Quote:
Originally Posted by RN7
But America also polices the world; fights two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, basing air, land and naval forces in Germany, Britain, South Korea, Japan and elswhere to guarantee the security of Europe and Asia, funds a blue fleet navy that has a battle tonnage larger than the next 13 navies combined, has a marine corps roughly the same size as the air and ground forces of a major Western European country, and maintains a strategic nuclear deterent many times greater than its needs to be. Is it any wonder that America is finding it hard to pay for all this.
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America polices the world? This statement is just alittle bit jingoistic.
For a start the Germans are actualy quite pissed at other nations being based in their country now that there is no soviet threat. Unified Germany can look after herself. The US bases in Germany are NOT there to guarantee European security, they are there to provide America with the ability to supply and project military force, for insance Afghanistan. The Britis are already reducing our military in Germany (the RAF pulled out years ago). The japanese have been protesting the American military presence on their territory for some time now.
The British don't actualy care to be honest and the defense cuts mean that the British military will be used as a supporting force in future conflicts rather than a leading element. We are currently putting together a joint Anglo/French force which is considered to be the first steps for an EU military.
It can be argued that South Korea need the US presence to keep those North korean lunatics in check.
As for policing the world, when you look at the UN peacekeeping missions you'll see allot more nations involved in police actions, especialy Europe.
America spends so much money on defence because America STILL sees itself as the country that represents all that is good and great about Western democracy, capitalism and culture and STILL sees the rest of the world as little Americans just waiting to be rescued from their regimes. Afghanistan and Iraq are failures in this philosophy.