Let me do something rare and recommend my little introduction to David Bromwichs superb exploration of American exceptionalism posted at TomDispatch yesterday. I offer a little sardonic list of #1s that have made this country so exceptional in the post-9/11 era. Here are just the first three. Take a look at the rest and check out the Bromwich as well! Tom We’re #1 in investment in our military and our national security state! No other country comes within a light year of us! In 2011, the defense budgets of the next 13 countries combined didn’t quite equal ours and we’ve been dumping up to a trillion dollars yearly into the national security budget since 9/11. The best news of all: with a new war on our hands and those budgets sure to rise, we’re guaranteed #1 status into the distant future! We’re #1 in “renditions” (called kidnappings when done by the security forces of less noble governments)! Post-9/11, at least 136 “terror suspects” (some certifiably innocent) were taken by the CIA and other American outfits off the streets of global cities and from the backlands of the planet! Who in the world can equal that? We’re #1 in knocking off wedding parties from the air! At least eight of them in three countries (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen) in a little more than a decade! Bridal parties, brides and grooms, hundreds of wedding goers obliterated by American air power! You tell me: What other country could brag of such a feat? tomdispatch/blog/175911/
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 14:45:01 +0000
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