Read my post, or at least a little history. - - World War I and its aftermath created the conditions that bread Hitler and World War II. (World War I also helped create the murders of millions in the USSR over many decades after the Germans smuggled Lenin into the country to take Russia out of that war. Thus was born the disease of Communism in that country.) What would have happened if America didn't come to the 'rescue' in WWI ? - - likely the Europeans would have finally come to their senses after killing enough of themselves, and sue for peace in a manner much less lopsided than the treaty that bled Germany dry and created the conditions for Hitler. As to how our actions helped generate Japanese militarism, well I've done enough. Its time for you to do your own homework. Yes, after being attacked at Pearl Harbor and having war declared on us by that murderous lunatic Hitler - - America had no choice but to fight and win that war. But, the politicians actions decades before created the conditions that would force the next war on us and lead to the deaths of millions of people. Didnt they teach any history to go along with your language class ?
I repeat to those that parrot that our base in Okinawa is 'essential to our national security'. If the Japanese decided they didn't want us there - - would you declare war on Japan in order to hold it ? And if you wouldn't take this rather drastic and idiotic action, does it hold that Okinawa is really so essential afterall ? Sometimes one has to think, rather than just parrot what theyve heard. - - - -
Bases somewhere in the area are essential to our national security. There are other cooperative countries so it would not be necessary to bully the Japanese.
That is complete and total BULLSHIT !!! Foreign bases in Japan or anywhere else are NOT 'essential' to our national security. The US accounts for over 52% of the world's total military spending. In addition to this outrageous statistic is the fact that at least 7 of the next largest military spenders are our allies. Does Russia, China, Europe, Brazil, Canada, and others think it is necessary to maintain bases all over the planet for their national security ?!?! Absolutely not. The military-industrial complex has hoodwinked you and a fairly large number of other citizens into believing that crap. It is bankrupting our pockets and our souls.
We are a trading nation and our way of life depends on the import of over 50 resources that are not sufficiently available within the administrative boundaries you are thinking of. When I was in boot camp (USN) we maggots were informed that our branch's purpose was to keep the sea lanes open for the flow of those resources. Life is a race. If other nations have access to those resources and we do not, inevitably their power will eclipse ours. Therefore foreign bases are essential to our security.
Some bases . . . . not all bases everywhere. Unfortunately, reality will intervene. We are broke. We can't afford bases everywhere. We rely on China, Russia, Japan and other nations to buy the treasuries which finance all this. - - Anybody think that can be kept up forever ? Even if we wanted to keep doing that, - - - its not sustainable. Over time as these other nations build their own internal economies (especially in the Far East) - - and become less dependent on a bankrupt America for there prosperity - a time may very well come when they could threaten us with total economic depression by dumping their U.S. holdings. Would we be so ready to intervene over Taiwan or any number of other potential hot spots ? IMO our greatest threat to security is national bankruptcy and being spread too thin throughout the world so that we can't focus on the most dire threats. - - - -
Didn't mean to sound so rude in my last post but, once again, I have to call 'bullshit'. Do the other nations that I mentioned feel the need for imperialism to keep 'trade' flowing? Are any of them any less dependent on imports (or exports) than we are? And besides, why do we feel the need to imports these things anyways, at least for the cost that it is extracting. I think a bit more self-sufficiency would be a good thing. However, it won't come to 'deprivation' even if we do reduce our constant wartime footing: pay for the products and they will be delivered. I will repeat: we have been hoodwinked into believing the fantasy that we need to spend such huge amounts on 'offensive' spending. No other country feels this need and it is a national psychosis peculiar to the US only.
I'm worried about squandering money and the lives of good people. History teaches that this has happened to many societies through the centuries. Our own history teaches that sometimes men go mad and get entangled in 'adventures' and 'good causes' that on reflection puzzle us as to why we ever went down that route. I am confident that even in these times America has incredible underlying strengths. But we will only be able to tap into those strengths if we get back to the principles on which the nation was founded: protection of personal Liberty, property rights (since if you don't control the products of your labors, you really don't have control over your own life), and minding our own damned business - - as much as possible in this world. If it comes down to every citizen being bled to death by taxes & inflation, with a crack-down of civil liberties due to protests against this - - -will we have brought on the greatest threat on ourselves ?Regards, - -
No worries, rude is the ET P&R way. : ) The rest of your post requires a much longer reply to do it justice.