So America was born through war

[The2ndWheel]

Doesn't it have to die through war as well? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're anti-war. But we wouldn't even have a country without it. We wouldn't have one ounce of our standard of living without it. Everything we enjoy today is because of war.

Is Europe an example to follow? Haven't they learned to live without war? I would say that if our military didn't take care of what it takes care of(the flow of oil to the 1st/developed/industrial/whatever world), European countries would spend more tax money on their respective armies instead of social programs.

Oh yeah, cheap energy is the only reason we no longer have overt slavery...in this country.

Why aren't we thanking the military-industrial-energy-complex? We wouldn't have progress without it.

Too ridiculous? Too truthy(ahhh, Colbert)? Too naive? Too neanderthalish(even though they never did get to drop a nuclear bomb on anyone)? Too cynical? Too stupid to even respond to?

[liberal N proud]

1. There are wars that are necessary to fight then there are aggressions

The act bu$h refers to as a war is nothing more than an act of aggression. One nation exerting it's force on another. And the War on terror is NOT! How can you have a war on ideals, The problem with calling it a war on terror is that when you capture one terrorist, you usually create two or more new ones through the aggressions used to capture the first.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. It's just unfortunate about the millions of people we killed.

After all, life is just about improving our standard of living at whatever cost to anyone else.

Why, if we hadn't conquered half the world, and slaughtered millions, for our benefit, we wouldn't have iPods or cell-phones or hair-restorer.

The Romans and the Brits did much the same to improve their standard of living. Now it's our turn to face the consequences of our mindless greed.

[enigma000]

3. I'm not sure America is a product of war

For most of American history, the military machine was not especially active. There were border disputes: War of 1812. Campaigns of expansion: Mexican War, Indian Wars. The big one was a war of unity: the Civil War.

Americans put their energies into building a continent wide nation. It has been said that in 1940 you could go from one end of the country to another and never see a serviceman on your entire trip.

But then the world changed. The US was dragged into WWII. Abandoning Western Europe in the late 1940s probably would have led to Soviet rule there. We would be having this conversation in Russian.

Europe has learned to live without war, but many people in other lands have not. And responsible world powers have to acknowledge this unhappy point.

[lectrobyte]

4. You might want to revisit the period between the end of the Civil

War and 1940... The empire was growing. Gunboat diplomacy. South American adventures. The Philippines. Remember the Maine!

[enigma000]

5. That's very true - at the beginning of the 20th century

the US started to exert a growing influence beyond its borders. (mind you, it did do it to a lesser extent in the 19th century)

The US was the regional power. It even picked up some colonies: Cuba, Philippines, the Panama Canal Zone. Still, it wasn't like it was run like the Belgium Congo..........