Large Scale Free Speech Rally in Boston

[Skroe]

Not only that, he hasn't even started a new war yet, which seems like the real driver for what pisses you off. At least Hillary would have picked a semi-random third world shithole to antagonize by now.

Man you got me way wrong if you think I want another stupid war.

Um... My foreign policy vision is sharply in the realist school. The US should adopt a restrained foreign policy and only act when it's core interests are threatened. It should focus mostly on great-power competition, fate of the world / international order level stuff. It should promote universal values but not not actively engage in regime change. A war against Iran or in Syria would be the stupidest things the US could do. Israel is a pretty shit ally that takes us for granted. In fact, the Middle East should be a distant strategic concern to the US after Europe, Asia-Pacific, Space, Cyberspace in that order. The US should use military force as a last resort and only a last resort.

Terrorism is best left to intelligence agencies, security services and special operations, and not to conventional military forces.

Again... neocon? I know this stuff is way, way, way above your head. But really... I'm honestly not quite sure you know what a neocon is. Let me know and I can PM you some reading materials.

American Foreign Policy has been incompetent for decades. It has a grand strategy - one that is over 100 years old - that it executes in such a shit-tastic, careless manner than the US has been lucky to not have a great power rival at the present because they'd eat us for lunch. We've gone from being the most serious people on Earth to emphatically non-serious.

What am I talking about? The key failure of US foreign policy is to separate core interests from ancillary or secondary interests, and properly allocating resources (of all types) proportionately.

Take for example, the War in Terror. In Response to 9/11, we went to war not once, but twice, nominally, to fight terror. Wars that have cost:

-$2 trillion
-Severely damaged national finances
-Killed 5000+ Americans
-Required massive and permanently redeployments of Troops from Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia
-Significantly aged our Military equipment
-Caused significant harm to the US's geopolitical position
-All but canceled the mid-2000s military upgrade.

We have fought those wars... successfully? No. ISIS rose in Iraq/Syria. The only reason the Taliban don't rule Afghanistan is because the US, insanely, is still there 16 years later.

In the mean time while the US military has spent the past 15 years retooling itself to fight insurgencies and terrorists, China and Russia have retooled themselves specifically to beat forces like ours. Because of the Iraq War specifically, the US military is incapable of a large scale military operation on the level of the Iraq War, probably until the late 2020s.

All of it is due to improper allocations of costs. 181 F-22s instead of 400? Iraq War spending. Carriers on a 5 year build plan instead of a 4 (a big deal)? War on terror spending. 450,000 US troops instead of 580,000? War spending... personnel costs have gone through the roof. Replacing 10,000 Tomahawk-C cruise missiles from 2003 with 2500 Toamhawk-Es? Operational war spending.

How many armored brigades did the US have in Europe until last year? Zero. Why? Iraq War.

This is just a microcosm of the larger issue. We treated terrorism and Al Qaeda like they were giants when they were gnats. It's not the only issue in which we do that. The result is, the things that do matter - like keeping China and Russia down and keeping the American-led Post World War II global order strong from threats - are greatly under-resourced.

Consider for example the inroads China has made into Latin America while America was distracted in the Middle East? And where was Obama's muscular response to Russian aggression in Ukraine?

The best way to describe America in 2017 is "the default superpower". It fulfills all the qualifications... despite itself. And a big reason for that is that every other potential rival has significant drags that make hinder their chances of challenging America's role of the global hegemon.

But the world has changed significantly since 2003. The gap between America's power versus other countries in the world, except for China, has widened to a significant degree for a lot of reasons. But America's gap versus China has sharply eroded as we've become embroiled in other concerns and not warded off the growing threat from them. Or to put it another way, China and America are pulling away from the pack, but the gap between the two gets narrower by the year.


I've been called a neocon on these boards on countless occasions, mostly by deeply uneducated people who have no clue what they're talking about. I'm anything but. I'm for a restrained American foreign policy... one that picks it's battles very carefully and is generally detached. And that's the key problem with American foreign policy. It picks its battles recklessly because it treats power like a god-given, bottomless resource rather than the easily deplorable, difficult to refill resource that has to be carefully nutured and judiciously extended.

