American Fiscal Policy

[Robert Maxwell]

They didn't "get lucky." They did dry runs before the real thing to see what they could get away with. It was a well thought out plan that worked on four different planes.

America taking the fight to the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan resulted in weakening those organizations. Being proactive instead of sitting back and allowing them to flourish might have hindered them from feeling out other weaknesses in our system and investing in the next terror attack.

That said, I don't think all of America's defense spending has been spent wisely. We do a lot of wasteful spending (on Defense among other things).

And look where we are now. American intervention in the Middle East led to rise of the Islamic State, which is worse than Al-Qaeda by just about any measure you'd like to use.

It's as if smashing foreign countries and killing thousands of people in the name of fighting terrorism doesn't work.

 

[fonzob1]

They didn't "get lucky." They did dry runs before the real thing to see what they could get away with. It was a well thought out plan that worked on four different planes.

America taking the fight to the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan resulted in weakening those organizations. Being proactive instead of sitting back and allowing them to flourish might have hindered them from feeling out other weaknesses in our system and investing in the next terror attack.

That said, I don't think all of America's defense spending has been spent wisely. We do a lot of wasteful spending (on Defense among other things).

And look where we are now. American intervention in the Middle East led to rise of the Islamic State, which is worse than Al-Qaeda by just about any measure you'd like to use.

It's as if smashing foreign countries and killing thousands of people in the name of fighting terrorism doesn't work.

When the U.S. committed to the "war on terrorism" abroad, it was a war that seemingly has no end in sight. There is always a reaction to every action. But, the consequences for invading Afghanistan were different from the consequences for invading Iraq.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

They didn't "get lucky." They did dry runs before the real thing to see what they could get away with. It was a well thought out plan that worked on four different planes.

America taking the fight to the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan resulted in weakening those organizations. Being proactive instead of sitting back and allowing them to flourish might have hindered them from feeling out other weaknesses in our system and investing in the next terror attack.

That said, I don't think all of America's defense spending has been spent wisely. We do a lot of wasteful spending (on Defense among other things).

And look where we are now. American intervention in the Middle East led to rise of the Islamic State, which is worse than Al-Qaeda by just about any measure you'd like to use.

It's as if smashing foreign countries and killing thousands of people in the name of fighting terrorism doesn't work.

When the U.S. committed to the "war on terrorism" abroad, it was a war that seemingly has no end in sight. There is always a reaction to every action. But, the consequences for invading Afghanistan were different from the consequences for invading Iraq.

Different, but not better.

We spent an incredible amount in resources, money, and human lives.

What do we have to show for it? Have we made the world safer? Have we made the US safer?

 

[fonzob1]

And look where we are now. American intervention in the Middle East led to rise of the Islamic State, which is worse than Al-Qaeda by just about any measure you'd like to use.

It's as if smashing foreign countries and killing thousands of people in the name of fighting terrorism doesn't work.

When the U.S. committed to the "war on terrorism" abroad, it was a war that seemingly has no end in sight. There is always a reaction to every action. But, the consequences for invading Afghanistan were different from the consequences for invading Iraq.

Different, but not better.

We spent an incredible amount in resources, money, and human lives.

What do we have to show for it? Have we made the world safer? Have we made the US safer?

Well, one could argue that we have not been attacked on American soil since 9/11, therefore taking the fight to terrorist organizations abroad forces them to expend their resources on fighting American interests there instead of here.

 

[Avon]

wow. fiscal policy to 9/11 in a few pages.

to misquote a song, it's not been a long road, getting from there to here...

 

[Robert Maxwell]

When the U.S. committed to the "war on terrorism" abroad, it was a war that seemingly has no end in sight. There is always a reaction to every action. But, the consequences for invading Afghanistan were different from the consequences for invading Iraq.

Different, but not better.

We spent an incredible amount in resources, money, and human lives.

What do we have to show for it? Have we made the world safer? Have we made the US safer?

Well, one could argue that we have not been attacked on American soil since 9/11. Taking the fight to terrorist organizations abroad forces them to expend their resources on fighting American interests there instead of here.

Which is exactly what bin Laden wanted, so good job, I guess?

 

[Squiggy]

Not that it is, but that it could be if left unchecked. 9/11 was pretty impactful.

Also a threat if left unchecked: mosquitos.

Equating terrorism to the threat of mosquitos and bears? I' m not feeling those comparisons at all...

Malaria killed more American's than terrorists.

 

[fonzob1]

Also a threat if left unchecked: mosquitos.

Equating terrorism to the threat of mosquitos and bears? I' m not feeling those comparisons at all...

Malaria killed more American's than terrorists.

