Page 14 of 30 FirstFirst ...
4
12
13
14
15
16
24
... LastLast
  1. #261
    Banned Kellhound's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Bank of the Columbia
    Posts
    20,935
    Quote Originally Posted by Spectral View Post
    Seems pretty easy to say, given the cost. There's no conceivable way that it was worth the money. Hell, Iraq isn't worth trillions even if we literally owned it.
    It can't be said because we don't know what would have happened had we not invaded once we had to pull out of Saudi Arabia.

  2. #262
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    The Moon
    Posts
    32,144
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    Hmmm, is going after the guys who killed 3,000 innocent people and were terrorizing the country they occupied not good enough for you? K...

    I lost hope for you wells. The world really isn't how it seems from your basement.
    That was in Afghanistan, not Iraq...

  3. #263
    Quote Originally Posted by Davillage View Post
    Why do we have non essential Body Functions? Like Eyes ears and such useless things.

    Lungs, Hearts and other essential things should be enough.
    If you were in a terrible car accident and the doctors are struggling to keep you alive (which is analogous to the state the government is in right now), if there was a way to keep your heart and lungs alive by temporarily disabling power to your eyes and nose, you better believe the doctors would do just that.

  4. #264
    Quote Originally Posted by Crissi View Post
    That was in Afghanistan, not Iraq...
    It's all the same. The enemy is Al'Qaeda. They are not confound to a single border.
    The Art of War- FT 4/4 EE 4/5
    R80

  5. #265
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    The Moon
    Posts
    32,144
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    It's all the same. The enemy is Al'Qaeda. They are not confound to a single border.
    Then why go after Saddam, who was NOT al'Qaeda? A lot of that early conflict was shite vs suni anyways.

  6. #266
    Void Lord Elegiac's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Aelia Capitolina
    Posts
    59,338
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    I agree with you 100%. The simple reason is Socialism.

    A pure capitalistic system only has the necessary parts, basically the military and a governing body. Anything else isn't essential and you are fooling yourself if you think welfare and state run museums are essential. People lived fine without government, and in most cases, better. Look at Hong Kong as an example. There are less people in poverty there than there are in america because it is easier to start a business due to lack of regulation. They are also motivated because they know they wont get paid for not working.

    As we move towards socialism (you can't deny it, we have over the past 100 years), the government expands and adds a lot of unessential positions. The closer you get to a command system, the more government grows. We are not a capitalist country, and haven't been for a while. We have a ton of government regulations and intervention. We are a mixed economy, moving closer to socialism than capitalism, hence the reason we have such a large, mostly unessential government.
    Once again, just because it isn't "essential" doesn't mean it doesn't serve a purpose or is not beneficial.

    And people did not live "fine" without government. The problem is not "socialism", it's pseudo-anarchist bullshit like what you're spouting.
    Quote Originally Posted by Marjane Satrapi
    The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.

  7. #267
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    60 years ago we where fighting China....
    In Korea... in a war to posture against China, in a place we didn't belong, playing world police.

    How did that war go, btw? Did we impress the Chinese into staying passive?

    But again, that's fear mongering to say, "If we reduce our military, China will own us." I believe if we cut our military spending in half, we would still be in 1st place by a significant margin? And that isn't even to comment on what a real war would be like between "superpowers" now that everyone has nukes. Also, insane to say we will be going to war with China in modern day. Maybe in another 50 years when circumstances are drastically different, and I don't just mean us spending less money on being world police.

  8. #268
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    It's all the same. The enemy is Al'Qaeda. They are not confound to a single border.
    No appreciable Al'Qaeda presence in Iraq until we invaded.

  9. #269
    Quote Originally Posted by Crissi View Post
    Then why go after Saddam, who was NOT al'Qaeda? A lot of that early conflict was shite vs suni anyways.
    Because he was a ruthless dictator who slaughtered his own people and harbored the terrorist cell that killed thousands of innocent people on American soil?
    The Art of War- FT 4/4 EE 4/5
    R80

  10. #270
    Banned Kellhound's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Bank of the Columbia
    Posts
    20,935
    Quote Originally Posted by Wells View Post
    I find it incredibly depressing that anyone outside the Bush administration is still defending that war.
    I can understand the war, but the occupation was a total cluster F***.

