51–60 of 68 posts
How many trillions of dollars has the USA saved on oil costs by keeping the middle east in a constant state of turmoil, though? https://www.cfr.org/timeline/oil-dependence-and-us-foreign-p...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That same person boasts about an increased pentagon budget. Where does he think that money goes? It doesn’t seem like either leading candidate has taken a position on the military-industrial complex.
The fetishization (despite the massive reduction in the percentage of the population who have served) of the military in the US makes it really hard to take a strong stance against the MIC as a politician (aiming for the presidency, representatives and some senate seats have more freedom here).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They do that, it happens that "War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group kno…
It reminds me of a recent quote I saw in the news: "The top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t [in love with me], because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy, but we're getting out of the endless wars."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The vast majority of these deaths are due to internal strife, they weren't killed on the orders of the US. In hindsight, the second war in Iraq was a disaster of course, but why blame the US for every bad part of the outcome? What about the Iraqis? What about Iran? If the US hadn't started that war, the regime may well have collapsed during the Arab spring. As for Afghanistan, that conflict started well before US inv…
>In hindsight, the second war in Iraq was a disaster of course, but why blame the US for every bad part of the outcome? What about the Iraqis? What about Iran? The US destroyed their lives. Their communities were destroyed, their jobs vanished, and their loved ones were dead. Many certainly reacted despicably, but the US deserves most of the blame. >If the US hadn't started that war, the regime may well have collapse…
The US gets blamed for the deaths that occured, but it won't get praise for the deaths that may have been prevented. Consider who Saddam Hussein was, how he came to power, how he stayed in power and what his dictatorship was like.
Does he strike you as someone who can maintain a dynasty? In a country like Iraq, where the regime is Sunni despite being in the minority, where the Shia majority is being supported by neighboring Iran?
Consider what the Iraqi military could have done under Saddam Hussein to its own people, in the case of a civil war. Consider that Saddam Hussein didn't hesitate to kill over 100,000 Kurds and Assyrians.
> One of the major triggers for the Arab Spring was the US diplomatic cable leaks, and much of the military power any insurgents had was a result of US backing. Without the War on Terror, the Arab Spring would have been a completely different thing if it happened at all.
That almost sounds like your average dictator blaming all civil unrest on "foreign meddling". Sure, you can blame the US or Wikileaks for exposing these regimes, or for running a couple of covert support operations, but it also takes a huge part of the people to actually do the uprising.
How many trillions of dollars has the USA saved on oil costs by keeping the middle east in a constant state of turmoil, though? https://www.cfr.org/timeline/oil-dependence-and-us-foreign-p...
It would have been much cheaper to buy off the Hussein family, and play them against the Iranians if cheap oil was the objective.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>In hindsight, the second war in Iraq was a disaster of course, but why blame the US for every bad part of the outcome? What about the Iraqis? What about Iran? The US destroyed their lives. Their communities were destroyed, their jobs vanished, and their loved ones were dead. Many certainly reacted despicably, but the US deserves most of the blame. >If the US hadn't started that war, the regime may well have collapse…
> The US destroyed their lives. Their communities were destroyed, their jobs vanished, and their loved ones were dead. Many certainly reacted despicably, but the US deserves most of the blame. The US gets blamed for the deaths that occured, but it won't get praise for the deaths that may have been prevented. Consider who Saddam Hussein was, how he came to power, how he stayed in power and what his dictatorship was li…
Though Hussein's power grab was later, let's not forget the US support for the Ba'ath party takeover. They were willing to purge communists, they must be good guys.
Then we gave Hussein billions in aid, because if they're willing to kill Iranians they must be good guys. Even after hearing he was gassing Kurds, we tried to blame it on Iran and continued aiding him.
>Does he strike you as someone who can maintain a dynasty?
His reign, as terrible as much of it was, at least kept the country functioning. Succession likely would have led to problems, but it's nonsense to say that justifies US action. We ensured it caused major issues to avoid a risk of it causing major issues?
>That almost sounds like your average dictator blaming all civil unrest on "foreign meddling". Sure, you can blame the US or Wikileaks for exposing these regimes, or for running a couple of covert support operations, but it also takes a huge part of the people to actually do the uprising
The US is not the main reason the people were willing to rise up, but US action unquestionably influenced when and how they rose up. If you change your original sentence I quoted to "the regime may well have collapsed over the past twenty years," I think we're in agreement.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It reminds me of a recent quote I saw in the news: "The top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t [in love with me], because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy, but we're getting out of the endless wars."
Quote from whom? Non USA person here.
Of course Trump is like the infinite monkey matrix. Wait a bit and he'll adopt your political position.
How many trillions of dollars has the USA saved on oil costs by keeping the middle east in a constant state of turmoil, though? https://www.cfr.org/timeline/oil-dependence-and-us-foreign-p...
But thank you for pointing out that the military is a gigantic subsidy for the oil industry.
And despite all of the efforts the adversaries haven‘t effectively been taken down, the world is not a more secure place, the reputation of the US has taken damage, in a few years the next IS and taliban are coming, under another name.