The price tag for World War II came to $296 billion, or $4 trillion in today’s money. The aftermath of that war cost $13 billion more: The United States spent over 10 percent of its federal budget on rebuilding Europe — an aid package that amounted to the largest voluntary transfer of a nation’s wealth in history.
Being a super power ain’t cheap. Just like being the head of the household means picking up the check when the family goes out to dinner, leading the free world means footing one gigantic bill after another.
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The middle east ain't post war Europe. At best it's a medieval backwater with a valuable resource. It is beyond the ability of any nation or nations to control the Sunni/Shiite hatred and we should not try. Our task is to safeguard the oil supply and to insure the existence of Israel, which, by the way, is the only sane nation in the region. Anything else costs us treasure and lives, both of which are in short supply. Ask yourself, would you sacrifice your son or daughter, husband or wife for any of the countries between the Mediterranean and China ? No, I thought not.
The Middle East peace process is all process, no peace.
Exactly right, this column today. Our industrial military complex forces us taxpayers to fund a military budget that exceeds everyone else, combined . we borrow from china to do this. this is how the over extended roman, then spanish then british empires ALL fell and collapsed. we are on course to do same. we send billions of aid and money and weapons to eygypt, pakisatan??! why on earth? we have troops all in europe, and so korea, and again why on earth? why dont those countries defend themselves?
Actually - very few troops in Europe now and steadily drawing down each year. Korea - yes and a small price to pay to keep the neighborhood lunitic walled up in his northern kingdom. The foreign aid to Pakistan, Egypt et al - is a problem. In the grand scheme it is not a lot of money and it seems to buy precious little but if not our money, would you prefer Chinese funds and their influence?
Excellent point, Carl. Influence costs money, and if not us, then it will be someone else, possibly hostile.
The big reason we're involved in the middle eat is oil. Obama gets knocked for spending money (or losing money, depending on your viewpoint) on alternative energy possibilities, but oil is controlling foreign policy decisions. Energy independence will allow us to get shed of frenemies in the middle east.
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My favorite ax to grind - national energy policy. Although virtually non of our oil comes from the Middle East, we supply our own and buy from Mexico, Canada and some other South American sources, the Middle Eastern oil does fuel Europe and Japan and keeping those regions safely supplied is key to the global economy. We have a further interest in the Middle East due to Isreal and the Suez Canal / Straights of Hormuz. Our power suppliers, nearly 100% in the private sector, have no greater interest than their bottom line and more or less complying with the knee jerk enlightened laws passed by Congress and the grand visions of successive administrations. Want to see a national energy policy that works - Germany. But they have always had a very close relationship between unions, energy producers, banks and industry. Believe it or not, they honestly do see themselves and the nation as a whole, as having common goals. Yes - gas is expensive - but you hardly see a roof without solar panels, they are cutting the cord with nuclear and actively explore conservation and somewhat more secure and less dirty Russian natural gas.
In 2002 George W. was President. Republicans are much more likely to support foreign policy adventures when a Republican is President.
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The only reason we were in the Middle East was because of oil and that goes back to when George H.W. Bush was president, and then, of course, the dumb son, George W. Bush, continued "wars" in the Middle East for the Bushes' oil interests. Republicans think only of how to make themselves money whether it's oil or anything that brings in the bucks to them. It's truly difficult to comprehend why there are so many Middle Class Republicans since money goes to money.
Let's hope that 911c2 is not old enough to vote.
Oil has been the name of the game since the First World War, and the US has been involved in that game since its inception. Yes, we need our partners to cough up 'their fair share' of the costs, since they owe much of their security to our efforts (no one has to like it but it's true), but if we want to be the most powerful in these partnerships we still have to accept that we will bear more of the costs. That was Rumsfeld's and Cheney's (and the rest of the New American Century Crowd's) biggest mistake in Iraq. They tried to argue that 1) the natives would welcome us with open arms, and 2) the oil there meant the war would pay for itself.
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Nature abhors a vaccum. The "why can't we all get along" and "if we disarm, everyone else will" plays well in the commune's, but not in the real world. there is russia, and china, and even the serb's and croat's, and the tutsi's and hutu's who hacked millions to death with naught but machete's. if not us, it will be the Russian's or the Chinese...and I'd much rather have it be us. Plenty of money if we stop supporting ILLEGAL ALIENS and thin the ranks of the layabouts who are able bodied but dont work and have simply latched onto the teat of the welfare state..
A quick way for the US to save money would be to stop paying for the largely anti-American United nations.Why doesn't Farah mention that one?
When the 9.0 earthquake struck Japan the US military was mobilized to help evacuate the 40 bases we have in that country. 40 bases. We have 40 bases in Japan. Still. I think it's about time that Japan start protecting itself. The third wealthiest country in the world could afford it. And they aren't under occupation anymore so 40 bases is probably way more than we need. God only knows how many we still have in Germany and Britain.