Here's why the U.S. owns the planet.

[cali]

We have military bases and installations all over the world- from Greenland to Diego Garcia. In other words are military is already deployed all over the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_military_bases


We have a military budget that is absurdly larger than any other country. In fact, our defense budget is more than the ten next nations put all together.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/07/everything-chuck-hagel-needs-to-know-about-the-defense-budget-in-charts/

These are just facts. Draw your own conclusions.

[Lasher]

1. That's why we can't afford universal health care.

We cut food stamps but our war budget is sacred.

[cali]

2. It's actually the answer to a lot of' 'whys'

generally, Americans, democrats, indies and repubs, accept without questioning- or much of it- that we NEED to have the enormous defense and associated spending.

The facts in the op boggle the mind if you actually think about them.

[ananda]

3. Yeah, we let our own people starve for "freedom" elsewhere.

Freedom meaning free to exploit other countries and kill people.

[newfie11]

7. +1

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

15. + another 1

n/t

[malaise]

18. +1,000

but the most important tool is still the propaganda machine that claims to promote peace while killing with impunity wherever and whenever and then accusing the victims of threatening them.

[brush]

30. Well said. Sums it up nicely.

[BlueStreak]

36. They don't need to give Americans any benefits. They already own us.

They are spending the money on the parts of the world they don't hold title to.

[Lasher]

45. There is something hopeful going on in Vermont with single payer health care.

If they can get it going there, other states will follow.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10024545522

[BlueStreak]

55. It is good to hear that is still developing, but I thought it was farther along

I am a little confused that the teacher's union should be playing such a key role at this stage. I thought that single payer work was already in the hands of the legislature, designed a system for ALL Vermont citizens, not just the teacher's union.

[Scuba]

4. Yeah, but those next 10 nations are fierce enemies that must be countered.

Oooops, wait. I guess they're all actually allies. My bad.

[woo me with science]

43. ^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!^^^^^^^^^

[bvar22]

49. They are EVIL DICTATORS taking away FREEDOMS!!!

They are evil dictators who kill their own people !
If you're not FOR the WAR in
Vietnam
Afghanistan
Iraq
Libya
[font size=5] Syria,[/font]

you're WITH
The Communists
AlQaeda
The Terrorists
Saddam
Qaddafi
[font size=5] Assad

Terror! Terror! Terror!
Evil Dictators! Booga...Booga
USA....USA...USA
[/font]

[Autumn]

5. And we cut food stamps.

[boston bean]

6. rayGUN, rayGUN, rayGUN, rayGUN!

[leeroysphitz]

8. Thank goodness four are military. n/t

[Electric Monk]

10. Four are, indeed.

[avebury]

9. Those who can lead the world through diplomacy and example do,

those who cannot rely upon military might (who cares about what happens to our own people as long as we are No. 1). Do as we say, not what we do.

[randome]

11. And this is why the world is more peaceful now than it has ever been.

I would also posit that our military expenditures -grossly expanded- have nothing to do with our expenditures on other things. We did not need to cut food stamps. We do not need to cower from infrastructure spending or health care spending or raising taxes.

We don't do these things because the GOP controls the House.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[cali]

16. By what measure? .

The world is not even close to being peaceful and even if your claim is true there's really no way to prove it. there are so many factor involved.

In any case, the objective facts would seem to stand in evidence against you. Two major wars of choice that destabled regions are not supportive of your claim.

You are precisely the type of person I refer to. You actually think it's a good thing we have this huge a military footprint in the world

I think that's really sad and yes, reflective of a dangerous and unhealthy pov.

[randome]

24. 'Recognizing reality' does not equate to seeing American rule as a 'good thing'.

