[miss marmelstein]

Americans are no good at nation-building. We don’t like to stay in the nations we build, unlike the Brits and Europeans. We like to go home. We ought to recognize this but Washington never does.

[hinckley buzzard]

Quite right. European colonialism was a great advance for civilization through out much of the world, but only because the powers set up and ran functional governments.

They extracted their price as long as it was economical, but in return they introduced the advantages of modern governance, if only the indigenous people would take what they were given and keep it. Some did, some didnt.

The problematic countries of the MidEast actively reject this for ideological and religious reasons, and no amount of financial aid or “military advisors” will change that.