this post was submitted on 22 May 2024
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[–] archomrade@midwest.social 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What other ‘imperial interests’ are there? Exploiting labor or something? Setting up cotton plantations in Israel? I’m not suspecting those, but hey surprise me.

Idk, you kind of already nailed it with the oil. Exploiting the natural resources of sovereign nations by regional military dominance is definitionally imperialist.

I think you know you’re reaching with this one but ok. Let’s use “1. The policy or practice of a wealthy or powerful nation in extending its influence into a less developed one, especially in exploiting that nation’s resources.” unless you want to argue some finer nuance with ‘neocolonialism’. Why do you think Israel is ‘less developed’? What resources is the US exploiting that isn’t the ‘democratic foothold in the middle east’?

Lmao, Palestine is the less developed nation, and Isreal is the colony. I didn't think that one needed to be explained. The resource is oil and trade routes, the foothold is the control over them.

Preventing eternal war between eternally sworn enemies in a gas station the rest of the world uses?

Even at my most angry, I don't think i've ever had this much contempt for another nation/people/continent. That is the wildest show of arogance I have so far seen on lemmy. But if you think the US has been an actor that is keeping the peace and not fomenting conflict in the middle east, then holy fuck I don't know what I could possibly tell you to convince you otherwise. I mean for fucks sake, the last three decades of american foreign activity has been primarily defined by active military conflict there. Go ahead and convince me those were peacekeeping missions.

So if it’s so simple - you write the check. What’s your simple solution?

Get the fuck out of the middle east and let the people there decide what they want to do with the natural resources. It would be hard to imagine that whatever conflict that erupts there in the vacuum could possibly be worse than the millions of people the US and their partners have killed there over the last three decades.

Gimme the simple version you’ve got all printed up on colorful paper. What is it? Is it genius? Is it feasible? Is it even coherent?

If your only ideological concern is freedom and democracy, then there are no interests the US has in the middle east that come close to meeting them. It's as easy as "i oppose colonial and imperialist activities no matter what form they take".

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

Exploiting the natural resources of sovereign nations by regional military dominance is definitionally imperialist.

Fair. Except Israel doesn't have oil. And they don’t dominate the nations that do. Your move.

Lmao, Palestine is the less developed nation, and Isreal is the colony.

Israel is the colony huh. Interesting. How do we get oil and - ?? “trade routes” ? from “our colony”, Israel? And - just to put a fine point on it then, Israel is not a sovereign nation under your ‘definition’, right, it’s a US colony? Okay. You don’t think that’s - of course you don’t.

Even at my most angry, I don't think i've ever had this muchcontempt for another nation/people/continent.

What nation/people/continent? The middle east, so-called, has many. You’ve taken great offense on behalf of one of them - which one?

That is the wildestshow of arogance I have so far seen on lemmy.

Yeah cause you don’t hear yourself.

I mean for fucks sake, the last three decades of american foreign activity has been primarily defined by active military conflict there. Go ahead and convince me those were peacekeeping missions.

Wouldn’t dream of it. I protested them all. And all of them - get this straight, because this is where you’re fucking up - ALL OF THEM were specifically republican led. Actual war criminals Bush & Cheney still wandering around out here not worried at all by your biden genocide wankery. You’re specifically calling to hurt the electability of the party that fought for you against all those wars and for the party that will 100% create more of them.

That you don’t see that is the most arrogant idiocy I’ve ever seen on lemmy plus infinity plus one!. Or- or did you want nuance. I dunno, kinda mixed signals there really.

So if it’s so simple - you write the check. What’s your simple solution?

Get the fuck out of the middle east and let the people there decide what they want to do with the natural resources. It would be hard to imagine that whatever conflict that erupts there in the vacuum could possibly be worse than the millions of people the US and their partners have killed there over the last three decades.

Yeah that’s fucking brilliant. And exactly what we expected you’d say. Are you familiar with nuclear weapons? You know North Korea or maybe Pakistan (or, hell - russia!) will sell you one pretty cheap. You hate Israel so much, badda-bing, problem solved it’s all a party now. You think that’s unlikely? Goddamn. How can you miss that. You think the Wahabbists are interested in maybe opening a dialogue? Yeah? Mr. Bone Saw’s gonna look over at newly-russia’d Israel and say hey buddy ol pals ain't it great the imperialist pig dogs are gone? Wanna play videogames and drink sodas together?

Do nothing. Well shit you are the super genius we’ve been missing. If only those warmongering (checks notes) Democrats would get out of power we could really get things done.

It's as easy as "i oppose colonial and imperialist activities no matter what form they take".

Absolutist positions are a trap. At best. At worst they create terrible outcomes. And you’ll have a 100% chance of losing this election. So - since your genius foreign policy is literally nothing, and since your klaxon teeth-grinding that biden “supports genocide” is only able to help trump, and since you have a 0% chance to help anyone - least of all the people you think you’re, i guess you think you’re helping? - why don’t you try a different way to “oppose colonial and imperialist activities”? Maybe aim a little lower to start? Win a local election, maybe?