America should be focused on the threats to the global order. It should not be spending billions of dollars and years at a time patrolling far-flung Muslim towns on foot. Years ago the New York Times editorial page lead a multiyear campaign against the F-22, calling the (then troubled) fighter a relic of the Cold War that would never be used in the Wars America was actually fight or would likely fight. And here we are in 2017 wishing we had a hell of a lot more F-22s and 15 years out from a successor, because the wars we turned out to be "likely to fight" in 2009 turned out to not be the wars we're "likely to fight" in 2017. In truth, America should have never stopped building F-22s as a matter of principle, not because of "neocon militarism" or crap like that, but because what the F-22 represents - an insurance of American Air Supremacy and an investment in the upkeep of the American-led global order - is consistent with what America's foreign policy agenda should be.

America simply needs to pick its battles way better. And I'll rank the threats, right now, broadly:

Russia > China >> Cyberspace > Space > North Korea > Climate Change-induced instability >>> Terrorism

But 10 years out, China is going to be the top of the list, with a lot of ">>>" before Russia. And that's because while we're playing games with ISIS and pretending 30,000 thugs and rapists are a threat to the world worthy of our attention, China is gearing up, specifically to push us out of the Western Pacific, and bring a close to American primacy of the region since World War II.

So what's more important? Fighting ISIS or warding off China's threat to a region that is home to countless core American interests, over half the world's GDP and is the most important geopolitical region on Earth? Now allocate resources appropriately. That's what it picking your battles means. And America has absolutely sucked at it for 25 years.

- - - Updated - - -

And treating them exactly the same is making pithy jokes about the things that have killed more than them.

Or. We use the body count rule people like and Nazis STILL lose to Islamic terrorism for mattering.

Except they are exactly the same. Extremists who want to tear down modern society and replace it with one they're warped world view is supreme in, and they're willing to use and excuse violence to get there.

- - - Updated - - -

Top is anti protesters in Boston, bottom is who they are protesting against.

Just goes to show you how hilarious outnumbered your extremist Alt-Right fellows are, lockedout.

We REAL Americans reject you people.

[Independent voter]

Never mind, someone beat me to it.

[Skroe]

I like this one

Christ you're a baby. Nice avatar by the way. How goes the Trump Administration? roflmao.

[Elba]

Looks good, @Venant,

[lockedout]

Just goes to show you how hilarious outnumbered your extremist Alt-Right fellows are, lockedout.

We REAL Americans reject you people.

I'm far from extremist alt right. I see you love labels though. You in your mid 20's huh?

[Skroe]

I'm far from extremist alt right. I see you love labels though. You in your mid 20's huh?

I'm 34.
I've read your posts here for years. If it walks like a duck, if it talks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

Your agreement on this point is not required.

[Dextroden]

Man you got me way wrong if you think I want another stupid war.






- - - Updated - - -



Except they are exactly the same. Extremists who want to tear down modern society and replace it with one they're warped world view is supreme in, and they're willing to use and excuse violence to get there.

- - - Updated - - -



Just goes to show you how hilarious outnumbered your extremist Alt-Right fellows are, lockedout.

We REAL Americans reject you people.

And we keep being told that it's not worth spreading hate over. So, same deal. Or we rip up the middle East with that logic since they are exactly the same and need to be wiped out.

Pick.

Edit: lol real Americans. Hi Trump.

[Chrysia]

And we keep being told that it's not worth spreading hate over. So, same deal. Or we rip up the middle East with that logic since they are exactly the same and need to be wiped out.

Pick.

Edit: lol real Americans. Hi Trump.

Is anyone claiming that we need to eradicate, physically, the alt-right? I haven't seen it.

Also, the "Middle-East" isn't collectively responsible for terrorism.

EDIT: Other than ANTIFA, which we all agree is a ridiculous anarchist movement that needs to go the fuck away.

[Jinpachi]

Do these dipshits want to end up shot? Because this is sure as hell where it's going. One side or the other is going to lose their fucking mind and start spraying lead. This shit needs deescalated NOW. I'm all for generous helpings of water canon spray

- - - Updated - - -

I'm 34.
I've read your posts here for years. If it walks like a duck, if it talks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

Your agreement on this point is not required.

Nor was your reply

[Dextroden]

Is anyone claiming that we need to eradicate, physically, the alt-right? I haven't seen it.

Also, the "Middle-East" isn't collectively responsible for terrorism.

Skroe. Huge extremism boner.

"The west" has to finish it.

[I Push Buttons]

If you aren't racist against white people, be careful... An SJW will probably knock you unconscious.

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video...LYImyN3pmb.mp4

[Skroe]

Is anyone claiming that we need to eradicate, physically, the alt-right? I haven't seen it.

