The US is presently 7 trillion US dollars in debt. This is 7 times the total debt of the developing world. A third of this amount is used for US foreign security expenditure.

The US military are currently working to establish a base in West Africa, running military training in Mali and providing funds directly to the military of 12 neighbouring countries. They say this is because of the 'porous borders' of the Sahara - which 'present the world's greatest terrorist threat'. But isn't this also a means of making a US footprint in Africa - in the face of future economic threat from China? See more on Militarisation.

Let's not forget that Paul Wolfowitz is now head of the World Bank. The World Bank (along with the rest of the G8) imposes conditions on developing countries: these have to open up opportunities for private companies from abroad, as well as for foreign investment, in return for loans to their (World Bank imposed) national government poverty reduction plans. Whose poverty reduction does it mean, actually?

We find it difficult to understand why the EU countries don't seem to recognise the real threat of US unilateralism - or at least, why they do nothing about it. Is it simply because they are benefiting in similar ways?