Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned
Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”...more
ABF, for the promotion of human rights and democracy in Iran
1 comment:
I disagree with him about what caused the fall of Rome. It's very popular amongst academics to claim Rome collapsed from within, but I've studied that period of history pretty thoroughly and I don't see it that way. Rome did over-extend itself, it's true, but the main problem they faced was in the "germanization" of their military. They sufferred a short and sharp series of horrendous defeats the one time they tried to add parts of Germania to their empire, and thereafter they began hiring whole tribes of Germans as "foederati" - mercenaries. They also began recruiting Germans heavily for Roman Legions. In numerous cases, Roman Generals who were actually Germans, and who were commanding legions that were primarily German, simply refused to fight their countrymen. In other cases, Legions actually deserted and joined the other side. Not to mention the "foederati" who had been brought into the empire to impose order ended up setting themselves up as warlords. Other foederati tribes took all they could get from the Romans and then went renegade. The Franks, for instance, who took Gaul from the Romans were first brought into Gaul is small numbers as Foederati.
When the US makes that mistake, and starts farming out security to people who are clearly our enemies, it's time to make comparisons.
That's my opinion, anyway :)
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