Lets say we throw in the towel and decide to stop protecting the middle east using American soldiers and tax dollars and leave the middle east to deal with their issues? Then we offer to provide protection but only on profitable terms, we charge them a contracting fee to provide safety at terms that makes the US money. Those Arab fatcats should be able to pony up money to keep the king in power and safe. If we pull the heck out , Kuwait,Saudi Arabia etc.. would be at risk. We should pull out of all countries and empty all bases and charge countries for protection. South Korea, Japan,Germany,France,Israel will have to pony up money. No more free lunches on our dime. One reason these euro countries tout superiority over us is because the do not have to fund a military since they get free protection thanks to american tax dollars.
if Iran is not a factor, what kind of leverage does the US have in the region. Iran is the rabid dog and allowed to be so that US can have some degree of leverage over the Oil producing states. simple strategic games 101.
Thats fine but Arabs need to pony up protection fees. Want to be safe, pony up. We need to stop providing free security services at American taxpayer expense. Saudi Arabia has internal issues as well and we are providing protection to the king in many ways to insure the royal family keeps control. An informal visit by one of our guys in plainclothes with an implied warning (pay or we are out) is enough to turn things for us. bottom line we need to pull all our troops out of the rest of the world, protect ourselves here and charge accordingly.
What an interesting question. What if every U.S. troop were pulled from every base outside of the continental United States? What would happen? Cause I can't see keeping troops in S. Korea anymore. That country has turned thoroughly anti-American. Let them defend themselves.
10% unemployment rate. Military are always underpaid and over worked; that is the only driving force push the best of them heading private army.
Boots need foreign pussy. Offshore bases provide this, we can't have millions of young men clogging up the airways flying around looking for some exotic poon tang. Washington knows this, the UN security counsel knows this, it's not about the money or politics, it's about pussy.
You mean we would no longer be the policemen of the world and that the USA citizens' tax bill would be drastically slashed??? Oh, nooooo......that wouldn't be right, or......would it???
We could still be the world policemen but we profit. Wackenhut does not provide security services for free do they? We can be the worlds wackenhut.
Sorry but there is a new kid on the block called China. I'm sure they could spare 1 million PLA soldiers to provide security to the Saudi's and do it cheaper than the US could ever.