being an economic superpower: ok
being a military one: as long as we protect our country, who cares if we are one? im tired of being the world's policeman.

2/23/2006 3:32:53 PM

2/23/2006 3:38:56 PM

^ ha, ive been saying that for months

but the nature of a neoconservative government is to deny that. we shouldnt do shit for our own people, but we'll sure as hell go nation-building in iraq.

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 3:41 PM. Reason : .]

2/23/2006 3:40:31 PM

Hell yeah

2/23/2006 6:50:05 PM

Quote :

" im tired of being the world's policeman."

we are the world's policeman to ensure our national security. if we abdicated, no one would step-up. or, the wrong people would step up (hello china + russia).

2/23/2006 9:32:05 PM

well, we can't shirk our duty as the policeman.

we rebuilt the West after WWII. that alone is why we cannot simply slink back to isolationism.

2/23/2006 9:46:31 PM

with great power comes great responsibility balls of fire?

2/23/2006 9:48:04 PM

I thought of this thread after a conversation with my boss about current world nations that are having economic succes. Countries like America and Japan that did not colonize have prospered in the contemporary world, whereas others that colonised did not.

Does this indicate that putting so much capital into Iraq may one day doom us, or is the prez thinking of reeping some oil benefits*

*The reason why the UK managed to colonize and prosper is that they actively participated in the liberation of South America on the condition that they could trade for free and dominate the natural resource market in countries like Argentina and Brazil.

2/24/2006 3:05:03 PM

Britain and her colonies prospered (as much as anything "prospered" in the 19th century sense) because of the liberal social order it instilled. Iraq probably will not prosper because we are rushing to re-install an Islamist crony regime which is going to reward monopoly status to its friends and block out the opposition.

2/24/2006 5:54:50 PM

Well, Japan and the U.S. didn't techinically have colonies, but China (JP), Korea (JP), the Phillipenes (US), Panama (US), Cuba (US), etc... weren't exactly sovereign nations, either.

2/24/2006 5:58:59 PM

Quote :

"colonialism n. - exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one; the use of the weaker country's resources to strengthen and enrich the stronger country. The Iraq War n. - exploitation by The United States of America of Iraq; the use of the Iraq's resources to strengthen and enrich The United States of America. Yeah, it seems like a pretty good fit to me....."

Yeah, so what resources are we getting from Iraq that are enriching the USA..? Oil? I don't think they are producing enough oil for us TO take advantage.

2/24/2006 6:41:15 PM

Japan?

I wont fault you for not remembering the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.

2/24/2006 7:13:00 PM

^^ Uh, billions and billions of dollars being put into private sector defense contractors like Haliburton, for starters.

2/24/2006 7:25:40 PM

but its just driving us more and more into debt
so i dont know if that counts

2/24/2006 7:28:18 PM

I'm not saying it's a good idea.

But it's certainly profitable for some people.

2/24/2006 7:29:22 PM

btw, if you're talking about the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, that was a government inside job.

That is a 100% proven fact.

2/24/2006 8:08:59 PM

The phillipines were won in the mexican-american war, they were not a colony.

2/24/2006 9:21:10 PM