usually need to do more research first. When I run across a word that has particular significance for me, I check the list of synonyms to see if there is leeway I can accept or not. I also use this list to ensure that MY CHOICES are applicable to my article and point of view. I try to look at the thoughts rather than the specific words used because that takes me to an argument and I do not want to argue or fight with anyone … especially just about words? Words do seem to be causing much of our (America’s) troubles because we are arguing about the words while the real problems just keep festering. This IS the socialist way, not mine.

I try to look at the people involved not the governments (I have the same disdain for all of them) … so this allows me much more leeway. Any large group of people not prepared (emotionally and theologically) for our concept of a “democratic government”, will not have much of a chance of success IMO, and this will result in countless innocent deaths. Japan (I was concerned with more recent times) did not want what we left, but learned to use it and prosper from it in time (Germany too I suppose). Over there (somewhere), if Islam is not taken into consideration; well Islam and the democratic process are just diametrically opposed. It is strange to me that Our Government is trying to make good little socialist robots out of us … and is somehow promoting democracy elsewhere? This is hard for me to swallow … so I have to wonder what we are actually doing there. I just cannot chat (comfortable) in depth without research is all. I never said it couldn’t or hasn’t worked, only that the success rate is poor, IMO.