Posted on 03/09/2009 7:28:29 AM PDT by mnehring
Congressman Ron Paul says that the US recession is due to Washington's spending of trillions of dollars to maintain the 'American empire'.
"We spent over trillions of dollars a year maintaining American empire. But nobody wants to give up the empire. Not even this new administration," Paul said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.
The Texas congressman referred to President Barack Obama's decision to deploy 17,000 additional troops in Afghanistan.
"They're [the Obama administration] pursuing the Bush policies in the Middle East and they're not cutting back," he added.
"The troops will not be out of Iraq in 2011 because we're gonna having 56 military bases" in Iraq, Paul said, referring to his speech to the House a day earlier.
Last month, the young president announced that the US combat mission in Iraq would end August 31, 2010.
Criticizing Obama's 787-billion-dollar stimulus package, Paul said, "I don't think it's going to do any good. Most of that money so far hasn't helped."
"I would like to get that money to hands of people. I don't trust the government. I don't trust the politicians and the bureaucrats because they bailout their bodies."
When asked about his solution for resolving the biggest US economic crisis since World War II, the former Republican presidential candidate said he would cut back the spending overseas particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I would cut 400 to 500 billion dollars from overseas. I don't think it makes any sense to blow up bridges in Iraq and then pay to rebuild them to no bid contracts with corporations never rebuild."
"I say spend all that money back here at home. We could save enough money by just changing our foreign policy, cutting down on our deficit, and still take care of people that we have taught to be so dependent," he concluded.
API has been quiet lately so found this instead.
Had we not maintained the “American Empire” after WW2 the world would look very different today. Yes, we’ve made mistakes, but our influence has helped put off another world war.
Listened to “One Note Samba” on Sirius/XM in the car yesterday. Now this. I’ts like deja vu all over again as Yogi Berra would say...
So the Defense Department budget used overseas plus various parts of the State Department and other federal agencies used for maintaining the "empire" are at least $2,000,000,000,0001 to get to over trillions of dollars?
This sounds like a job for Captain Hyperbole.
“I would like to get that money to hands of people. I don’t trust the government. I don’t trust the politicians and the bureaucrats because they bailout their bodies.”
He’s right. D.C. does have a tendency to bailout their bodies all over our heads.
Ron Paul should have become President.
Ron Paul should have become President.
I don’t disagree with Ron Paul policy, but his constant bashing of US annoys me
The US could have become an imperial power in 1919, but essentially refused. WW2 was the result. When the same question was put to the US in 1945 we 'accepted'. Perhaps there was no 'right answer' to that particular question?
He throws out the word empire, more than Ralph Nader, and is apparent he doesn’t even know what it means or doesn’t care. Re Iraq or Afghanistan, I will leave the tactical decisions to the commanders and generals on the ground, not some DC Bureaucrat, be it Paul, Obambi, or Bush.
Defending Obama’s empire eh? It seems that some freepers have gone over the Democrats!
Hopefully, under Il Douche’s universal Health Care, Paul will be able to get all the meds he needs.
The commander and chief is Obama. Paul is criticizing him. Are you defending him?
Same here. While a lot of his domestic views are admirable, his head in the sand foreign policy views are quite annoying.
It depends on where the advice is coming from. If the strategy advice for the current course comes from General David McKiernan and he is following the advice of the boots on the ground commander, then yes. IF however, he is taking actions opposing the advice of our boots on the ground generals, then no.
Would you not agree that the boots on the ground generals are the most important directors as to strategy in any specific field of battle?
Would you not agree that a CIC following the advice of the boots on the ground generals is the wisest course of action instead of ignoring their advice? Would you not agree that if a CIC follows the advice of said Generals, be it Bush, Obambi, or anyone else, that is the correct course of action versus ignoring their advice?
Just what is an “empire??”
If it is the acquisition of land thru war, the only land I know of would be the gravesites where our freedom fighters are buried around the world. Thankfully the numbers are such we bring them all home now. But, these are those wonderful young Americans who gave their lives to secure freedom, democratic government and prosperity for foreign countries.
What are talking about Paul??
