American imperialism and empire

Foreign Policy

In Amy Goodman's 2006 interview with Stephen Kinzer, she does an outstanding job of guiding the course of the conversation in such a way that allows Kinzer to demonstrate his expertise while also maintaining the interest of the listening and reading audiences. Goodman asks Kinzer questions in the beginning of the interview that establish location, area of Kinzer's expertise, and topic of the current discussion. This way, any listener or reader, despite their level of sophistication on the issue, is able to readily jump into the discussion and following along with intrigue.

Kinzer's first lengthy response comes after a question regarding the reasoning behind the United States' involvement in multiple coups around the world and throughout the nation's history. Kinzer reveals that in his current project he studies these coups not as isolated incidents, but rather as a succession of events along a continuum revealing meta-objectives and patterns of political and military strategy on behalf of the United States. Goodman narrows the discussion topic further by inquiring as to how the reasoning behind and the process by which Hawaii ceased being an independent country and became a non-continental state of the United States of America. Good man ties together the U.S.'s military and political goals in Hawaii, Cuba, and Iraq, presenting Kinzer with the challenge of explaining how these relations pertain to his book, and what the media's role in these particular engagements is.

Goodman is clearly well versed in political history, military history, and media history from a global perspective. Her questions are challenging, yet not impossible. She demonstrates a sincerely inquisitive nature and a critical, philosophical mind. The interview concludes with attempts to connect the early sections of the discussion to contemporary issues in Iran stemming from the U.S. government's involvement in their coup in 1953. Kinzer's responses reveal the cultural biases of the west that affect political decisions with rippling consequences around the world. Kinzer very distinctly states his positions on the issues in his book and the answers to Goodman's questions gracefully yet powerfully. This is an effective interview that draws in audiences and primes them for the next installment which will be all the most focused on similarities in the U.S.' involvement in Hawaii and Iraq.

The excerpt/article by Chalmers Johnson begins as a dark or sardonic fairly tale that traces the magical journey of imperialism via global basing by the United States of America. It is a creative and attention grabbing method to seize the attention of the reader and hold it for the duration of the reading. The primary argument that the majority of the text supports or explicates is the methods by which the United States government colonizes the world through implementation of global bases and how this crusade to base the world leaves "imperial footprints." The writing is direct, succinct, and Johnson contextualizes the wit and the creative presentation with staggering financial statistics.