Still, I have my fingers crossed for Cain.
Posted on 10/17/2011 5:20:47 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
obviously with a $780 billion dollar defense budget, there is absolutely no room for cuts (sarc)
It’s too bad he has other positions that made him enviable cause he’d by faaaaar be the best on spending.
I wish we could play Frankenstein and make 1 ideal candidate out all of these people. ;)
Yeah I have the same problem with Paul. He will say something real outstanding, then the next time he opens his mouth he will destroy it all by saying something dumb like ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE or something like that.
Ron Paul is not an isolationist if you actually listen to him. He believes in having diplomatic relationships with other nations. He wants all the foreign aid to end, and I do as well. We are giving out foreign aid to those who are actually the enemies of the U. S., if you care to do the research, and you are willing to spend countless hours digging deep.
I understand your point. I would vote for Paul over Obama too. I haven’t read his entire proposal yet but I know I will like a lot of it.
As for my cut and run comment, Paul seems to advocate immediate withdrawal. I disagree with that. I know it has been 10 years - heck 20 years if you count Gulf War 1 and the troops stationed in the gulf. My point, however, is that we went in and disrupted the previous order. If we pull out in one fell swoop a new order will have to find itself and that could result in the deaths of tens or hundreds of thousands. Potentially millions.
I know the natural reaction is to say that is not our problem, and that wars - especially tribal and ethnic wars that have been going on for ages - are inevitable. True. But to the extent that we created a power vacuum, I think we need to ensure that it is filled before we go. Saddam for all his faults kept the tribes from cutting each others’ throats. At some point we do have to wash our hands of it, but I think we have some moral and ethical responsibilities after having taken out their leadership and banning his political party from ever taking power. We can devise a plan for a phased withdrawal that fits with our self-imposed responsibilities. I surely don’t want to be warring over there. If they want us out we should leave but if they ask for our help, and remain peaceful, then we are obliged because of our prior actions to to help them - to some degree that fits with our judgement of our own responsibilities. Just my opinion and I don’t have the answers or timeline.
65 years after WW2 Europe is stable, democratic, rich and even united behind a rival global reserve currency and a nascent federalist system. We need to view them as friendly rivals and not pay for their defense or foreign adventures (e.g. Libya). Our recent deployment to Africa is, I agree, asinine.
Having listened to all the other Republicans running for President my conclusion is they are all a bunch of politicians exactly like the very ones we have now refusing to get real about the size of government or seriously reducing government spending. I am supporting Ron Paul. I am sick and tired of this we will cut spending down the road $^#&#@, I don’t believe them ...I don’t believe them!
Yes they are all better than Obama but that is not good enough just getting someone better than Obama into the WH, we need someone who will take a battle axe to government spending. I seriously doubt we have much more time to save the nation economically and on other fronts also.
I find myself agreeing with you pretty much all you've stated.
Consider this though. No matter what we do, how much money we spend, weapons we supply, schools we build will ever instill a lasting democracy in the middle east.
Just won't happen. We'd like to think so, but unfortunately, these people have lived under tyrannical or dictatorial governments since their inceptions.
These people have seen so much violence, death, dismemberment and torture. It is a way of life in the middle east. Public hangings, public decapitations, beatings, whippings are even the norm under a more secular and or civil middle eastern society.
The middle east is deteriorating rapidly, we've done what we set out to do. Now it's time to leave.
I am however for a rapid reaction type of force. If....If we see a true threat to our national interest or that of our only true ally Israel, then go in and hammer hard the threat. No mamby pamby rules of engagement. Hit very hard, fast, then hit hard again. Then get out.
Thanks.
On reflection, Saddam did gas and killed at least 5000 Kurds, so his method of keeping order is less than ideal.
I agree 100% with a rapid deployment force. Though wrt Israel I support letting them fight their own wars. Israel doesn’t want US troops to die for them, they want their technological advantage and some diplomatic cover from the wolves at the UN who don’t allow votes in their own countries but will ask for votes in the UN to harm Israel.
I disagree about the rules of engagement somewhat but I do understand what you mean. I think we have to be a shining light on the hill for the other nations. They do the mass murders, the hangings in public, they (including countries like Russia) will bomb markets and fire shells into apartment complexes and hospitals etc like you mentioned. We should be precise about our objectives and in execution of military missions when we do have to intervene because that is how we can tell our enemies what our limits are. If they shell cities and towns (Syria for example) or they slaughter ethnic minorities then their values are diametrically opposed to our values and they get on our enemy list. That does not mean I think we have to intervene at every injustice we see, but definitely we should cut ties with violent tyrants and there has to be a line that we, as the shining light for other nations, will not allow them to cross. We earned the respect of the world for going into WW2 and saving Europe from the worst forms of tyranny. We still have to be that same country even if we pull out of most of our military bases. And when we have to do it, by all means we have hit the enemy hard hard hard and then get out.
I realize this is a little bit contradictory (and rushed), but I think you get my point.
Oh, you’d have to throw in a quote from my hero....not fair, lol.
Damn I miss Ronnie.
Still, I have my fingers crossed for Cain.
I was around 12 when Reagan was elected and 18 when his term ended, so he clearly influenced my political thought in my formative years. In many ways I wish I had been older so I could more fully appreciate the richness of his thoughts at the time. Being a teenager things were a lot more visceral (like the bombing of Qaddafi’s house or, worse, the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon) and while I knew what was going on during the cold war (”I hope the Russians love their children too” etc) the things I picked up were the big ideas. I imagine most kids would have a hard time grasping political minutia.
So I hate to admit it, but the Reagan quote was not intentional, just subliminal. It must have stuck. That it still resonates 25 or so years later to a kid who heard it a few times in the background of his youth serves to validate Reagan’s ideals.
Best to you and yours.
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