  11. #271
    Quote Originally Posted by Adam Jensen View Post
    Thing is Orlong, some people don't want to live 150 years ago. They want to live in the future, which means people have to innovate, which means people have to invest, which means that people have to *gasp* spend money,
    Words of interest in your post are "some people" and "want". In the current state, it shouldn't matter what "some people" "want". It matters more what the entire country as a whole NEEDS. And it needs to survive, which can be done without continued funding for space missions and the like. Once we get out of this huge deficit we can think about reactivating these functions to full force, but for now, I do not think national parks need resources that could go towards feeding the homeless.

  12. #272
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    Hmmm, is going after the guys who killed 3,000 innocent people and were terrorizing the country they occupied not good enough for you? K...
    Wait, what the fuck? There are still people that believe Iraq was the cause of 9-11? I'm always amazed at basic knowledge gaps.

  13. #273
    Field Marshal Euphonious Monk's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    The middle of the ocean
    Posts
    59
    Quote Originally Posted by Shinagami091 View Post
    I'm pretty sure NASA is responsible for the satellites we use to communicate and watch our enemies with. At least they're responsible for getting them into space in the first place.
    Surveillance satellites are generally run by the NRO. Military communications satellites are mainly maintained by the Air Force, with either Army, Navy, or Air Force managing their payload, depending on the type of satellite it is. Launches are generally contracted to commercial entities now, with United Launch Alliance (a 50-50 share between Boeing and Lockheed) handling most of the military launches.

  14. #274
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    It can't be said because we don't know what would have happened had we not invaded once we had to pull out of Saudi Arabia.
    It can be said, but there's not really any basis for it. A lot of things can be said.

  15. #275
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    harbored the terrorist cell that killed thousands of innocent people on American soil?
    You should probably back this up since even the Bush Administration had the decency not to lie so directly.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Spectral View Post
    Wait, what the fuck? There are still people that believe Iraq was the cause of 9-11? I'm always amazed at basic knowledge gaps.
    Makes more sense than his economic arguments.

  16. #276
    Quote Originally Posted by Crissi View Post
    That was in Afghanistan, not Iraq...
    Quote Originally Posted by Rajadog20 View Post
    It's all the same.
    Yeah, fuck it, they're all brown

  17. #277
    Banned Kellhound's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Bank of the Columbia
    Posts
    20,935
    Quote Originally Posted by Daerio View Post
    In Korea... in a war to posture against China, in a place we didn't belong, playing world police.

    How did that war go, btw? Did we impress the Chinese into staying passive?

    But again, that's fear mongering to say, "If we reduce our military, China will own us." I believe if we cut our military spending in half, we would still be in 1st place by a significant margin? And that isn't even to comment on what a real war would be like between "superpowers" now that everyone has nukes. Also, insane to say we will be going to war with China in modern day. Maybe in another 50 years when circumstances are drastically different, and I don't just mean us spending less money on being world police.
    A war in the SCS would not be nuclear, and don't underestimate China....

  18. #278
    Quote Originally Posted by Noomz View Post
    Non-essential isn't the same as non-benefitial.
    Essential is what is needed to run anything at all so that society doesn't collapse.
    Fact still remains that non-essential means "not critically necessary". And in our current state, America needs to stick to "critically necessary", i'm afraid.

  19. #279
    Quote Originally Posted by Didactic View Post
    Once again, just because it isn't "essential" doesn't mean it doesn't serve a purpose or is not beneficial.

    And people did not live "fine" without government. The problem is not "socialism", it's pseudo-anarchist bullshit like what you're spouting.
    People didn't live fine without government? Hmm, ok. If the government didn't exist, would you spontaneously combust? No, you would be perfectly fine. I do not argue with the fact that there are some good government programs, but there are just as many bad ones that take away from the hard working (high taxes).
    The Art of War- FT 4/4 EE 4/5
    R80

  20. #280
    Quote Originally Posted by spanishninja View Post
    Fact still remains that non-essential means "not critically necessary". And in our current state, America needs to stick to "critically necessary", i'm afraid.
    What current state is that?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •