Sheldon Richman on America's James Bond Complex and the License to Kill
Today, American politicians of both major parties—conservatives, "moderates," and so-called liberals alike—insist that the United States is an "exceptional," even "indispensable" nation. In practice, this means that for the United States alone the rules are different. Particularly in international affairs, it—the government and its personnel—can do whatever deemed necessary to carry out its objectives, including things that would get any other government or person branded a criminal. We might say, writes Sheldon Richman, that America has a James Bond complex. Judging by how the U.S. government gets away with murder, terrorism, and other horrible offenses, it apparently has a de facto license to kill.