I'll stick to the economic end of it; let someone else address the politics.
To answer a question like this you need to think about whether or not international economic relations are ZERO SUM GAMES. By that, I mean you need to consider whether or not if the US comes out a dollar ahead that means that someone else must lose a dollar. If international trade and finance worked like that it would be a cold, dark, brutal world. But it does not.
Consider something as simple and important as the US buying oil from a poor country. We buy oil because the oil is worth more to us than the dollars we give up, so we have gains from those kinds of transactions. In economics, any time anyone buys anything, as long as it is a voluntary transaction, the buyer gets a benefit that we call CONSUMER SURPLUS. To be honest, we share very little of our consumer surplus with anyone, so there is no reason to applaud that particular outcome.
However, there is the other side of the transaction to consider. The country that sells us the oil would not sell the oil to us unless the dollars they received in return were worth more to them than the oil. Even countries run by governments that don't like us very much, like Venezuela and Iran, are quite willing to send us their oil for our dollars, so they must like the idea or they would not do it. The benefit they rake in in these transactions is called PRODUCER SURPLUS.
The bottom line is, each and every international transaction benefits parties in both countries because each country always has the option of saying, "No, I don't want to."
However, there is plenty of unfairness in international transactions, primarily in countries run by bullies and thieves. That is because the people in charge of the country steal the money that is coming in and send it off to secret banking accounts somewhere. If those governments followed the model of Britain or Norway and spent the money on the health, education, and welfare of their people, the world would be a better place. But that is not the world we live in. Just don't blame the US. Blame them.
2007-03-21 10:42:03
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answer #1
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answered by onceuponatime 2
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No, it's not fair.
Nor is it fair for North Korea to ask for a handout in exchange for not making nuclear weapons. Nor, is it fair for Russia to accuse the US of being undemocatic.
I don't think any country has the upper hand in being fair. It's human nature -- unfortunately.
2007-03-21 07:57:55
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answer #2
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answered by Allan 6
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Whatever brings benefit to the country. Life is not fair.
2007-03-21 07:48:18
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answer #3
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answered by Dr Dee 7
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No, but it's business and neither life nor business is fair unless you made a profit.
2007-03-21 07:11:39
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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Of course other countries use the USA.
2007-03-21 07:14:00
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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Everyday that I live, I regret the US getting involved in WWII more and more.
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2007-03-21 08:05:45
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answer #6
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answered by Zak 5
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it is grossly unfair. but when has america ever been fair. it bullys the world
2007-03-21 07:10:55
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answer #7
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answered by happyman 2
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