Re: a dumb query? pls humor me

On Mon, Mar 05, 2007 at 03:31:40PM -0800, Paul Johnson wrote:
Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:

Ummm, many of the overseas military bases are in place at the
*invitation* of the host governments.

OK, then the host country should be providing revenue equal to expenses
incurred on behalf of American taxpayers at the base. They want us to
fight their fights for them, they can pay us.

We also go there so that we can fight the bad guys before they get to us
on American soil. If you want remunaration from the hosts of our
overseas bases, then write your congresscritter and tell him to push for
negotiating a new treaty.

I'd hardly call that empire. Now, those bases were built under the shadow
of the Cold War Soviet threat. However, many of the bases have closed or
will be closing soon.

Given I'm paying for it, that's too little, too late. How many billions
(trillions?) could have been put to productive use instead of flushes away
on installations rendered unnecessary in 1945 or during Glasnost?

If you think that overseas installations were rendered unnecessary in
1945 you are completely delusional. If you think they were rendered
useless by glasnost, then you are just foolish.


I challenge you to provide a statistic. Now, don't get me wrong, I
think it would be great if the US governmnet would get out of the
charity business and leave it to private citizens' generosity. However,
I am also a realist.

I'd rather they just get out of the foreign charity business. American
government should serve American citizens first and only.

How wonderfully parochial. Foreign charity and aid are ways of
generating goodwill. Everybody needs that and it is a way of serving
American citizens, especially if you are one of the millions of
Americans who travels abroad and wants to have a good experience.


I guess it is a matter of perspective. There is really only so much
that can be done before people (both in the US and abroad) start
complaining that what should be a humanitarian mission is becoming too
belligerent. Just look at the fiasco in Mogadishu. Good intentions
gone wrong.

I'm rather annoyed at the Clinton Administration for not learning from the
mistakes of the neoconservative administrations immediately prior to his
term. What the hell do you think is going to happen when you provide aid
of any sort to a country run by a warlord?

The people of Somalia were starving *becuase* of the warlords.
Providing support to them was the right thing to do. Using the military
to guarantee that the aid reached the people and did not end up in the
hands of the warlords was also the right thing to do.

Regards,

-Roberto
--
Roberto C. Sanchez
http://people.connexer.com/~roberto
http://www.connexer.com

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