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Berzerker
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topeka, kansas,USA
May 1999
time: 23:35
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quote:
I see it as a bit more complicated than that. Simply put...There is usually more than one side to an issue. |
Yes, there are different sides to the issue, and what is ours? We want oil so we kiss up to brutal regimes, invade Arab countries, overthrow governments we don't like without regard to what Arabs want, and prop up the state of Israel imposed upon Arabs by the west.
What's their side? Oh yeah, they don't want us kissing up to brutal regimes, invading Arab countries, overthrowing governments without regard to what Arabs want, and propping up Israel. 
Might as well "justify" rape by accusing the victim of hating the rapist...
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Geronimo
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st cloud USA
Jan 1970
time: 05:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Agathon
The point is that telling the US to get stuffed is a low risk enterprise, contra the loons who think that the US can tell everyone else what to do at the point of an aircraft carrier. |
I actually agree with this. The US seems to value willing allies a great deal more than coerced 'allies'. I think when push comes to shove the US will leave almost any country that insists that it remove it's troops. This isn't a sign of weakness, it's just simple pragmatism.
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MRT144
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Seattle Washington
Oct 2002
time: 21:35
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quote:
Originally posted by DanS
Kerry is going to do a major policy address against this realignment.
The realignment seems to make good sense and was well vetted. This seems like a loser issue for Kerry. |
man, kerry could find a cure for cancer and youd find a problem with that
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Barinthus
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A Magical Moment...
Jan 2004
time: 21:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Sprayber
People In America have debated the usefulness of troops in Europe. So there.  |
Apparently, Americans are still doing so. This article has some interesting ideas especially the part about cross-cultural exchanges leading to stronger ties between the States and a host country. This has often been true throughout history many times way back to the Roman Empire times.
quote:
Pullback could alter ties with allies
By Dave Moniz and Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
The Pentagon's decision to undertake the largest reorganization of its overseas U.S. troop basing in 50 years ranks as one of the most tangible accomplishments of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who came into office pledging to shake up a hidebound bureaucracy and modernize the armed forces.
The plan would sharply reduce the number of troops stationed at bases the United States set up after World War II and maintained to fight a Cold War that ended with the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Pentagon says the move - which involves shifting up to 70,000 troops in Europe and Asia to the USA over the next decade - would improve the lives of military families, make it easier to rush combat forces to global hot spots and better position the United States to fight emerging threats.
But the restructuring also entails some risk and uncertainty at a time when U.S. relations with European allies are strained and North Korea remains a threat.
Though the Pentagon won't abandon bases in South Korea, Germany and Japan, the decision to withdraw large numbers of combat troops, including two Army divisions of about 15,000 troops each from Germany, could affect those relationships in unexpected ways.
Gary Smith, executive director of the American Academy in Berlin, warns that troop reductions would mean fewer contacts between the United States and Germany, which, despite recent tensions over the war in Iraq, have been close allies for five decades. Since World War II, millions of U.S. troops and family members have rotated through Germany, fostering people-to-people relations that have helped underpin the two nations' alliance.
"Germany and America will drift apart unless there are great efforts to collaborate," Smith says.
The president officially unveiled the policy Monday in Cincinnati. Rumsfeld's plan to rethink the Pentagon's "global footprint" has been in the works for three years and widely reported for the past two.
Defense Department officials briefed reporters on the plan Monday afternoon and added more details but left many questions unanswered, including the cost and a detailed breakdown of units and countries that would be affected.
Pentagon officials outlined a number of benefits, including more frequent training with new U.S. allies such as Poland and Romania, and better positioning of U.S. troops in South Korea, who would move back from the border with North Korea.
There are potential downsides, however. Despite Pentagon claims that the restructuring would improve family life, the opposite could happen for troops who would be part of regular training rotations to bases planned in former communist countries in Eastern Europe. American servicemembers stationed in Germany can bring their families to live in a country with similar economic status and strong cultural ties. Under the new plan, servicemembers would be away from their families during months-long training rotations.
The new plan could have much more far-reaching consequences. Though it could force the Europeans and South Koreans to take on a larger share of their defense burden, that could erode the leadership position the United States has long held with its NATO and Asian allies.
Some may also detect a hint of payback.
Pat Towell, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, says no matter how the Bush administration portrays the pullback, many will see it as retaliation for Germany's refusal to back the war in Iraq. "If this action had been taken by the first President Bush... it would have been interpreted very differently," Towell says. The current administration's "intentions may be as pure as the driven snow, but people will read into this based on the current events."
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Quoted from the above... quote:
Though the Pentagon won't abandon bases in South Korea, Germany and Japan, the decision to withdraw large numbers of combat troops, including two Army divisions of about 15,000 troops each from Germany, could affect those relationships in unexpected ways. |
Guess you were right, problem_child 
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17-08-2004 08:54
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