I don’t much like Robert Gates the Secretary of Defense, but at least in this case he calls a spade a shovel;
“The demilitarization of Europe – where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it – has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st,” he told an audience filled with uniformed military officers from many of NATO’s 28 member countries.
The danger, he added, is that potential future adversaries may view NATO as a paper tiger.
“Not only can real or perceived weakness be a temptation to miscalculation and aggression, but, on a more basic level, the resulting funding and capability shortfalls make it difficult to operate and fight together to confront shared threats,” Gates said.
The Euroweinies have become like like Japanese – they’re taking advantage of living under the protective umbrella of American military force. They stood back and waited for us to move in Bosnia and Kosovo. They left us to go into Iraq while they pelted us with insults, but relieved that Hussein was gone. They toss paltry numbers of soldiers into Afghanistan and whine loudly when someone mentions the fact that the numbers are insufficient to make a difference.
I’m no isolationist, but those culturally-backward third worlders in NATO are making it harder to remain so every day.
I remember when a lot of citizens in Germany were all whipped up and wanted us out, so, when the base closing list was being announced and several in Germany were scheduled to be mothballed (including the base I was born on), all of a sudden they were telling us not to be so rash in our decision, etc. They saw the cash cow leaving for greener pastures in Poland and didn’t like it. We were only doing what they wanted us to, but they didn’t think we ever would. Ha!
For 60 years they have had the luxury of not having to spend much of their own money on defense, because the evil, arrogant Americans were providing a whole lot of it. Now they are going to have to start putting more of their own cash on the barrel head.
Some former Americans, now Eurowinnies, such as myself, want Europe to increase defense spending to be able to arrest Gates and put him in Spandau Prison where he belongs with Bush and Obama. Say the only reason I am here right now is that it is raining out and I am pretending that I am not doing anything today except sitting here in front of the computer so that I have a good Ali Bi. Not that I will need one of course. No one would dream of questioning me about anything that happens in my own basement, or my own street let alone far away.
I really really do want to thank you for endorsing KIVA they deserve the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize for Economics both. But do not think for a second that will get you off the hook for supporting an unjust war. The only thing that will get you off the hook is a letter from an Iraqi resistance group or the Iranian military or the Russian military or the Cuban military or the Venezuelan military or Ralph Nader that you were working for them all along.
Now as a born again Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Communist Libertarian Real Conservative (not neo) Sufi I do not really like the Iranian military very much. I do think that I understand them however. You see like me they believe that there is something more sacred than democracy.
It is the Koran which as I am sure you know they believe expresses the will of God. I am sure that you know that they believe that God is all powerful, all knowing and all good. Therefore in their eyes if they are defending their understanding of the Koran they are defending truth and justice. Now I personally do not think that the Koran as they understand is barbaric, just backward.
The concept that I believe is more sacred than democracy is the rule against waging a war of aggression. If there were a referendum and 100% of the American people were to vote to wage a war of aggression then 100% of the American people should go to prison for being members of a continuing criminal enterprise.
Back to Iran and the Koran. The Taliban view of the Koran as it is commonly portrayed here in the west is not only backward but close to barbaric. But I wonder since liberals and conservatives agree that a person can not trust anything that they see in a newspaper if that portrayal is true. Now I am sure that those fighting in Afghanistan and think that they are doing something positive will try to convince their fellow countrymen that it is true. The thing is, are they qualified to give such a judgment? Have they studied the Koran, have they studied Marx, who with? If a person does not have the proper ideological perspective in the first place any observations that they make about a given situation are likely to be colored by their ideological near sightedness. So even if the Taliban are a bunch of Cavemen ideologically speaking it is an internal Muslim problem. We can not use the excuse that they allow terrorists training camps on their terrority as an excuse to occupy them. Shit the US has neo nazi and KKK terrorist training camps all over the US. Furthermore the 9-11 COUNTERATTACKS were not conceived or carried out from Afghanistan. So to say that are attack on Afghanistan is a defensive war is a bunch of Poppies. Poppies are good by the way you should eat lots of poppy seeds they are good for you.
Now is it possible that the internal situation in a country could become so barbaric that the world, or the US needs to intervene militarily? Well Ruwanda would be a good case to make that point. The case that Afghanistan falls in to that category is much weaker than Ruwanda and in the Ruwanda case no one did anything. The case for occupying Iraq was and is even weaker than Afghanistan.
