this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2026

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"Why do you single out American imperialism instead of talking about imperialism in general?" (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 weeks ago by Objection@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml

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Notes:

The map I used didn't include Turkey (US ally) or Gaza as part of Palestine. Palestine and Lebanon are the only countries that have only been attacked by Israel and not the US directly. Pakistan is technically a US ally and Lebanon has security agreements with the US, but neither host US troops.

For every single country in the oil-rich Middle East, the options are to let the US troops come voluntarily, or to fight them off when they attack.

I did another version for China btw:

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[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 30 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Its always funny when people try to impute the imperialistic actions of the US on its enemies. The US as the west's leading country is world capitalism's cop since the end of WW2, and has ~800 military bases outside to project power outside its borders.

By comparison, all other countries combined have only ~30.

[–] elfpie@beehaw.org 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Is it right to assume that the USA just refuses to leave once they have established a base?

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago

Unless they are forced to, yes. There are so many local scandals with these US military base countries also, especially in Japan, SK, Italy, and the UK, where the troops commit various local crimes like rapes and murders, but are then sent back to the US to avoid being punished.

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 17 points 3 weeks ago

The US has attacked Lebanon directly before https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombings#U.S._airstrike_on_Lebanon

[–] marcie@lemmy.ml 13 points 3 weeks ago

american caliphate getting big

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago

you can make this same graph on south america and still be accurate

[–] Infamousblt@hexbear.net 9 points 3 weeks ago

Would love to see this map globally

[+] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca -8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's a good question.

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

As well as a good answer, yes.

[+] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca -11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ummm...but, you didn't actually answer the question, though. You just went ahead and focused on US imperialism, instead.

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I did though. The reason that I single out American imperialism is that there is so much more of it than there is for any other country. Show me a region anywhere on Earth that looks like this for Russia, China, or any other country.

[–] architect@thelemmy.club 3 points 3 weeks ago

If you’re part of our large intelligence apparatus… you’re literally a part of this and helping.

So these countries are all just as much to blame as they help spy on American citizens for the American government and the rest of the world:

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom

[+] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca -6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

or exerting dominance over all of their previous vassal states

What does "exerting dominance" mean here exactly? I defined the labels on my map clearly and objectively, either military strikes or troops within borders. I also presented a bunch of specific countries that meet those criteria.

Russia has invaded one single country and has bases in a handful of others, mostly near its borders. How is that comparable to subjugating the entire Middle East through overt force from halfway across the globe? Surely you can see that US imperialism is much more extensive.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Russia has a few military bases in neighboring countries, but it's very limited to its region of the world. That's categorically different from plopping down military bases on every continent and toppling overseas governments. They're militarily irrelevant outside their little sphere of influence.

[+] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca -6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

So imperialism only exists at a certain scale? I was under the impression that it had more to do with a country's foreign policy objectives, rather than how successful they are at it.

And for the record, forcibly occupying territory in neighboring countries, is a little more than "having a few military bases". That's military expansionism...and it's a cornerstone of imperialistic practice.

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

So imperialism only exists at a certain scale?

The bigger scale a country does imperialism on, the bigger a concern it is and the more attention should be paid to it, yes. Otherwise, you're just cherry picking.

The overwhelming majority of imperialism is done by the US, so trying to downplay that and shift the focus is no different from cherry picking some crime done by an immigrant while ignoring the general trend that immigrants tend to commit fewer crimes. This isn't a difficult concept, lol.

I was under the impression that it had more to do with a country’s foreign policy objectives

Objectives? That's pretty subjective, isn't it? It depends entirely on the country's motivations. So you could potentially look at the decades-long military occupation and plundering of Afghanistan and say, "Well, our objective was to build democracy so it wasn't imperialism."

You could assign all sorts of nasty motivations to a country like the DPRK, based on your own presumptions, and be like, "Well, they would try to take over the world even more than the US if they had the capability to, so they're more imperialist than the US," even though the US controls half the globe. That's completely absurd.

[–] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 weeks ago

Did you know that at the school of the Americas agents of the United States, including FBI CIA and border patrol actually, taught fascist kill squads that systematically raping nuns is a good way to cow a populace. Just wanted to put into context what you're defending for some bizarre reason.