Neocon Max Boot chooses the toddler route in justifying NSA spying on other countries. If “everybody does it” or “everybody would do it” then it must be ok:
I have a word of advice for American allies outraged by alleged NSA spying on their leaders: Grow up. That means you Germany. You too France. And you, Brazil. Mexico too. Also the EU and the UN.
Does the NSA spy on your leaders? Probably. Do you spy on leaders of allied states including the United States? Probably. You just don’t have the resources or capability to spy as effectively as the NSA does. But if you did, you would.
In a sense, Boot is correct in his assessment. He’s been around government thugs long enough to know their natures.
But Max’s penchant for hanging around the wrong crowd does not justify U.S. spying. The reason? Because the US was supposed to be different. The U.S. was (for the first 100 years of its existence) a nation that did not entangle itself in the affairs of other nations. The drastic change in foreign policy that occurred in the early 1900’s began the process of turning the U.S. into just another thug in the long history of empires.
Now, instead of being a nation of peace and commerce, the U.S. would be an unceasing meddler on every corner of the Earth.
Boot brags about the US’s superior “resources” in pulling off the ability to spy on everybody. This pomposity acts as a blind spot for every empire. You see, empires require a lot of cooperation from the vassal nations. Much of the cooperation is provided reluctantly — after all who wants to be invaded for stepping out of line?
But empires fight the laws of economics. Every single one in history, and the US will not be the exception, hit the economic wall. Boot’s bragging about superior “resources” is a temporary illusion, much like the “wealth effect” that people felt during the Nasdaq and housing bubbles.
When the US empire inevitably hits that economic wall, those “resources” won’t seem so plentiful anymore. Also, at that time, the vassal nations are emboldened not to cooperate anymore, and like dominoes they one by one begin to break free.
The US was not meant to go down this road, but unfortunately, it was the road that was chosen. It’s a road that leads to people like Max Boot who think they have unlimited powers and should be using them for every nefarious deed that they can conceive.
When the dominoes begin to fall, a vacuum will exist for new ideas to take over. The Ron Paul Institute seeks to lay the groundwork for the “re-birth” of the foreign policy idea that powered this country for the first 100 years: No foreign entanglements!
