Chris Lewis asks:

Is John Pilger’s negative view of US leadership justified?

Steven Meyer asks:

Is giving so much head space to John Pilger justified?

He answers:

No

John Pilger may be from the left which I'm at odds with,but he speaks a lot of truth that the mainstream journos have not the guts to even report let alone analyse.

US foreign policy is about power of the Corporate elites who really control Govt policy.That is the undeniable truth.

I like John Pilger. It's kind of personal for me. I'm sure the millions of Vietnamese I help murder to give them truth, freedom, justice and the American Way would trade their lives for my life and my nightmares. Sometimes, I wish I could.

124c4u,

One's views of an event/s are very much shaped by one's perspective, especially for yourself who had first hand experience.

I just want to say that I do not disagree with Pilger's exposure of harsh truths about Western behaviour, although I do think it is difficult for any nation to lead in poliitcal terms.

My article was primarily targeted at US economic leadership. Though it is far from perfect, I feel that it has been better than the past, although there is no doubt that benefits are best obtained by nations that adhere to the rules of international governance (led by the US).

The US has, everwhelmingly, been a force for good in the 20th century.

What Pilger calls attention to, necessarily, is the American reluctance to recognise realpolitik in action. It's not enough to maintain US primacy by ruthlessly suppressing democracy in South America, or to support vicious dictators worldwide to maintain international stability. No, Americans have to have the moral high ground, too. That's what sticks in the craw of people who value truth and free speech.

If the Bush administration had declared, "the world is running out of oil. To address this, we will invade Iraq and depose a dictator we have supported for years, to whom the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, personally sold weapons of mass destruction", I may have supported the war. Instead, we got a series of lies, sold by the media, culminating in the feeble, post-hoc excuse of spreading democracy.

Pilger also reminds us that not everyone benefits from US dominance. We share language, history and ideals with the US. Its strength benefits us. If you live in a poorly-defended, non-Anglo country, however, the US is a thoroughly alien force that sweeps in with a powerful military and tells you that you must now behave in a manner completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable to you.

The Right-wing US media screams "freedom of speech!", but if anyone points out the campaign of immoral and abusive actions that maintains US supremacy, they're branded anti-American and told their speech shouldn't be free.