I frequently see comments under my posts arguing that the EU is basically a feudal fiefdom of the United States. That's fine as far as it goes, however, once you introduce that idea, you should also examine its implications. Because the lord-vassal relationship is not and has never been one of unconditional obedience. It is rather a social contract with mutual duties and responsibilities. The vassal's loyalty is conditional on a variety of services, starting with protection and ending with opportunities for enrichment. If you, as the lord, fail to organize one or both, your vassals will leave you. Therefore a strategy that targets the lord's capacity for delivering rewards to the vassals happens to strike at that realm's Achilles heel.
America's relationship with its "allies" can in fact be characterized as a collection of feudal relationships, with the nature of the relationship being very much dependent on the power of the vassals. There are in fact several categories of vassals. Category I includes countries like UK and Israel which actually enjoy a pretty privileged relationship. Thus, for example, UK intel services are practically an extension of the NSA (on equal rights), the US doesn't read the British PM's emails, and it does not set up CIA "black sites" on its soil. Category II: Germany, France, Italy, etc. Hold intel services at arms length, read leaders' email, but no black sites. Category III: Poland, Ukraine, lots and lots of others. Treat like dirt, spy on leaders, set up black sites. There's also a Category IV (which, frankly, Ukraine is on the brink of joining), where the US basically takes sides in a civil war raging on that country's territory. But in any event, it's clear that the more powerful vassals can establish lines that the lord can't cross.…Fort Russ
Lords and Vassals: A quick update on America's Empire
J. Hawk
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