I have a very simple opinion when it comes to how the United States should utilize their military might around the world: They shouldn't unless it poses a direct threat to the United States and even then every other possible method of conflict resolution should be pursued before military action is taken.
This comes from two different lines of thinking. One, I despise violence and think that most wars are fought over things that the people who are going to do the actually fighting and killing wouldn't be affected by anyway - most of the time these are financial interests of the ultra wealthy or even the military industrial complex. Secondly, if what is being fought over isn't something that threatens the USA, why is the USA getting involved in it?
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A couple of other reasons for non-interventionism is collateral damage which was hilariously showcased in the above film that I would be willing to bet you have already seen. Also, the "blowback" that my favorite politician Ron Paul talked about in how other nations develop a deeply rooted sense of needing revenge towards a nation that invades their country, even if it is in the name of "freedom" or whatever.
Although this will probably rub some people the wrong way, I really don't think the USA should be involved with the Ukraine/ Russia war. It doesn't have anything to do with us and is only going to negatively affect our relationship with at least one of the countries that are involved.
I can't source this but since it is a meme perhaps it won't be frowned upon too much since I don't remember where I got it from. It was a meme site.
I think that we probably aren't too far away from physically helping Ukraine in this conflict and I hope that if someone even proposes that in the government that they are immediately shut down. While it is tragic when you see photos or videos of the suffering going on over there, it does not directly threaten the United States.
I've felt this same way about any military intervention that the USA has done without declaring war over my entire lifetime including Iraq, Afghanistan, and any other ops that were being done. From a purely financial point of view, imagine how much money could be saved if we didn't maintain the hundreds of bases that we have around the world. I would love to hear what people have to say about why it is that the United States needs military bases on the other side of the planet thousands of miles away from the United States.
You know how the USA is freaking out anytime it appears as though some other country is having military operations even somewhat near the United States? Well this is something that the United States does year round. Think about how much the DOD would absolutely freak out if someone like China were to have a military base in Central America. Well, why is it OK for the USA to have hundreds of bases all around the world then?
I would love to see USA return to a state of non-interventionism the likes of which we had all the way up until World War 2. I was never in the military and it never occurred to me to ever sign up. I do on the other hand regularly hang out with a great many members of the military, most of them are retired or are now reserves. I don't know what it is like to be in the military but I do know that virtually all of the people that I do know that were in the military feel the same way that I do and they can regale me with stories of very low morale because themselves and the other soldiers they were in the field with never had a feeling like there was any real objective where they were, particularly the ones I know that did time in Afghanistan and Iraq. They didn't really feel like they even knew what the hell they were doing over there and this isn't good.
Unfortunately, the idea that the USA would just pack up and come home and just defend the homeland is probably a pipe dream. We've gone too far to turn back now. It just is so amazing to me that if any other country decided to do what the USA does on a regular basis, that the USA would completely freak out about them doing so.
Anyone out there that thinks that the USA policing the world is a good idea I'd love to hear the justification for that.
I have my complaints about George Washington, but he was quite correct in his farewell address when he advised neutrality in European squabbles.
Great speech, thanks for providing it. Seems to have been prescient, as to the rise of political parties, the muddying of constitutional separation of powers and, at the last, the formation of NATO.
On the other hand, that is money those corporations would not make from the conflicts. This is the only motivation for murdering humans, ostensibly for their own safety (a lot like much of what we are told to do or believe), the world over. The economy would tank should war activity end, but the economy is doing that anyway. Soon the only people still able to support themselves might be those working for the war machine.
I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the recent leaks, but isn't that what they have shown, that we already are physically "helping" Ukraine. Protecting our elite's interests there more likely, since we have been destabilizing and raping that country, using it for money laundering and criminal activities, for a very very long time.
Good point about the testing done by the US all over. We tests our weapons right off the shores of many countries we oppose, then use their own testing, on their own land, as reason to fear and loathe them.
The war machine of the United States of America has become the terrorist of the entire world. I have no idea how to stop it. Our congress is gung ho war, both sides of the aisle.
Then there's the pollution aspect of war activities. If we could stop war, we wouldn't have any reason to stop driving our cars, heating our homes, and eating bugs.
I hadn't thought about the pollution side of things but yeah, that is a good point.
I fear the military industrial complex. They are incentivized to perpetuate conflict and the USA is their biggest customer.
Yup. Just as the medical industry is incentivized to perpetuate illness. We all need to be smarter than these two machines.
They do interfere too much and why they are hated by most countries which is not a shocker really. They have made a proper mess of the Middle East as it is hard sometimes to work out who is supporting who with the CIA also medaling in the grey areas.
I agree: the US military should mind its own business unless there is a direct threat to the USA. I have half-jokingly suggested that the next time two countries want to go to war, they ought to just settle it with a duel. It would save the lives of thousands of young men and women. And we would soon learn to elect a president based on his/her ability to shoot straight and quickly.
a duel would be fantastic. That's some old-school way of saving a bunch of lives and sorting things out anyway.