What happens when the playing field is level and what is laughingly called our allies and friends can mount just as good a military machine as we can and we find ourselves on opposing sides of a war, like is going to happen in Israel for instance?
I don't consider it my duty or obligation to build the economies and power of what has proven, without a doubt, to be a world full of ingrate nations. France and Germany could still be standing in rubble and it would certainly be to our benefit as they have both proven to be ungreatful, back stabbers. Germany sending it's minister of defense to China to whisper in each other's ears about how to stop us from putting up a missile defense system.
What makes you think for a second that an economically equal Germany will not join forces with China? Are you naive enough to really think, after starting two world wars, that Germany's spots have changed? To pump up Germany's economy we contracted out our sub building to them, when we wanted to sell subs to Tiwan, Germany said no way. So now we have no control over who's military we choose to build up? We attempt to protect our steel industry and the World Trade Organization rules against it's own laws to unfairly slap us with sanctions and fines.
Have you ever heard ONE SINGLE WORD of gratitude out of any of them? My hearing is not bad, I have yet to hear anything out of Europe and the rest of the world other than we are evil and we never do enough and will never be able to do enough to satisfy them other than suicide. The suicide of leveling the playing field and placing ourselves in a position of weakness in a world full of anti-Americans.
They can all root hog or die as far as I am concerned. In fact I prefer they do, it builds character not to have everything handed to you. It's time to cast off the false duty and obligation placed on the American taxpayer that is no where contained in the Consititution. It's time for Americans to be compassionate to America and Americans.
What makes you think for a second that an economically equal Germany will not join forces with China?
Are you naive enough to really think, after starting two world wars, that Germany's spots have changed?
So now we have no control over who's military we choose to build up?
Have you ever heard ONE SINGLE WORD of gratitude out of any of them?
Wow that's a lot of questions-- I'm afraid they're going to take me a while. But in the meantime let's not question each other's patriotism and let's agree that a militarily strong America is good. The article was talking about economic parity and not military parity. Now, you are right if you point out that military conflicts are usually won by the richest coalition. We agree. Now let's figure out how to make the US be rich and powerful.
In 1950 we weren't "the super power" and now we are-- and that is good. You may not agree with my belief that we are more powerful now because of our success in encouraging the growth of the world's economy, but please don't say that helping along the general world's well-being hurt us.
Today my family will eat better because I invested in a Norwegian shipping company (FRO), a Mexican tech store (EKT), as well as bunch of really neat US companies. Every year many thousands of dollars of wealth that I created go to Washington to pay for our defense (as well as NPR and AMTRAK but that's a different thread). That's why I would just as soon have the rest of the world better off; it makes me better off, and the US treasury better off. I don't really care if anyone (China or you) is grateful, I just want to feed my family and keep America strong.
Good debate, y'all, but I gotta side with e_p, MissPie. No, I'm not for "leveling the playing field" via artificial measures like the Kyoto Accords, but I do agree that an enriched planet benefits America and Americans.
"What happens when the playing field is level and what is laughingly called our allies and friends can mount just as good a military machine as we can and we find ourselves on opposing sides of a war, like is going to happen in Israel for instance?"
One aspect that you (MAP) seem to be ignoring is that Totalitarian nations can NEVER hope to keep pace economically with free nations such as America, so before these countries can hope to grow fast enough to keep pace, they will need to become representative republics. Fortunately, we know that representative republics do not attack each other, so the military parity that concerns you will become less of an issue over time.
FReegards...MUD