Jonathan Palfrey
Posts: 535
Joined: 4/10/2004 From: Sant Pere de Ribes, Spain Status: offline
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Hello, Gil. I guess that to the majority of people in the world these days (born after the Second World War), the influence of the USA doesn't seem as obviously benign as it does to you. But I'm not anti-American, and I won't contest your point. To the extent that muscle is still valuable in the world (and indeed it can be, at times), of course the USA has more of it than anyone else, and therefore has more to lose by fragmenting than any other country. Whereas European countries are not major powers these days, and separatists in these countries may well think they have little to lose. I don't imagine the Kosovans think they have anything to lose by separating from Serbia. Even separatists in, say, Vermont, may wonder exactly what terrible things would happen to them if they were no longer part of the USA. The fact that separation would weaken American influence in the world probably concerns them less than it concerns you.
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