For as long as i can remember, Communist and Marxist agitators and supporters have always protested our military presence in foreign countries, no matter the country or the reason. This time, it's Japan. Again. And this time, (again) i agree with them. The need for our military presence there ended almost 65 years ago, so why are we still there? In fact, why are our warriors stationed in so many places around the world, mostly in countries that don't want us there?
I'm aware that there are those who say, it's for strategical reasons. But this is the 21st century. We have aircraft that can reach any point on earth in hours, and missiles in only minutes. We have the ability to send unmanned killer drones, which can be controlled from a coffee shop in Kansas, and stored anywhere. We have the ability to dispatch Rapid Response Teams of Special Ops troops anywhere, and in short order. So why the endless foreign deployments?
We have a few thousand troops stationed in S. Korea (since the late 50's) ostensibly to stop a N. Korean invasion of the South. Can a few thousand troops stop an invasion by millions of N. Koreans? And if the idea is to make known that any force used against our troops there would be viewed as an act of war against the US, couldn't that same thing be accomplished with a firm political statement from the WH, such as we have with Taiwan?
It costs us hundreds-of-billions each year to keep our troops based in all these countries, countries where, not only are they not wanted, but the host countries don't contribute one dollar. Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to build more aircraft carriers, which could hold many Special Ops teams, and UAV's, (and "anything" else) that are mobile and can be sent anywhere, anytime?
Hey, i'm no military expert by any means, but it seems to me we're talking about common-sense solutions here. Unless of course, there are political, ($$) and corporate ($$) reasons for keeping the situation as is. Might the armchair generals at the Pentagon also lose ($$) out? Ok Commander Steveo, let's hear it...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247281/Thousands-protest-Tokyo-U-S-military-presence-Japan.html
8 comments:
Hey Spider, I agree that if a country does not want us there then we should leave. As we go though, lets be sure we take our foreign aid with us. If we don't stay, our money doesn't stay. We would still have to pay those troops though even if they came home. I am not sure how much $ would actually be saved. Then Obama Bin Laden or whoever would probably send them to Afganistan.
tio, at least they'd be killing towelheads in Afganistan. And i agree with your idea about foreign aid. (see: welfare) In fact, IMO, we should stop it all. They say we give away about $350 Billion a year to a number of countries, most of which hate us. But when suckers are giving money away, who's gonna say no!
At least half the tourists in Hawaii are Japanese.
I can say with absolute truth: They are the rudest, most self-serving, hateful of all tourists. They expect you to get out of their way so they may walk three-abreast down the sidewalk. If you go to the Arizona Memorial there is always a few Japs snickering and cutting up - all a big joke to them.
I respect their business sense and their commitment to capitalism - but the ungrateful bastards can kiss my ass and go to hell.
Spider,
suppose that instead of having precincts houses, ALL the cops in NYC are in one building, at 42nd St and 2nd Ave...BUT, you have trucks with guys patrolling, better still, helicopters just stooging around IN CASE they are needed somewhere. That would be a fair place to put a mega station. Crosstown is straight across, freeway close by for north or south or east, water close to go to Staten Island or AROUND lower Manhattan, to the other side of the island. Too slow right?
It's exactly what most people propose with eliminating foreign bases, but in smaller form. It's just not feasible.
The cops in the neighborhood KNOW the neighborhood, they know the people, the terrain, the "climate" of the area, they speak the language(s). It's the same for foreign bases.
Here's the other part, most of those foreigners have no problem with our military in those countries. Many make their living because the bases exist. It's the few anti-American agitators who give the IMPRESSION that entire countries hate the U.S. Military. Their MSM liberals and ours run those stories. But never forget that THE most anti-American agitators in the world are on OUR payroll and they have names like Waxman, Pelosi, Reid, KENNEDY, Obama, Clinton...
I could go on, but you know their names just as well as I do.
I've been all over the world and the "fact" that everyone hates us, is just as big a bunch of horseshit as the "fact" that a young, mocha latte, half-caste, IL Community Organizer could be qualified to be the President of the United States.
Anymore questions? I'll field them.
In all fairness though, the Japanese are just doing what we showed them how to do after the war. They could never have become the economic power that they are without our help. Our problem is we quit listening to what we showed the Japanese.
When we were at the Arizona Memorial (which, bye-the-way, was a year ago today!) we just barely beat busloads of Japanese there. I can vouch for and agree with what Jimbo said.
Steve, all the cops in NYC are not in any buildings. They're mobile, (land, sea, and air) or at least the majority are. The station house is there basically to give the citizens a false sense of security. And the more digitized we get, the more unnecessary those buildings are.
Thanks to computers, any of us can learn about the terrain, language, and people of a country without ever having been there. Just because our troops become familiar with the countries they're in, doesn't justify the need for their presence. They didn't know the terrain, language, and people of Iraq, but they went in and did their job anyway.
And i disagree that those countries like having us there except for the agitators. This is not the first time we've been told we weren't welcome, and it's not just the Japs. My basic point is, it's not worth the incredible amounts of money we spend simply to have a presence somewhere, and for no rational reason.
I understand that the police aren't "in" a bldg, but they are stationed out of that building. And as good as technology has gotten, it takes boots on the ground to secure an area and kick the bad guys out. And that's from a Navy guy too, I have no delusions of thinking that wars aren't won by guys on front lines. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one then. But do some math first.
The Tokyo Metropolitan area has 39 million people, and 6000 showed up to protest.
Even if you say ten times that many agree with them, you're still ONLY talking about 60,000 out of 39 Million. That's a small, vocal minority. But could they sway the government? Absolutely, look what the GLAAD crowd accomplishes here.
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