3 ms·

The US clearly does indeed have significant power over France and Germany and is always vying for more.

macintux 4y ago
And they also seek to influence the U.S. out of self-interest. That doesn’t make the U.S. a puppet state, nor are they puppet states.
- wowokay 4y ago
  Exactly! Plus I know it might sound crazy, but US influence doesn’t involve invading other countries or even threatening them into some form of submission. If The whole world joined Warsaw and the US felt isolated I guarantee you wouldn’t see us invading Canada/Mexico/Europe in the name of self defense, even though provocative USSR tactics might actually warrant such a response. But the US doesn’t roll that way, generally we want good trade relations and non-interference, practically the whole world has been against us as different times and we still didn’t lash out. Providing humanitarian aid and weapons is not the same as sending your own people into a country against the worlds interest and claiming self defense.
  - caret 4y ago
    I don’t know if I wish I were this naïve, or glad I never was.
  - guerrilla 4y ago
    > US influence doesn’t involve invading other countries or even threatening them into some form of submission. Yes it does [1][2], the list is huge [3]. I don't know how you could possibly be this ignorant with the Internet existing. 1. https://github.com/binka/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md https://github.com/binka/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism 3. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/how-many-countries-has-the-us-invaded https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/how-many-...
  - the_only_law 4y ago
    > but US influence doesn’t involve invading other countries or even threatening them into some form of submission I’m sure Central and South America are glad to know now.
- guerrilla 4y ago
  That reasoning only works if you ignore the extreme power imbalance.

And they also seek to influence the U.S. out of self-interest. That doesn’t make the U.S. a puppet state, nor are they puppet states.

wowokay 4y ago
Exactly! Plus I know it might sound crazy, but US influence doesn’t involve invading other countries or even threatening them into some form of submission. If The whole world joined Warsaw and the US felt isolated I guarantee you wouldn’t see us invading Canada/Mexico/Europe in the name of self defense, even though provocative USSR tactics might actually warrant such a response. But the US doesn’t roll that way, generally we want good trade relations and non-interference, practically the whole world has been against us as different times and we still didn’t lash out. Providing humanitarian aid and weapons is not the same as sending your own people into a country against the worlds interest and claiming self defense.
- caret 4y ago
  I don’t know if I wish I were this naïve, or glad I never was.
- guerrilla 4y ago
  > US influence doesn’t involve invading other countries or even threatening them into some form of submission. Yes it does [1][2], the list is huge [3]. I don't know how you could possibly be this ignorant with the Internet existing. 1. https://github.com/binka/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md https://github.com/binka/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism 3. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/how-many-countries-has-the-us-invaded https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/how-many-...
- the_only_law 4y ago
  > but US influence doesn’t involve invading other countries or even threatening them into some form of submission I’m sure Central and South America are glad to know now.
guerrilla 4y ago
That reasoning only works if you ignore the extreme power imbalance.