Originally Posted by swaghauler
In truth, I don't think we need it. Look at current events today. We are in conflicts in Syria, Nijer, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Iraq, Yemen, South Korea, and are now working on a conflict with Iran. The "axis powers" of WWIII are fast aligning as I type this.
1. Russia
2. Assad's Syria
3. Lebanon
4. Iran
5. Iranian-backed Yemen
6. North Korea
7. China
The "Non-Aligned Combatants" are also a concern because they will sap us of "resources" in a major conflict. Those include:
1. Issis (both in Syria and in Libya)
2. Boko Haram (in Libya, Algeria, Nijer, Nigeria, Mali, and the Congo)
3. Al Queda (in Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda).
4. Hamas (Iranian aligned but not a properly "organized" opponent).
5. We may even find Turkey on this list if we support the Kurds.
Add to all of those the fact that the Obama Era "Sequester Cuts" reduced military spending by 20% after we made MAJOR expenditures of VERY EXPENSIVE ordinance and logged THOUSANDS OF HOURS on very expensive airframes, and we are already halfway down the road to a new version of Twilight 2025(?) IN THE REAL WORLD. This bothers me greatly.
To add to the issue, we are currently "understrength" in personnel AND our newest equipment (the LCS class ships, the Gerald R Ford) are having "teething pains" and our allies are spending much less of their GDP on defense and you have a potential "Perfect Storm" that the US and Britain may not be able to stop if the rest of NATO (in WESTERN EUROPE) doesn't step up to help (the EASTERN EUROPEAN NATO partners have shown they will do what they can).
I see the storm coming but I don't know how WE (the US) can stop it before a war breaks out. Pacification hasn't worked (or Russia and N. Korea would be in check now). And yes, I'm worried about 6 to 10 years from now.
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