Transatlantic Alliance

[cubbingcarol]

First of all please forgive me if my history is not quite correct, because I am not a military expert by no means.

Didn't the French help the U.S. in her fight for independence? How would we like it if they were still on our soil policing us or in any way participating in our security, so on and so forth. Not to mention the other countries who helped us during our fledgling years. My point is, we have to draw the line sometime and say "Now you have to do for yourselves" to these countries. That doesn't mean that we can't or won't help them if the need arises. But come on, parents (for the most part) don't keep supporting their kids their WHOLE lives. Eventually they kick 'em out on their own. My husband served in Germany before we were married and from his photo albums and by what he has told me, he did an awful lot of partying. Of course, now he is just a fuddy duddy. Did all of his partying before he met me.

 

Why not bring them home?

 

(Now she steps down off of her soap box gracefully)

 

Carol

[Achilleez]

"They must face these ugly truths: 1) the terrorist threat is real, 2) it is a long-term problem, and 3) Europe is as much a target as America. "

 

That is exactly correct and exactly the point. America needs to work with Europe and Asia against terrorism, not separately from.

 

"The power of the U.S. military will not dissolve that threat."

 

Yet the power of the U.S. military has already successfully dissolved, much of the power and influence of terrorist operatives in Afghanistan. I beleive the entire point of Bush's campaign against terrorism IS to use the U.S. military in exactly that fashion. It's not opportunistic to ally yourself against a common enemy and have military influence in as wide an area as possible, it's merely good strategy.

 

"Bush is simply being smart about how we distribute our military resources."

 

What percentage of the U.S. military occupies the Middle East do you think?

[Achilleez]

cubbingcarol,

 

Common, the world isn't run on parental philosophy. Terrorism is a very real and very dangerous threat. Terrorist operations occur all over the world and they don't worry over what Joe-Westerner thinks about them being in a country that isn't theirs. So in order to effectively counteract it, one must be equally ruthless and brutal and smart and pre-emptive and not be controlled by the fact that fuzzy-hearted people don't think they should be invading the privacy of others. America cannot confine its anti-terrorist efforts to within its own borders when most terrorist operations occur outside of it. But its too big to handle alone by a long shot. There simply isn't enough military power in any one country to make an effective defence against it.

 

 

[LovetoCamp]

Bring them home!!! Let some German boy pull his own guard duty on the rainy muddy back 40 in Neu Ulm. If he finds half a schnitzel sandwich....it's mine.

[cubbingcarol]

Oh please, having military bases all over Europe and certain parts of Asia are not going to affect the terrorists. Those terrorists responsible for 9-11 WALKED RIGHT INTO OUR COUNTRY AND BOARDED OUR PLANES ON AMERICAN SOIL. They had it planned out so well because they had spent so much time in America. So where again do we need military presence. I'm not saying pull them all out of the hot-spot, but having our military personel in Germany and South Korea and certain other places sure didn't do anything to prevent 9-11 and it sure won't now.

 

Carol