[DeeOhGee]

Actually I care very little about jobs. My biggest concern with "free trade" agreements has to with the ability of the US to meet her manufacturing needs..employment is simply a by-product of that capacity.

I am terrified by the prospect of a war with, say, North Korea (not a far-fetched possibility), where China suddenly decides to quit shipping us steel and electronics to fight their allies, and South Korea and Japan, not wanting to get in the middle of two sumo wrestlers, decide the same thing.

Sure, we could re-energize our manufacturing capabilities, but that takes time and money, and how many soldiers would we lose before we are back up to producing all we need.

To me, it's a matter of national security.

[investigateworld]

RE: "To me, it's a matter of national security"

That has to be the bottom line. All the John Locke and Ayn Rand readings in the world won't mean squat if we are hampered by lack of military equipment. I for one am grateful that the *Free Trade* crowd wasn't in charge in 1941. Their greed would have had us outsourcing to German and Japan in a heartbeat. (And if they are honest, they won't deny it)