Mosquitos have a cap though to what they can accomplish that human beings do not.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Equating terrorism to the threat of mosquitos and bears? I' m not feeling those comparisons at all...

Malaria killed more American's than terrorists.

Mosquitos have a cap though to what they can accomplish that human beings do not.

Considering that mosquitoes, via malaria, have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of half of all the people who have ever lived, you aren't making a very good point here.

 

[fonzob1]

Malaria killed more American's than terrorists.

Mosquitos have a cap though to what they can accomplish that human beings do not.

Considering that mosquitoes, via malaria, have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of half of all the people who have ever lived, you aren't making a very good point here.

That is not an accurate statistic. Half of all people who have died did not succumb to malaria. What you might mean is that half of all people in the world today are at high risk for contracting malaria. My only point was that addressing threats from human beings has a different level of complexity (because humans are "intelligent").

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Mosquitos have a cap though to what they can accomplish that human beings do not.

Considering that mosquitoes, via malaria, have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of half of all the people who have ever lived, you aren't making a very good point here.

That is not an accurate statistic. Half of all people who have died did not succumb to malaria. What you might mean is that half of all people in the world today are at high risk for contracting malaria. My only point was that addressing threats from human beings has a different level of complexity (because humans are "intelligent").

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/

Nope, I meant what I said, though the above link is also true.

Malaria is perhaps the most virulent disease in existence. The quick stat that half of all people to ever die died of malaria is obviously an oversimplification, but malaria has easily killed far more people than every war and genocide combined.

 

[Squiggy]

Equating terrorism to the threat of mosquitos and bears? I' m not feeling those comparisons at all...

Malaria killed more American's than terrorists.

Mosquitos have a cap though to what they can accomplish that human beings do not.

Moving goalposts aside, that doesn't change my original point that your hyperbolic assertion that terrorism (if left unchecked) could threaten the same country that harnessed the power of the atom decades ago is idiotic and represents everything politically wrong with this country.

I'd rather go broke helping other Americans than blowing up other countries anyway.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I dunno, sounds like socialism to me.

 

[fonzob1]

Moving goalposts aside, that doesn't change my original point that your hyperbolic assertion that terrorism (if left unchecked) could threaten the same country that harnessed the power of the atom decades ago is idiotic and represents everything politically wrong with this country.

That doesn't make any sense. Just because America invented the atom bomb does not mean America is invulnerable to attack.

 

[RoJoHen]

I'm suddenly really afraid of malaria.

The terrorists win again.

 

[sidious618]

I'm very much against terrorists attack in the US so I subscribe to a defense policy that prevents such terrorism: not getting involved in countries where the populace doesn't want our influence. It doesn't supply the military industrial complex with tons of money so it doesn't get much traction, though.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Considering that mosquitoes, via malaria, have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of half of all the people who have ever lived, you aren't making a very good point here.

That is not an accurate statistic. Half of all people who have died did not succumb to malaria. What you might mean is that half of all people in the world today are at high risk for contracting malaria. My only point was that addressing threats from human beings has a different level of complexity (because humans are "intelligent").

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/

Nope, I meant what I said, though the above link is also true.

Malaria is perhaps the most virulent disease in existence. The quick stat that half of all people to ever die died of malaria is obviously an oversimplification, but malaria has easily killed far more people than every war and genocide combined.

Yep. This author goes into more detail on the subject:

http://rdparasites.blogspot.com/2014/04/malaria-killed-half-people-who-have.html

 

[BillJ]

I'd rather go broke helping other Americans than blowing up other countries anyway.

+1

 

[Trekker4747]

I'd rather go broke helping other Americans than blowing up other countries anyway.

Agreed. We spend billions too much on defense spending. As I said up-thread we could cut defense spending in half and still be spending far more than all other countries and have billions of dollars to spend on, you know, helping Americans.

 

[Sector 7]

So, "true" Republicans are supposed to support fiscally conservative government spending policy, but we began accumulating a fairly large debt during the George W. Bush era and have continued to accumulate significant amounts of debt during the Barrack Obama era. Do you have confidence in either party to reduce our debt?

U.S. Debt clock in real time:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

The cost of U.S. National Security in real time:

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/?redirect=cow

First, please learn to spell the name of our 44th president correctly: Barack Obama.

1. Barack Obama, 44th U.S. President
2. Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States, and the first African American to hold the office. Wikipedia
3. Born: August 4, 1961 (age 53), Honolulu, HI
4. Full name: Barack Hussein Obama II
5. Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
6. Spouse: Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
7. Parents: Ann Dunham, Barack Obama, Sr.
8. Education: Harvard Law School (1988–1991), More