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To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (51598)	7/17/2004 4:18:04 PM
From: AC Flyer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

>>A strong military can promote hubris and war, as we see from the Bush crowd, NOT increased security.<< Malcolm, you're a grumpy old man. I don't particularly care for Bush, myself, but consider him to be much better than the alternatives. President Bush and his administration pose no threat to anyone except the ideological enemies of the US. Nevertheless, a whole panoply of woolly-headed apologists for dictators and head-hacking barbarians stand ready to demonize the man. As to the virtues of a strong military, I could recite the usual list of 20th Century US military achievements in the service of freedom and democracy, which include freeing half the globe from totalitarianism at least once, twice for many countries, but I already know that logic and rational argument are wasted on you. The latest development is President Putin's apparent willingness to stand up and be counted as an ally of the US - no mean feat for US military prowess and diplomacy, I would say, but doubtless lost on you.

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (51598)	7/17/2004 8:46:20 PM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 74559

<<A strong military can promote hubris and war>> ... a known known, as it were :0) The shocking, but not so awe-ing script "... even more dated other metal bits forumancientcoins.com (Edit: the history lesson on the left edge of domain hubris is free of charge ;0) ..." is embedded here worldmarket.blogspot.com Jay of worldmarket.blogspot.com

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (51598)	7/18/2004 3:24:49 AM
From: energyplay	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Military expenditure in the US as % of GDP is know to about +/- 0.2% which for the US with a 10 trillion (10**12) GDP, is an error of +/- 20 Billion. That's generally considered real money, even in Washington. One thing a high level of defense spending gets are some economies of scale. Additionally, since after 1066, there has been a promotion of what we now call 'dual use' activities, such as archery contests in every village (paid off at Agincourt). Some of these activities, like ham radio, provide trained operators and depth of technical knowledge for critical activities. Others, such as the Civil Air Patrol, the US Power Squadron (assists the Coast Guard in non-critical boating safety - the guy who ran out of gas.) Ski Patrol, etc. provide third and fourth tier back ups and training experinces. Some acitivities to enhance civilian readines, like the US Army's Department of Civilian Markmanship, and it's parrallel civilian organization, the National Rifle Association, have become somewhat controversial ;-) In other cases, the hidden hand of DARPA / CIA / who knows what influences everything from industrial policy to the teaching of math and science. So like Switzerland, a huge part of the economy has an option to have a bayonet attached...