But, on balance, it does appear to have resulted in a more peaceful planet.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ours-is-the-most-peaceful-time-in-history-Steven-Pinker/articleshow/11583435.cms

That claim may have seemed bizarre at first, but not once Pinker started listing one interesting statistic after another. He pointed out that death caused by violence as a percentage of all deaths has declined dramatically over the centuries. Tribal warfare was nine times as deadly as war and genocide in the 20th century. Similarly, the murder rate of medieval Europe was over 30 times what it is today. And there are more chances of Americans dying in a bathtub (one in 950,000) than in a terror attack (one in 3.5 million), according to a paper published by John Mueller and Mark Stewart.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen, Anthem (1992)[/center][/font][hr]

[polly7]

23. Wow.

Have you read on the actual suffering of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, all the other nations where drones are killing innocents - including children, recently? Millions aren't finding life peaceful, it's turned into a kind of hell you (obviously) can't imagine.

[randome]

25. Did I say people aren't suffering? They clearly are.

But fewer are suffering now than at any time in the past.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A 90% chance of rain means the same as a 10% chance:
It might rain and it might not.[/center][/font][hr]

[polly7]

26. Bullshit! nt.

[randome]

27. Read the the article I cited above.

In sheer numbers, deaths from war have greatly declined. More deaths are the result of internecine conflicts -civil wars, tribal conflicts- than anything else.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Aspire to inspire.[/center][/font][hr]

[polly7]

29. No thanks.

I read plenty of articles every day on the suffering of people in those nations that have been invaded, droned, destroyed in wars of proxy, etc. ... and the violence, bigotry, poverty, hunger, disease, stunted development of children living in terror, left behind - living deaths added to the millions who've actually died just in the last decade as a result of imperial arrogance and greed.

[yeoman6987]

32. Actually Iraqi deaths have gone down

Saddam was a tyrant. He was killing his people in droves and just putting them in piles in dug up holes in the ground. I certainly don't think we needed to have a gigantic war to stop him from doing that but it is nice to have gotten rid of Saddam for sure. We probably only needed our Special Forces to go in and nab him and put him in front of the World Court. Would have been quicker and cheaper for sure. Damn Bush!

[former9thward]

47. Your article does not have any facts in it.

Just assertions. Ignores massive murder and killings in places like Cambodia (2 million) -- where the U.S. backed the killers -- and places like Rwanda (800,000) -- again where the U.S. did nothing. Does the violence from civil wars not count?

[randome]

52. 'Where the U.S. did nothing'?

Are you saying we should police the world? Because I believe that might be at odds with the OP's original point, although it's a valid point on its own.

The world is more peaceful in the area of international warfare. No one can prevent internal civil wars, especially among the religiously insane. We can use our diplomatic efforts to the utmost but that only works if one or both sides are willing to listen to reason. Often they are not.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[AnalystInParadise]

48. You tried

and I applaud you for trying, I am retired Army here, and the military has done more good for the poor and impoverished on this planet than anyone in this thread will acknowledge. I have passed out a lot more food and a lot more school supplies around the world, than shot my weapon. Most veterans say the same, but the haters are gonna hate, so I just smile and laugh at how immature and petty they are. I know the good I and my brothers and sisters did around this planet while wearing the uniform and spoiled brats who can't do the things we did aren't going to get me down.

(This post is not me giving support of any war, so shovel that shit elsewhere.)

[randome]

51. And I applaud you, AnalystInParadise!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[JJChambers]

28. Emotions over facts and logic!!!!! Nt

[polly7]

31. Don't you wish ..... nt.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

35. Pax Americana? See Pax Romana for what happens next.

[Logical]

38. LOL, another ignorant cause = effect argument. n-t

[randome]

41. As is the contention that the U.S. 'owns' the planet because of our military bases.

If American dominance over the world is not the cause of a reduction in war, then what is?

http://israelseen.com/2013/12/18/are-we-really-living-in-the-most-peaceful-time-in-human-history/

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/15/were_living_through_the_most_peaceful_era_in_human_history_%E2%80%94%C2%A0with_one_big_exception_partner/
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]

[Logical]

42. So more people carrying guns has reduced the USA murder rate? Same argument? n-t

[randome]

50. Not at all the same argument.

Do you expect me to explain why human activity is not consistent? I can't. But the fact that the U.S. has military bases all over the planet seems related to the fact that there is less violence in the world today than, say, thirty or forty years ago.