Also, the "Middle-East" isn't collectively responsible for terrorism.

Exactly.

I've made clear on many occasions that their ultimate fate is back in the political fringe where they belong. I don't care if these losers go sequester themselves to that shit-stained hovel called 4chan. So long as its far away from us decent people.

But that said, just as we do Islamists, the prominent and vocal members of the Alt-right do need to be monitored for extremist activity by Homeland Security. Again, Milo, Cernovich, Posobiec and others should be on no-fly lists. Milo, a foreigner, in particular should have his visa revoked. The Alt-Right is a violent extremist movement with terrorist elements and it's leaders need to be watched for inciting violence, as they have before.

- - - Updated - - -

Do these dipshits want to end up shot? Because this is sure as hell where it's going. One side or the other is going to lose their fucking mind and start spraying lead. This shit needs deescalated NOW. I'm all for generous helpings of water canon spray

- - - Updated - - -



Nor was your reply

Too fucking bad, rofl.

- - - Updated - - -

Skroe. Huge extremism boner.

"The west" has to finish it.

On the contrary,m if you actually read my quoted post up there, you'd know I have little interests in the United States focusing its efforts on violent extremism, particularly from a national security standpoint. Our priorities must be China, Russia, Cyberspace, Space, Climate Change, North Korea, Iran.

But violent extremism in whatever form - be it Islamists or the Alt-Right - is a real threat to American security and must be carefully policed by security services. The country can multi-task.

There is no "war to be waged" against the Alt-Right anymore than the "war on terror" was wise or sensible. But it's something to keep on top of, because we do have a right wing terrorist threat in this country.

Or is it going to take another Oklahoma City Bombing to prove that point? You ready for some loser 4-Chan meme lord with a militia LARP fetish to take it too far? Because you change "4-Chan" and "meme lord" to something else, that's exactly how an ISIS terrorist radicalized on the internet is born.

The process of radicalization on the internet isn't any different if we're talking Islamists or the Alt-Right. Only the specifics of the beliefs are.

- - - Updated - - -

Edit: lol real Americans. Hi Trump.

You do realize I'm doing that on purpose, right?

[shmiskywalke]

If you want freedom from social consequences you are advocating against free speech.

You are saying people should not be freely allowed who to associate with. You are saying there should be no free market. You are saying people can't fire those who harm their business.

If I have a friend who turns out to be a Nazi, will you force me at gun point to remain friends with that person?

If he's friends with you then he's probably not a Nazi.

[Vyxn]

CBS News
✔
@CBSNews
Boston Police Commissioner says bottles filled with urine were thrown at officers during protest
http://
cbsn.ws/2wrP7yZ
*
4:53 PM - Aug 19, 2017

[Jinpachi]

Man you got me way wrong if you think I want another stupid war.






- - - Updated - - -



Except they are exactly the same. Extremists who want to tear down modern society and replace it with one they're warped world view is supreme in, and they're willing to use and excuse violence to get there.

- - - Updated - - -



Just goes to show you how hilarious outnumbered your extremist Alt-Right fellows are, lockedout.

We REAL Americans reject you people.

Exactly. Why the fuck is this getting national attention?

[Elba]

Antifa saved clergy in Charlottesville from torch wielding Nazis

[docterfreeze]

Reading the first page responses after reading the OP's edit about antifa involvement is gold.

[elaina]

Just goes to show you how hilarious outnumbered your extremist Alt-Right fellows are, lockedout.

We REAL Americans reject you people.

While I don't disagree, this is Boston we're talking about....

[Spectral]

The Department of Homeland Security does not monitor the Alt-Right. They should.

That's fine, I honestly don't much care. There's certainly plenty of surveillance done of various far-right groups. I don't care much about the specifics because this is such a non-issue and is already drastically overdone, but I'm not really inclined to quibble much about the specific policies.

That's inefficient, not over-resourced.

One might suspect that absurd contracts would dry up if it wasn't the absurd overfunding of intelligence.

- - - Updated - - -

Man you got me way wrong if you think I want another stupid war.

Fair enough.

[I Push Buttons]

These are the "Nazis" at the free speech rally today:
https://www.pscp.tv/va_shiva/1jMJgPAPqQjxL?t=10

Some guy named Shiva Ayyadurai who claims to have invented email and a bunch of idiots holding anti-GMO signs.



An image if you don't want to watch the video:


These were the "white supremacists" apparently...