Airstrip One

Fellow columnist Christopher Montgomery's article "When Legions Leave" is in the British spot in antiwar.com. It is so much more cultured than my irritable carping. Try this for size:

Standing a degree of rank or two above the likes of the Philippines or Saudi you then have those countries (Britain, Japan even) that resemble the old federated states of the later Roman Empire, i.e. the larger and more vicious German tribes, whose usefulness saw them dignified with the status of "partner" in empire. We could all sit back and laugh ourselves hoarse at the idea of Britain or Japan ever attaining the same amount of self-respect as the Philippines, and asking the Americans to leave. When I worked for the current leader of the Conservative party, Iain Duncan Smith – a bog-standard Atlanticist – I would attempt to raise a smile or two by talking to Tory MPs about "occupied East Anglia" (lots of US airbases and intelligence facilities there), and you know, maybe it was the delivery, but I never did get much in the way of mirth.

If you haven't already, read it now.