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So we need to invade and occupy every nation in the world where terrorists might be, to root out those who hate us for our militaristic arrogance? Considering we have already spent well over $1 trillion dollars on foreign wars supposedly in retaliation for terrorism, exactly how much success have we achieved? Are there less terrorists now? Do they hate us any less? Are we safer? Certainly the over 6,000 American servicemen killed in these wars thanks to Washington's choice are not safer, when only 3,000 were killed by terrorism on 9/11. If anything, waging wars around the world only proves to terrorists that America IS incredibly arrogant, militaristic, and dangerous to the rest of the world. Had we NOT waged multiple wars, but simply did the things we needed to do to protect ourselves, we would have accomplished our objective AND saved a trillion dollars that we could have spent on productive and benevolent things.
Considering that our economy has collapsed now that Middle Class jobs are overseas for good, and our federal government alone is over $14.3 trillion in debt, with another $1.65 trillion added onto that every year, exactly HOW MUCH MORE money must we borrow and pay interest on to feed the War Machine? Remember, we've already borrowed so much compared to our GNP ("A latest Treasury report predicts that the national debt will be 102 percent of the country's gross domestic product before this year is over." How the Federal Debt Is Drowning the U.S. Economy in Red Ink | Sunshine State News), that we're looking at Greece-style austerity measures within the next 2 years, and probable loss of reserve currency status, meaning skyrocketing interest rates when interest ALREADY consumes a huge part of the budget.
The nation is bankrupt, our national debt is basically impossible to deal with, our government has grown out of control and absurdly expensive, our economy is gutted, the Middle Class is largely gone, the Baby Boom is in the process of retiring (with the entire SS Trust Fund already spent on other things), national infrastructure is crumbling, and we face a "Perfect Storm" of disasters all hitting at once.
Unless we really want to see an America where most of us are starving in the streets, and the "lucky" few must work 80 hour weeks for minimum wage and then turn 95% of their income over to the government, we have to abandon the idea of continuing to waste money waging pointless and unwinnable wars.
Government would love to further gut Social Security and Medicare (the only program that most citizens get ANYTHING back from, in return for insane taxes on everything), in order to keep the money flowing to the Halliburtons and shadow government activities and overt War Machine industry. Don't think the government point to every single person out there who ignores the insane cost and says, "Yea! More Wars! Whomp those terrorists!" Washington would LOVE to continue to feed the Military-Industrial Complex while the American people starve in the streets and give everything they earn to government.
I must ask, since half of the people don't pay a penny in federal income tax (though they do pay FICA tax, which for decades produced excess funds that were stolen from the SS Trust Fund and went to pay for War-Mongering)--how many of those who DO pay significant amounts of federal income tax, support continued war-making and will sacrifice their own Social Security and Medicare to pay for it?
My family pays a large amount of federal income tax every year (for decades now), and I do not support ONE PENNY going to foreign wars. There has not been a necessary war since WWII, and if there IS a necessary one that actually threatens the U.S., we are ALREADY bankrupt, and couldn't afford to fight it.
Frankly, I did not work insane hours my whole life to feed a corrupt and evil Military-Industrial complex, and Washington has already slashed my generation's promised benefits significantly, when they raised the SS taxes in 1983 and raised the retirement age for a total 4 years of lost benefits to my spouse and I. It's the ONE program through which I might recover a small amount of the HUGE part of my lifetime earnings that was confiscated by government.
Obama is not rooting out anything. The military and intelligence agencies are the ones taking the risks and dealing with the terrorists. At best Obama is not hampering their efforts though even that is questionable.
If this administration were serious about limiting terrorist access they'd be putting a great deal more effort into securing the borders.
The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.
Is this good or bad?
This is a great example of the kind of transparency the Great and Mighty Oz-bama and Nasty Nancy were talking about when they promised all that transparency in 2008. The thing that bothers me is seeing the word covert when a report is being made about what is going on.
If Republicans had allowed defense spending to be cut more, or supported alternative forms of transportation fuel (natural gas), then maybe we wouldn't have the military to play world police, and maybe we wouldn't need to protect the middle east due to their oil.
Democrats are faulty too. They didn't cut spending enough, and continue to allow the use of oil as a reason for war, and continue to fund this huge military.
If you don't like playing world police, tell your congressman to quit funding the military. Its already costing us 4 times more then the entire rest of the world combined spends. I'd be satisfied with a military that cost twice what the rest of the world combined does, how about you?
Natural gas is not an alternative fuel but it is the cleanest burning of the fossil fuels.
As for the spending of money I keep wondering how telling my Congressmen to vote against it would work since we are nearly through the second year without a Congress created budget. That allows Obama to spend money that has not been okayed by Congress. That may be the reason Harry Reid doesn't want to see a budget that he said he sees no reason to have.
The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.
Is this good or bad?
Well there is a new one about once a month. Got to keep those poll ratings up...you know.
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