Trillions of dollar RoPaul? Not that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been cheap, but the latest figures I saw the other day for total spending on them combined was somewhere around the $850-900 billion range.
In other words, the budget deficit created by ONE YEAR of Obama budget is ~80% larger than the total cost of both wars.
Shoot, the wars probably haven’t cost us as much as the combined total of Congressman Hypocrite’s earmarks over the years....
paɪər; for 8–10 also ɒmˈpɪər/ 
Show Spelled Pronunciation [em-pahyuhr; for 8–10 also om-peer] Show IPA | 1. | a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire, French Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire, or Roman Empire. |
I didn't realise Obama *had* an Empire. Maybe RoPaul's talking about Guam?
Obambi’s two year budget calculations are higher than all of the prior budgets (including war supplementals) in our history, combined. It makes what we’ve spent in Iraq look like a run to McDonalds.
Yes, I see we have ususrped all of Iraq’s oil and Afghanistans, uh, uh, rocks for our treasury.
Is anybody here comfortable with the idea of committing our troops to war under the command of Barak Obama?
If we are truly and empire, I think we would have conquered the entire Western Hemisphere...
Exactly. Here's the fun fact for the day, that I deduced the about a week ago - the single year budget deficit of $1.75 trillion in Obama's submitted budget is roughly the SAME SIZE as the entire world GDP ($1.73 trillion) in 1920. His entire budget will cost as much as the world made in roughly 1950. Sad, hunh?
As of right now, the commanding generals are still the same. It depends on who Bambi lets make the tactical decisions.
That's a keeper
LOL!
Really, so you agree that the US is maintaining an empire?
You know what’s funny about your statement, as of your post, only one person made a comment that could be construed as calling Paul a name (Captain Hyperbole) every other post is about discussing his statement.. I guess you just have this automatic reaction coded in.. must defend paul, must defend paul, must defend paul.. and to think, some call his critics sheep...
Let's start with his belief that we are an "empire".
Could it be that he is of the Alex Jones brand of wackoes?
Look at who he's turned to for advice on how to handle the economic situation, and tell me you'd trust our troops to his decisions.
if you are looking for wasted money, look to the lefties.
You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if you were standing two feet from it.
We cannot let Afghanistan become a playground for training the same organizations.
We need a plan to put thousands of predators in the air over Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan for the next 20 years. Let them wait that out...
So, who is he getting advice from regarding tactical decisions? The last I heard, he is still letting General David McKiernan call the shots. Are you saying that path is wrong? Should he go ahead and put his own picked General in charge instead of the General President Bush appointed? If he puts some pansy ass neo-hippie in charge, we’ll talk, but I’m not going to blindly criticize General McKiernan just because the CIC’s door nameplate changes.
And your point is?
About what? It'll way too effing late, then.
...Obvious
I’d rather be annoyed than broke.
How dare you challenge Dr. Paul’s definition of Empire. Don’t you know he knows more about Empire than you, that’s why keeps being re-elected. You must really hate freedom and the Constitution if you question Dr. Paul’s definition. You are nothing more than a socialist loving statist. Dr. Paul has delivered over ten billion babies, he should know better than anyone else what Empire means. If he says that the definition of Empire in the dictionary is not correct, then he is right. The Dictionary is just a neo-con trick to distract the sheep from what is really happening..
Go away you freedom hating enemy of the Constitution.
(..there, saved the Paulites some typing..)
The Loon is Loose!
Well, there is Puerto Rico (taken from the Spanish after the Spanish-American War), large swathes of the South Western US that were seized from Mexico (a similar attempt made on Canada in the war of 1812 was repulsed), several Islands in the Pacific, including Hawaii. Plus there was the fact that pretty much the whole of the mainland US was colonised at the expense of the natives.
It takes one hell of a distortion of the imagination to conclude that America is innocent of the ‘sin’ of imperialism. Not that I believe it was really the terrible crime against humanity that the modern orthodoxy holds it to be, but to claim that American had no truck with imperialism is completely and utterly hypocritical and wrong....
Ron Paul needs to move to Mexico, he doesn’t like OUR country. Needs to be renamed McPaul.
Obvious? Old debating trick...but shows that you can’t string together an argument.
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