Do you believe the American military is stretched "too thin" and...

[kentuck]

is in too many countries around the world? Or do you believe that is our manifest destiny as the sole remaining superpower in the world? What countries do you think we should not be in? South Korea? Germany? Cuba? Iraq? UAE? Afghanistan? And all the other "stans" around the Soviet Union? What countries should we be in?

[wakeme2008]

1. IMHO the Repugs would have impeached Clinton if he had

stretched the military as bad as Bush. And Bush is now talking about Iran/Syria and Lebenon.

[yellerpup]

2. That's a hard question, kentuck

Yes, I believe the military is stretched too thin. Maybe we need to reevaluate where we are and why. I don't believe we are a superpower any more. Abu Grahib robbed us of the last illusion that there is anything 'super' about the power of the USA. Supershame, more like it.


Edit for spelling

[kentuck]

4. Why?

is that a hard question? Why do you think we are in so many countries around the world??

[yellerpup]

9. You caught me

It's a hard question for me to answer because I am ignorant of the reasons we are spread so thin. I know that some countries want our help, but I'm not sure that we are actually helping anyone. I feel best about the USA when we are helping, such as sending civilian volunteers as well as our military to dispense aid and rescue people after a natural disaster like the tsunami. I think Americans should be all over the world because we need to counteract and contradict the impression that our (unelected) government has been making recently.

[kentuck]

10. In some of these places, we are willing to put our troops in harms way...

Why? Are we spreading democracy in UAE? Or are we there as a strategic point into the Persian Gulf and a straight shot for our aircraft to fly into Iran, if necessary? It's almost like since we have a location or a weapon, we have to use it...If we didn't have it, we could not use it.

[yellerpup]

12. I see what you're talking about.

I've been writing to my Senators and Congressman since the first faint "looka what them bastards over in Iran are doing now!" drumbeat at the beginning of the year. The positioning in the ME you mention is disturbing and while I am not psychic, I don't think I have to be to see what is coming next. :scared: The location, the weapons, all tie in to this administration's bully logic; "now look what you made me do."

[BOSSHOG]

3. The heat and sand of the desert

do an incredibly efficient job of destroying our hardware let alone the wear and tear on our kids. The Marine Corps had to bring helicopters out of ten year retirement due to shortages caused by the Iraq situation. Not to mention the dollar and cents cost. bush is ruining our military and our economy at the same time, while China just sits back and continues to get us another step closer each day to debtors prison. It would be nice to revert to the good old days when a sane competent, real compassionate foreign policy existed. We should be in S. Korea and Germany and Japan and England and Cuba and Saudi Arabia. For the most part those are good will tours. There is only one thing republicans are good at and this (somehow?) winning elections.

[bdamomma]

5. To answer your question Yes

our troops mean nothing to Bush cabal nothing at all. NOTHING.

[azurnoir]

6. He's

either going to have to become much better at spinning loss or reinstitue the draft-his "economic incentive" program (no jobs} isn't working fast enough.

[stanwyck]

7. And remember, when the majority of our troops

are committed to the Mideast, we're more vulnerable here. I still don't understand why we didn't deploy troops to help during Katrina.
I have video of my son, a Marine, training to drop from a helicopter into a large inflatible boat. All of us paid for that training and those boats.
He has not used that specific training during his two tours in Iraq. But those boats and those Marines sure would have come in handy during Katrina.
And now that Marines have been sent to Lebanon to assist Americans leaving, my son's third tour could be moved up due to the need to replace the Marines sent to Lebanon who were scheduled to be in Iraq.

[bryant69]

8. We are stretched to thin - i do think we need foreign bases

In friendly countries to respond to situations - but yeah we don't need to be everywhere.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[benddem]

11. When people in the military

are on their 3rd tour in Iraq, when the military personnel in the Navy and AF are being turned into groundpounders in the Army, when the standards for enlistment are reduced 4 times in a year...the military is stretched WAY to Thin.

[w8liftinglady]

13. i forgot about them raising the age limit twice...that says a lot.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. I believe George Bush just killed ~2600 U.S. troops

and wounded ~25,000 more and it's all for nothing.

Imagine if a foriegn country did that to are armed forces.