Now for Iran. Iran is not seen as a democracy by most of its own citizens. Big deal many Americans see the US as a disfunctional democracy. Do you know how many Americans approve of the job that the Congress is doing in any given year regardless of if it is controlled by the Republicans or Democrats? There are many conflicts that need to be straighten out in Iranian society. There are two things that every American should no about this situation. Due to past American meddling in this country any attempts that Americans make to support any faction with in that country will discredit that faction. Second, in the disputes between the US and Iran the Iranians are 110% right and the US is 125% wrong. If the US wanted to be on the right side of this conflict it would not only be trying to create a crisis where no crisis exists it would be offering to give the Iranians 10 or 20 functional nuclear weapons to help off set Israels nuclear weapons. If there ever was a country that deserved nuclear weapons it is not the US it is Iran.
They have not started any wars since the birth of Christ himself and they have been attacked many times, by many countries including the US in their recent history.
Well that is all for today. I would like to dedicate this post to Andreas Hofer who was killed by a firing squad 200 years ago on Feb. 20th 1810.
Sincerely,
Curt
I support an insurrection against God too.
Curt you should really proofread before you post. Your writing is like a trainwreck, horrendous to look at but somehow I can’t avouid reading it. I gather from your post America=bad, rest of the world=good. I guess it is because of my inferior American brain.
Good thing for us and General Gates that you ain’t nothin but parlor pink pussy Curt.
I stopped reading after “Some former Americans, now Eurowinnies, such as myself”.
You lost me at Curt.
I tried stopping but I just couldn’t…the stupidity vortex sucked me in. I feel that anyone reading Curt’s work will be stupider and may god have mercy on his soul.
WOW, my IQ just dropped 50 points……did Webster just vomit in the comments section?
Ja, its funny isnt it. A people who have been making and breaking treaties since 1789 and they want us euro winnies to take them seriously. A people with 2 oceans between them and the Muslims and they are more afraid of a few Muslims than we are. A people who are afraid of letting their citizens go to Cuba and say that they have freedom. Not a good role model.
Well I am going to go now I have a cheesecake topped with Raspberries and chocolate and whipped cream waiting for me.
I can enjoy it with out be afraid of of a bunch of “Aarabs” robbing me of my freedom because I know that Americans will beat them to it 999 times out of a thousand.
Curt, or is it really Kurt, as in Kurt Kasten? You posted your drivel over at Blackfive, and finally got run off.
You know, it’s not always wise to plop your fat, Euroweenie ass behind a keyboard and proclaim to the world that you’re clueless and stupid. When you do that, you do create that stupidity vortex, and it’s already sucked all of your brain into the stratosphere, and I’m sure it isn’t doing anyone around you any good, either.
So, toddle on down to the Adult bookstore and pick out your date for the evening, and don’t forget the bottle of lotion.
“A people with 2 oceans between them and the Muslims and they are more afraid of a few Muslims than we are.”
Yeah, and you Western Euros show your enthusiasm for the Moslems with the breakneck speed you’re allowing Turkey into the EU.
Ooops, I meant the EUSSR…
Sorry about the mistake in my s/n in #11. Kurt does that, he just sucks the smart out of any room he goes near.
And, JAG, look at how fast they’re letting the Muslims take over the continent. Turkey can’t get into the EU, but they’re certainly taking over Britain, France and Germany, among others.
The Western Euroweenies have ‘narry a clue about the tribalist barbarians they are letting into the EU-SSR. Quite frankly, Russia is the last hope for European civilization.
UpNorth I remember him now. He dazzled me with his stupidity over there, I guess I tried blocking it out. He was warned several times about being stupid over at B5 before he was banned. Maybe he should take that as a sign…wait he wants to be banned because that will make him feel important.
Anybody who calls himself a “Communist Libertarian Real Conservative” is lacking in the reasoning ability department.
That’s a little unfair to the Japanese. They have what amounts to pretty much the second largest Navy in the world, and it is a well equipped and trained force. Their Air Force is large and capable as well. The Army is small, but then again, they have constraints against deploying.
Wow. . . . I mean, wow!
That diatribe from Curt made as much sense as the IRS plane crasher’s “manifesto.”
Real nut cases, both of them.
I have two suggestions for you Curt —
#1 Increase the dosage on your medications. Obviously not high enough.
#2 Increase the voltage on your shock treatments. Again, obviously not high enough.
18 XBradTC
You wouldn’t be talking abou THIS Japanese Navy….. would you??