Maybe there is some other reason for that. Anyone is free to offer alternative explanations.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Everything is a satellite to some other thing.[/center][/font][hr]

[Logical]

53. Yes, because global security is much less complicated than....

The USA murder rate!

[ladjf]

12. The fact that the U.S. has deployed military bases around the World implies many things, but

it does not mean the the U.S. "owns the planet". IMO, the "owns the planet" concept is not only fallacious but extremely dangerous.

[cali]

17. it's a colloquial use of the phrase, a turn of phrase reflecting the reality

of U.S. power.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to get something that obvious. yikes. you are a literal sort, aren't you?

try again.

do you think it's a positive thing that the U.S. has bases and forces all over the globe? Do you support a defense budget that is so much bigger than all others?

[ladjf]

46. I think that the idea of establishing bases and forces all over the globe is a terrible strategy.

Aside from the astronomical and unsustainable costs, it doesn't even provide the level of protection that is presumed by many.
Beyond that, it makes a political statement that is largely negative. Nor do I think our military budget should be much larger than all other Countries.

Having said that, I will mention a strategy that will be the ultimate goal of all wealthy Countries, which is a deployment of multiple geo-static satellites, armed with thermonuclear missiles that are capable of striking any place on Earth within minutes after launch. The Country that established such a system first might be in the position of "owning the planet". It's a horrible nightmare to contemplate. I pray that it will never happen due to the condition of mutual vulnerability. There is no doubt the several Nations are already working on just such a set of weapons. If the human race is flawed enough to try this weaponry, it will achieve the almost total annihilation of life on Earth quicker than we had previously believed.

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. More than the next 13 put together

and of those thirteen? Eight are allies (UK, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, Australia, South Korea) and three are more-or-less allies (India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey). The most significant potential threat to US geostrategic interests is posed by China and Russia, who are outspent by the USA and its allies five to one.

[jwirr]

14. We are an empire.

[polly7]

19. Uuuh ......... wrong.

It may be why the U.S. 'thinks' it owns the planet.

[cali]

21. own the planet is a turn of phrase. The U.S.

military wields enormous power that has a huge impact.

[polly7]

22. Yes.

Last edited Sat Feb 22, 2014, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)

The trouble is, when the corporate masters of that huge military buy defenseless nation after defenseless nation with their insidious killing machines, those nations are never quite the same, and the only huge impact felt is by the millions of those whose lives have been ruined and ended.

Edited to change my rude language and apologize to you for it, cali.

[BlueStreak]

37. They don't WANT them to be the same

They want cheap resources and cheap minerals. They have no interest in uplifting anybody.

[jsr]

20. It's a self-perpetuating machine protected by profiteers and their all-encompassing PR apparatus

[FSogol]

33. Wrong again. We own the world because our culture (movies, music, and video games) influence

and inspire the entire world.

These are just facts. Draw your own conclusions.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

34. Yep. And, we're going broke in a futile attempt to protect our holdings.

See the Roman, British, French, empires to see how it ends.

[BlueStreak]

39. Who is the "we"?

The people behind this are clearly not going broke. Quite the opposite. But that is because they are funding all of this by draining wealth from the American middle class.

[Octafish]

40. What do you mean, ''Our''?

[woo me with science]

44. Hmm.

Last edited Sat Feb 22, 2014, 02:13 PM - Edit history (1)

[Loaded Liberal Dem]

54. And boy, do our tenants hate us!

Can't say I blame 'em, either.

[Coyotl]

56. That is so far off the mark. The US is deeply in debt. A few rich people own the world.

And we as a country are stupid enough to borrow money from them instead of taxing them while protecting their interests with that expensive military they are loaning us the money for.