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Does a Modern Foreign Policy Require the US to Always Have Enemies?

Posted on 01/14/2017 7:51:27 AM PST by pinochet

During the time of the founding fathers, America did not have a foreign policy that included having enemies. George Washington warned Americans against too much attachment to foreign nations and causes. Even when Jefferson waged war on North African Arab Muslim nations that kidnapped American sailors, he did not have a foreign enemies list.

A foreign policy based on always having enemies is the product of the Cold War. Always having enemies is profitable for defense corporations.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: coldwar; foreignpolicy
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If all the so-called rogue states were to become democratic and have governments that were friendly to America, it would be necessary to invent a new list of enemy nations.
1 posted on 01/14/2017 7:51:27 AM PST by pinochet
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To: pinochet

Times change, the world is much smaller and more dangerous than back in Jefferson’s time - we will always have enemies w/o having to invent them as a result.


2 posted on 01/14/2017 7:54:25 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: pinochet

Evil is the enemy of good.

The sinful nature of man requires him always to have enemies.


3 posted on 01/14/2017 7:55:20 AM PST by Fightin Whitey
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To: pinochet

Personally, I’d like to see us develop Rods from God technology for satellites. No fear of nuclear fallout, but if any country really annoys us, we can vaporize their cities in 5 minutes.

Along with that, no one on earth can invade the US. Too many guns.

It would be cheap defense and allow us to be largely removed from foreign entanglements. I like a strong defense, but I’m not sure we need to spend quite so much to achieve what we really want to achieve.


4 posted on 01/14/2017 7:58:17 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (Abortion is what slavery was: immoral but not illegal. Not yet.)
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To: pinochet

I believe a lot of it is our big government needs to keep feeding itself.

If you didn’t have enemies, you wouldn’t need all the FUNDING. Imagine an ATF without the war on drugs? There really wouldn’t be near as much need for the ATF.

I believe the CIA likes to create enemies — Iraq WMDs a “slam dunk,” involvement Benghazi, Syria, etc. If there isn’t controversy around the world, citizens would question all the FUNDING that goes to our intelligence community.

FUNDING means expansion of operations, job security, pensions, etc.

Additionally, we’ve got a military industrial complex that needs to be fed too.


5 posted on 01/14/2017 7:59:11 AM PST by boycott
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To: pinochet

Any successful nation, where a class of people are innovative and work hard, is gong to have enemies. Envy is the driving force for most of America’s enemies, including our own domestic liberal class. For the liberal class, envy and ingratitude are hallmarks of their character.


6 posted on 01/14/2017 8:00:03 AM PST by Neoliberalnot (Marxism works well only with the uneducated and the unarmed)
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To: pinochet

We’ve always been at war with Eastasia.


7 posted on 01/14/2017 8:03:56 AM PST by Wissa (Few men desire liberty. Most men wish only for a just master. -- Sallust)
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To: pinochet

Does the global economy demand a massive internationally linked military- industrial complex that justifies itself by the threat of war, “ deterrence of war” “ mutually assured destruction in case of war’ or even being jump started and reset by an actual war?

That seems to be the precipice on which we are dangling

All of those scenarios, politically, require enmities

That is why rival leaders like Trump and Putin willing to openly discuss cooperation are so threatening to “ global order’


8 posted on 01/14/2017 8:10:02 AM PST by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Wissa
And also there's Snowball 🐷
9 posted on 01/14/2017 8:10:11 AM PST by ReaganGeneration2
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To: pinochet

Islam and communism have enemies, and we are them.


10 posted on 01/14/2017 8:15:42 AM PST by SoCal Pubbie
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To: pinochet

When ever you have two different points of view, you will have conflicts. Even if one side wants to get along it is not always possible short of surrendering.

So yes, the United States will always have enemies.


11 posted on 01/14/2017 8:16:52 AM PST by CIB-173RDABN (US out of the UN, UN out of the US)
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To: pinochet

No, but a globalist one-world government does, until all political and military power on the planet is consolidated into one tightly-controlled circle of elites.

Anyone who still wants more war at this point qualifies as criminally insane, and should be treated as such.


12 posted on 01/14/2017 8:19:43 AM PST by thoughtomator (Purple: the color of sedition)
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To: pinochet

DJT’s whole idea is to support and help our friends while defeating, eliminating our real enemies (such as the IslamoNazis that Obama’s been supporting)
and to work out reasonable working arrangements with everyone else

we need to rebuild our defenses and USE them to destroy our real enemies (just take Obama’s Friends list, for starters)
before they inflict more terrorist attacks on us and before Obama’s Iranian nuclear bombs hit our cities


13 posted on 01/14/2017 8:20:08 AM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicans are not born, they're excreted." -- Marcus Tillius Cicero)
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To: boycott

War allows the government to conduct acts of war against the people that it could never get away with in peacetime.

Who would have thought, 20 years ago, that today America would have a surveillance state to put East Germany’s worst to shame?


14 posted on 01/14/2017 8:22:04 AM PST by thoughtomator (Purple: the color of sedition)
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To: pinochet

To answer the question. Foreign policy does not require an enemy. But certain politicians and activists on both the left and right are politically lost if they don’t have one.

Some, but not all, of the anti-illegal immigrant activists need an enemy. You could tell when the flipped from a focus on Hispanic illegals to a focus on Muslim immigrants. Both types were around before they flipped, and after they flipped.

Likewise some on the Left cannot operate without making Assange or Putin or Assad an enemy.

But is foreign necessary to this need? Some on the right have a need to attack with ad hominem second tier players personally just because they have the need.

Likewise on the Left they are currently attacking Mike Lindell of My Pillow and trying to destroy his business. It seems to just be a personal attack because the Left has a need to attack people regardless of whether they are foreign or domestic.


15 posted on 01/14/2017 8:29:07 AM PST by spintreebob
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To: pinochet

Drivel

there will always be enemies

There much be foreign policy to deal with it


16 posted on 01/14/2017 8:33:09 AM PST by bert (K.E.; N.P.; GOPc;WASP .... Macroagression melts snowflakes)
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To: pinochet

“all the so-called rogue states were to become democratic and have governments that were friendly to America, it would be necessary to invent a new list of enemy nations. “

That’s been the Communist propaganda mantra for decades.

That the US has to create it’s enemies.

Why are you pushing old communist propaganda?


17 posted on 01/14/2017 8:38:33 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: boycott

What you’ve said originated as propaganda with the communist united from efforts after WWII.


18 posted on 01/14/2017 8:40:04 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: silverleaf

“Does the global economy demand a massive internationally linked military- industrial complex that justifies itself by the threat of war...”

This sounds just like Occupy Wall Street or BLM.

It’s amazing how the media has made old communist propaganda in to “conventional wisdom”. How much this communist talking point has been internalized in our society.


19 posted on 01/14/2017 8:42:36 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: Neoliberalnot

“Any successful nation, where a class of people are innovative and work hard, is gong to have enemies. Envy is the driving force for most of America’s enemies, including our own domestic liberal class. For the liberal class, envy and ingratitude are hallmarks of their character.”

No no.

Greedy corporations have to create enemies. /s


20 posted on 01/14/2017 8:44:18 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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