Imperialism 21: Heeding and Abandoning History

Abstract

The United States enters a new millennium as the most loved and hated country in the world, undoubtedly the single superpower with a monopoly of strength across all dimensions of global influence. In less than 230 years, a blip on the radar of civilization, the United States has risen from obscurity to prominence, seemingly through foreign policy consistent with its anticolonial roots. In reality, American actions have been both colonial and imperial at times. In the last century, as global colonialism has faded, America has sought advantageous imperial influence to base its armed forces abroad. History has shown that complex agreements and host nation dynamics accompanying these basing strategies often cripple military operations. Today, in light of perceived threats, the U.S. military should abandon forward basing that addresses historical threats or American military posture at the conclusion of past conflicts, and seek to establish sovereign or mobile basing that can be directly controlled.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 08, 2004
Accession Number
ADA443128

Entities

People

  • Joey Dodgen

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Air Force
  • Coast Guard
  • Commerce
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Imperialism
  • International Law
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • North America
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies