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Japan can't, and probably won't, because of their WWII past. South Korea not sure. But, we can't let madmen run around like that. There are good dictators and there are bad. You cannot keep a 100% isolationist stance in today's world, especially when you're in the G20
What madmen? I can't think of a single madman in Asia that Japan or S. Korea can't handle on their own.
Moreover, why should American tax money be committed to their defense? What's their commitment to us? Again, these nations will defend themselves if they don't have us to do it for them. It's making me sick to see us spending billions to defend Asian nations that are wealthy as hell.
I'm not implying isolationism. I'm implying self determination. Japan and Korea are more than able to determine their own fates and not rely on the United States maintaining a WW2 defense posture at our expense. If they want us there so badly, then make them pay us for the full cost of their security and the stationing of our troops there. Every dime.
But we can't keep making excuses for keeping troops all over the world while looking for reasons to cut budgets domestically. This imperialist world cop stuff has gotta come to an end at some point. Might as well be right now.
If you're going to send folks into harms way, you darn well better be willing to fund the VA.
Then stop sending troops into harm's way. Americans are too damn militaristic. We think there's always some military solution to problems that actually have their solutions in well thought out diplomacy. Look at our record....we are abject failures at military solutions. That might hurt to digest, but it's the truth.
We're the only first world nation with a citizenry that thinks every panacea for foreign dustups can be found on the other side of a military engagement.
It's ridiculous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GolfProfessional
"Dubya" is a slang term for Mr. President Bush used by anti-Americans and/or terrorists who care to show disrespect to our nation.
Nonsense. The term was affectionately used by his own supporters. The term seems rather anodyne to me but whatever.,
Who exactly are we planning to go to war against with these Cold War annual defense budgets?
uhm not quite
uhm no
then 1976 defense budget..............283 billion
the 1980 (carters last year) defense budget 303 billion ....
...would be 874 billion in todays' (constant) dollars
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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We need to prepare for NKorea and Iran, but not on the conventional level because the threat in the future will be from their nuclear weapons (and not even a direct threat, no one would know where any nukes that hit us came from). Whether we have a half million or quarter million troops, or a new fancy aircraft carrier, or a new fighter jet, is pretty much irrelevant to that kind of warfare.
We could have half the current conventional military and still be safe. What we need is actually much cheaper: high-tech methods to deal with nuclear threats, such as tracking their movements. We could take the savings of cutting back the defense budget and invest it in infrastructure and medical care, or other things that improve life rather than kill or maim people.
then 1976 defense budget..............283 billion
the 1980 (carters last year) defense budget 303 billion ....
...would be 874 billion in todays' (constant) dollars
And the "adjusted for inflation" argument is just an excuse for the normal defenseniks to keep propping up military budgets.
The defense budget should be cut in half AT THE LEAST.
At 700 billion, who are we exactly preparing to fight against? Tell me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goinback2011
Obama has restarted the Cold War.
Ask him.
He has? With whom?
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