tion: Former Tony Blair advisor
             Robert Cooper calls for an imperialism that brings order and organization
             to a chaotic world. In fact, Selfa adds, all this colonialism talk is just
             a continuation of what has occurred for centuries. So why should anyone be
             Colonialism, he reminds the reader, started out as early as the Roman
             and Chinese Empires and continued in the 16th and 17th centuries with
             Spain, Portugal and England. What British historian Eric Hobsbawm called
             "The Age of Colonialism" followed in the 1800s. These years "were anything
             but benign," with slavery, bloodshed, poverty and extreme inequalities.
             Even the end of colonialism at the conclusion of WWII did not end
             imperialism, explains Selfa. It just moved into the guise of free trade,
             which spelled the depletion of resources worldwide. And now, ironically,
             the United States is concerned about the state of third-world nations,
             which, the author stresses, are suffering in great part due to past
             imperialism. Admittedly, these countries have other socio-economic and
             political problems, but much can be blamed on issues beyond their control.
             Selfa stands firmly behind the camp that negates such colonial views,
             even if it is couched as discreet global "hot spots" where interventionists
             made the case on "humanitarian" grounds. He concludes: "A left that rejects
             this return to the 19th century must proudly take up the banner of anti-
             imperialism and champion self-determination for all the world's oppressed
             The United States' increased global intervent
             ...