I guess I came across wrong or something in my post. I am not saying we shouldn't have put up road blocks to communist expansion but we also used it as an excuse to stick our noses in a lot of places we didn't belong. We supported a lot of dictators and armed a lot of nations that shouldn't have been allowed to own pea shooters much less tanks, SAMs and airplanes. Iran, Iraq, Afganistan ........... We supported dictators in the middle east, South east Asia, and Latin America. Don't confuse patriotism and sacrificing a life in the pursuit of helping freedom's course with blind faith that we are always above reproach.
As for cold war fighting, I did my time on alert over the first half of my career in B-52s and flew some missions that "we never flew" if you get my drift. Don't preach to me about doing time in that war that wasn't. I also did my time in Desert Storm and have lost a friend in this latest skirmish already as I posted real time a month ago. The only reason I am still here is I had knee surgery but rumor has it I will get my turn as we are no where near done yet with our list of upcoming conflicts. I know about sacrifice and will do my duty but that doesn't mean I can't keep my eyes open.
As for the next poster, my point was we could fight anywhere if we spun it right. The IRA reference was to make a point. Of course they are a terrorist group and the US would not interfere in Britain's problems with them but since they are a terrorist organization, my point was that there are terrorists just about everywhere thus we could hypothetically go bomb anyone under the cover of fighting terrorism. Heck, we have them here and the way they are passing new laws that would make our forefathers roll over in their graves infringing on privacy and due process, we could start carpet bombing Waco, Northern Idaho or any other "radical group" if one were to take it to the extreme. What do you think the US reaction would be if one of our citizens was taken in for questioning with no warrant and then put on a military tribunal and convicted. We would have a cow and probably send special forces in or start bombing. Yet we are passing a law making it legal for us to do it with other citizens.
My over all point was just that we start with a good cause and tend to use it to expand other motives. Also even if we had no enemy, we would spin one up as our business interests require it. My main gripe is that we don't fight a cause but a business interest most times. We have civil wars going on in African nations for 50 years yet we don't care if they are chopping the arms off of children because that area has no oil, plutonium or a viable market for our goods. However if we want to build a pipeline through a former eastern block country or our precious oil sources are threatened for lesser acts, we will deploy our forces toot sweet and bomb them into oblivion. Even in Iraq, we couldn't upset the power balance as we need a steady stream of arms sales there. Do you really think we want world peace? Do you have any idea how many billions a year are made in arms sales to both sides of causes around the world. We sell F-16s to Arabs and Israilis. We arm both India and Pakastan etc etc etc. We have contractors stationed all over the globe.
We have to keep up on world events at all times and get intelligence briefings weekly at a minimum in my job. There is never a time when something isn't going on somewhere that deserves our attention but foreign policy seems to be steered more by corporate interest than who is the most needy. We just don't talk about the othe rplaces in the main stream news here in teh US. People care more about what Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts ate for breakfast than real news.
Good Luck,
Lee |
